Fun with the cousins

 During the summer, we have lots of cousin time!  These two are such cute little friends.

Gabbie found sunglasses in the dress up bin, she put on a pair, and handed Kelsi a pair.

They have so much fun together!  (Sophie would have been with them, except she was napping)

Katie and Abbie helped make lunch for everyone.

They kept busy playing games

We have a neighbor with a little kitty.  Everytime she hears the girls playing out in the backyard, she comes right over the fence.  They loved playing with her!

Toys, toys, everywhere!

Jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers on is a great way to cool off!

Our Saddest Day Ever

Glenys Rae Brown Birks 1935 ~ 2014 Our delightful Wife, Mother, Grammy and Gigi returned home to our Heavenly Father in her sleep early Thursday morning, June 26, 2014. Glenys Rae Brown Birks was born the first of five children to Archie and Elaine Brown on February 12, 1935 in McCammon, Idaho. She graduated from East High in 1953 and then went to Beauty School. Her sweet aunt introduced her to one of her favorite BYU students, Jay Birks, who lived in her basement and they were married on June 3, 1955 for time and eternity in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. She and her loving husband Jay of 59 years are the parents of 5 children. Laurie (Mike) Cline, Robynn (Dick) Thiot, Ric (Kathy) Birks, Elaine Lawrence and Jeffrey (Jenn) Birks. Glenys was blessed with 15 wonderful Grandchildren and now has 23 Great Grandchildren. Glenys had a way of making them all feel like they were her favorite.  Home was Glenys' favorite place to be surrounded by those she loved. Nothing would make her happier than to have unexpected visits from her family. Grandchildren always knew right where her treasure baskets of toys were and would head that way after a tight squeeze.  Glenys was very talented and crafty. She had a love for making everything beautiful around her. She enjoyed making porcelain dolls, sewing and crocheting. Glenys was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and loved serving in the church. She served in multiple callings but her favorites were Cub Scouts, Homemaking and serving as an Ordinance Worker in the Jordan River Temple. She and Jay served a mission to the Indiana, Indianapolis Mission in 1990-91. This mission proved to be a legacy for missionaries in her family. All ten of her grandsons and two of her granddaughters also served missions and could count on a weekly letter from her with a crisp $5.00 bill.  Glenys' family will be her legacy for generations to come. She had a strong testimony of the Gospel and a Love for our Savior Jesus Christ. She always knew how to find the best in us all. She was one classy and sassy woman and would never be seen without her lipstick or her beads on. There will be a viewing on Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Goff Mortuary at 8090 S. State and again Monday from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to funeral services at 11 a.m. at the Sandy Hills Ward Chapel on 8600 South 1500 East in Sandy. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery. www.goffmortuary.com  
We knew this day would come sometime, but we were hoping it wouldn't be for a long time.  I miss my mom so much!  I can't even count how many times a day I almost pick up the phone to call her.  Anytime something happens, I want to tell her about it.  She set such a great example for all of us on selfless love. She was so interested in everything going on in our life and the life of our kids and grand kids.  I want to be like her!  A year before she died, Stacy took a bunch of pictures of her and dad, separately and together.  Here are a few of my favorites.

What a great lady!!!!

Mom's favorite color was pink.  Anyone who walked in her house would know it immediately.  Years and years ago, when they got new carpet, she chose mauve.  When they got new furniture, about 10 years ago, she wanted something that would still go with her carpet.  At her funeral we all wore pink, the guys had pink ties, and the little girls had pink dresses and most of us had pink sweaters or skirts.  It looked beautiful and I'm sure mom loved it!  The ladies in her ward decorated the luncheon with pink tablecloths and pink flowers.  They brought in all the flowers and displays we had set up and the cultural hall looked beautiful. 

My son Jamie wanted to make it a good memory for the little kids, so he and Krista came up with the idea to do bubbles at the cemetery, and then send off pink balloons with messages on them at the church after the luncheon.    Here are a few pictures, it really made it something nice for the kids.

Then we took them outside and sent them off to Gigi!

A quick trip to the mountains

We are so lucky to live so close to such beautiful mountains!  On Saturday, we got invited  to go to a picnic up in the canyons with  some of our kids and grandkids.  Jamie and Emily were packing to go on trek with their ward, so they didn't come, and Jamie and Jordan were too far away to join in the fun.  

