4th of July Vacation

          Sam and I were so excited to get this time to spend on this vacation.  He had a little bit of difficulty getting work off but when it was all official it made it even more special.  Every 4th of July all my family on my mother's side goes down to Alton, UT to visit my grandparents.  It has been a tradition that everyone looks forward to.  I was thrilled that I could bring Sam into this family tradition.  I had been talking with my brother Will and his wife Tif and we decided that we could travel down together and split the gas money because Sam and I were having a bit of financial difficulties.  

         Finally the 3rd of July arrived and I had all the things packed up and ready to go.  Because Tif was running a little behind schedule I picked up Will from work over in Provo and brought him back to our apartment.  Tif arrived with Cole like 20 minutes later with Sam coming a little later.  We were all ready to go.  We stopped in Fillmore for dinner. I had brought along Subway and Will & Tif got Carl's Jr.   We were on the road around 30 minutes later and arrived in Alton around 11:30 pm.  Most everyone was still awake and so we talked a little before we finally got ready for bed and slept out in the trailer with Sterling and Steven.   Most of the rest of the vacation I will show through pictures posted below:

This is a bunch of the crew
on the train waiting for the
Parade to start.

Grandpa Andersen and Cole in
matching overalls.

My brother Steven found this
chunk of Cheeto cheese in the bag,
he and Ben (cousin) even tasted it.

We dropped the cheese in the cup to see how
it dissolved.

Here is one scene on the way into Zions National Park.

The visitor's center.  A few of our party checking out the
information plaques before the hiking began.

Sam & Cole on the bus headed up the canyon.

Tiff hanging out in the river with Cole on her back.

The river.

Cousins Austin and Heidi
on the rock.  When Heidi
tried getting off she fell into the water.

Uncle Lance holding up Heidi
who is holding up the rock.

A mini waterfall on the hike.

There were squirrels everywhere and it was amazing
how close we were able to get to them.

Sam with an amazing background.

Sam & Sterling hanging out together.

My mother chillin' in the sand.

On the way down on the 2nd hike we saw this deer having dinner.

The next day we went to the Sand Dunes.
It wasn't Cole's favorite spot. It was hot &
windy and he got tired real fast.

Everyone over on the far hill.

Sam made an awesome sand Angel.

My sister, Marietta also made an angel.

On the way back to Alton we stopped at a tunnel that goes
under the highway.  Sam and everyone else went in exploring
while........

Cole and I stayed on the top in the shade.

Here is a picture taken by Sam showing the inside of this
tunnel.  Another cool note, on the way back we stopped
at a gas station and while my Mom was pumping gas
and Steven & Sam were washing windows, Cole started
saying Sam's name.  Before he called Sam, Saaa, but then at
that moment he finally connected it and said SAM.

We had a game night where tanks and commanders was a
popular game.

On Saturday at the family reunion, Sam
and I rode in my Grandpa's train around town.

I rode in the back car with Cole.

My cousins, Brittany and Bobbi Jo created this huge cupcake display.
It looked pretty cool.

Brittany also created 2 of these
cakes.  I think they looked amazing.

I made these vanilla chocolate covered cake balls.  They
were an absolute hit!!

Here is my grandma, the lady in the front row and
all of her siblings.

Here is my grandma and her siblings with all the
spouses included.

My grandma and grandpa.

Cole loved the train so much he
didn't want to leave. Sterling went with
him again for another ride. We think he had like
8 rides that day.

Sam's Birthday & Father's Day

         This is the second of Sam's birthdays that we have spent together, but our first one married.  On Friday we went with his family to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner.  We all ate until we were stuffed.  Sam got several nice cards from his family members.  When we left we headed over to JcPenney for Sam to get a new pair of tan slacks and a new polo.  After that we split from his family and Sam and I headed over to Wal-Mart and picked up a new belt and brown shoes to go along with his pants.  It was fun when we got home because as soon as we got inside he wanted to try it all on.  He looked quite dashing indeed.  

          On Saturday Sam went to work and was able to get off work early.  After he got home we headed to my family and went to the South Jordan Country Fest Horse Pull.  Sam had never been to one and I wanted to introduce it to him.  I baked cotton candy cupcakes a little earlier in the day and we brought them along to share with the family.  Our little nephew, Cole, especially enjoyed them and got all hyped up on the sugar in the frosting.  Since we had not had dinner and neither had William (my brother) he offered to pick up dinner for him as well as Sam and I.  I agreed and we headed to the grocery store.  When Will found out that it was Sam's birthday (I guess my Mom hadn't told them) he offered to pay four our dinner.  We ended up getting fried chicken and potato wedges.  After the horse pull we went over to Lance & Deb's house (my aunt and uncle) to watch the fireworks.  After the spectacular show we headed over to my parents house to stay the night.  

         The next morning we woke up and had a Father's Day breakfast to honor my father, brother, Will and Sam.  It was quite tasty and I presented my father with some business cards he has been wanting for a long time.  After breakfast we headed back to Springville for our church block.  After the block we went to Sam's parents home to celebrate the rest of the day.  Joey (Sam's father) had gotten a new grill and so we were wanting to break it in.  We had skewers with meat, potatoes and other veggies on them.  Cindy Adams made homemade scones that also turned out to be amazing!!

        Overall I think that Sam had quite the fun weekend to celebrate his 24th birthday.  I can't wait to celebrate many more with him.

Sterling's Mission Call

My brother Sterling got his mission call and we went down to West Jordan to see him open it.  We had been waiting several weeks for his papers to get completed and turned in.  Sterling was so excited and could hardly wait.    Before we went over to my parents I made my brother a giant cookie cake to celebrate the occasion.  

The final product of the giant cookie cake.

It sure turned out cute and tasty....but it did make a mess in my oven.

Cole being cute when eating.

Sterling's friend and our Dad waiting for the mission call to be opened.

The family all waiting.

Sterling and his friend Caleb are going to the same mission!!

Sam and Cole wearing a hat looking cute.

Sam got this picture of Cole sitting and playing in the tractor loader.

Sterling is going to the FRANCE, LYON MISSION and is reporting to the MTC on October 3, 2012.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

So I found a new recipe on Pintrist and I couldn't wait to try it out.  When I told my husband about it he just started drooling, so I knew I had to make them.   They turned out so great and tasted fantastic.  This is definitely a recipe that I want to keep and make them over and over. I put some pictures below but I didn't get any pictures of the final product, but it was good with the creamy frosting topping.

The batter is in the pan.....

Added the cinnamon mixture.

The finished product.