2020, July 20-26

We had relatives come to visit as part of Grandma and Grandpa M.'s 50th anniversary, which happens to coincide with Pioneer Day and the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. 

On Monday, most of the extended family went up to ride the Heber Valley Railroad. They got gorgeous mountain views and had a good time hanging out. 

Hallie has a lot of selfies with her brother Riley, and it is fun to look back and relive the memories.

We wish Mike could have come with us, but BYU has him teaching all day on Mondays. :(

The kids enjoyed getting reacquainted with their cousins, aunts, and uncles.  

We had a few friendly neighbors come to visit. 

Mike's car reached a milestone this week. Strange to think we've had the Sorento for over 7 years! 

Some of the grands' neighbors own a Polaris, and they took all the kids on a ride in the hills. 

Toward evening, storm clouds rolled in, bringing dramatic skies. 

Eliza came close to communing with a few bucks who ventured (kind of) close. Eliza is quite adventurous, and everyone thought we were letting her do this, but no. She had already gotten quite close before we realized. Thank heavens no bucks charged this little cutie pie.

In the equestrian world, Eliza took on a few new skills. Eliza had an early morning makeup lesson on Friday, and while we were waiting for things to start she thought it was fun to put Rue in Hallie's bubble of comfort.

This is what our Pioneer Day looked like. Gorgeous! 

All too soon, the reason for this year's party arrived: Dwight and Marilyn's 50th Anniversary. Here they are with the grandchildren. 

It's a bit like wrangling cats sometimes, . . . 

. . . and it's especially funny to watch the parents do the wrangling. :) 

We gave the celebrants an intimate dinner. 

Afterwards, a toast! 

A last bit of time on the trampoline, and then off to bed! 

Aww! Such cuties. . . . One last picture before the majority of the party had to head back home.