We roasted hot dogs,

then had fun exploring a little cave that was there, and climbing the rocks.

The girls had fun making rock sculptures

pretty fancy

Even the babies were doing what the big girls were doing.

 they loved playing the the water

Be Careful!!!!!

Josh and Merijane

Aida dancing with her dad

Thanks for inviting us to come to your fun dinner in the mountains!!!!

Lani's Birthday and Fathers Day 2014

What a fun weekend we had!  On Friday night we got invited to go to Cafe Rio to celebrate Lani's birthday.  We had a great time there.  Mom and Dad, Jeff and Jen, Ric and Kathy, Carissa and 3 of her friends, and we brought Molly, Abbie and Kelsi who were were tending that night.  The food was delicious and the company was great!  Lani really knows how to throw a party!

On Father's Day, mom invited us all over for a BBQ in their back yard.  The weather was perfect for it!  At first, we thought only Krista and Matt's family were going to be able to come out of our kids.  Jamie and Emily were out of town at their nephews baptism and Josh and Merijane were going to be celebrating with her family.  Lucky for us, Jamie and Emily got back in time, and Merijane's family changed theirs to Saturday night.  So we ended up with quite a crew!

Uncle Bud was in town, so he joined us,

Chip and Paige

Chandler and Devin

Ric and Kathy, and Taylor and Elycia on the blanket

All our kids (except Jordan and Jamie)

All our granddaughters (can't wait till I can say all our grand-kids, July 27th can't come soon enough)

and Lani and Mom.

Somehow I missed getting a picture of  Mike and myself, but we were there!

Sophie especially liked the frosting on the cookies Krista made

and Lani's birthday cake!

The girls LOVE playing on the monkey bars that were ours when we were little kids.

They sure don't make things like they used to.

Thanks mom and dad for hosting such a fun Fathers Day Celebration!!!

Let the summer fun begin!!!

As Mike and I were driving home from Jamie's house last night, we realized that since I got out of school a week ago, we have been lucky enough to have been able to spend time with some of our granddaughters every day.  I got out Friday and we had Libbie and Hailey for a sleepover  (Molly had already arranged a sleepover with Ella, Matt and Jackie's daughter) They stayed until Sat. evening, then Hailey came back on Sunday night and slept over.  Krista and her girls came down with Matt on Monday and spent the day and we kept Aida and got Katie, Abbie and Molly for a sleepover. Tues. we had fun with those girls and then Wed. tended Josh's girls while Josh and Merijane worked.  Thurs. evening we watched Libbie and Katie while Josh and Merijane took Gabbie to the Dr. Friday we watched Jamie's girls and they were able to go with us to Lani's birthday party.  What a great way to start the summer!!!!  Here are a few pictures from our sleepover fun.

Friday night, we went out to dinner then went bowling, such fun!

They had a tied score a couple of times, then Libbie got a strike and ended up winning!

They love playing the games!

Saturday morning we talked mom and dad it to going to the zoo with us.

They have just opened a new African Safari that was great!  The male lions were out so we could see them.

Here are the girls on the lions back.

and the sea otter

and the carousal 

and measuring up against the apes!

We sure had a fun time with these two girls and were so glad mom and dad could join us.  It had been years since they had been to the zoo, and it has really changed!

Elder Banks was one of our very favorite missionaries.  His birthday is this month, and he leaves to go home in 2 weeks, so while we had the little girls, they helped make cinnamon rolls to take to him.

He was over at the church emailing home, so he met us out in the parking lot to say goodbye.

The girls really enjoyed the time we had the missionaries in our home and it was fun to see him again.

Then we were off to Fat Cats for some fun and games!

This one is like they are on a roller coaster ride.

air hockey

Motor cycle ride

and more fun.

A quick stop at McDonalds for lunch before heading to the zoo!

It was a pretty hot day, but the girls had fun seeing all the animals.  (I was glad I had matching shirts that I had bought for them a while ago  and forgotten to ever give them. It is so much easier to keep track of them)

We had a fun ride on the train, that just reopened this summer. 

Thanks you four cute cousins for making our trip to the zoo so fun!!!!