Summer Highlghts

The summer has been jam packed with one event or activity after

another. All great things mind you, just not the lazy summer

we all dream of. Hopefully we can squeeze a few of those days out

before the business of school and the fall harvest creep in.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We kinda like this guy around our house. Mark, Dad, Papa, Doctor, Bishop, friend, master craftsman and he who seeks often, (and finds it more than most)

the perfect day.

We love you.

Some tasty viddles grilled up. What a beautiful day it was to enjoy the

yard and some quiet time together.

Lindsey, Jake & Molly were in town to share the day with us.

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful men in our lives - those near and far.

We are certainly blessed to have their wonderful love & influence.

And Miss Em enjoying her first piece of corn on the cob in over 7 years!

Two Weeks in June - back to back camps. Young Women's Stake Girls Camp held at Heber Valley Girls Camp. Super fun and such a beautiful place. We had a great time together. Our ward was Jamaica and we had good times - ya mon! We did some hard things with the challenge course and learned more about each other. Then Camber & Leisa attended LTC at Camp Lomia up Logan Canyon. We live is such a beautiful place. We grew closer to our Savior in five sweet days together with some wonderful people.

IT'S MARK'S PARTY! Mark had a happy day and a happy tummy :) As tradition goes I always make two desserts because Mark & Brady share a birthday. This year we celebrated with A Blueberry Cheesecake and a warm Rhubarb Crisp with Ice Cream!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK & BRADY

The girls took in the fireworks this weekend and we played games with
Jake & Lindsey soaked in a little Molly time.
We love America.

Davis Breaks His Thumb

Not fun to take a bad fall on the skateboard. He had to have the a pin put in then be confined to a lovely blue cast for about 4 weeks. The pin will come out on August 11th. Sure don't want to witness that little procedure. Glad you are healing up well, Davis.

Firth Family Reunion

*Family Vacation*
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado, USA

We have some wonderful neighbors who offered their beautiful little home in Grand Lake to us. We invited Mark's parents to join us and from Utah, Oregon & Michigan we all gathered together for five glorious days. We had the best time exploring the area. We hiked to Adams Falls, canoed & kayaked on the two lakes, did some fishing, water colored, sketched, played games, read, ate yummy food and laughed a lot. We took a drive up over the continental divide and it was amazing. Some of the guys even rode their bikes over the pass! We saw wildlife galore - up close and personal were moose and elk. We walked the boardwalks and did some window shopping and enjoyed the live music and quaintness of the town. It was a real treat!

We set up the tripod and snapped a bunch of family shots.
We know it will be a long time before we are all together again for a photo.

Some great pictures of our crazy game night can be seen here.
I am running out of time to post photos :)

Mark & I snuck (is that a word? It's not but we did) out early one morning.
It was the best. Very cold but so nice.
I brought my portable watercolor bag along and enjoyed
some nice artful moments while I watched my guy fish :)

Elsie and Molly meet each other for the first time! Molly is 6 months and Elsie is 2 months. They were pretty cute watching each other. How fun to be so close in age. We'll have to wait and see how close in proximity they will be as the year go by. One thing for certain is they will be great little friends and they are very loved by all of us!

When you get behind - blogging becomes a bit of a chore. I am pretty committed to this blog and it's important to me to keep our lives updated and all these wonderful memories documented.

It will take some time to play catch up....in between finishing a shed, floating

the Onieda Narrows, a trip to Jackson, helping L&J move, youth conference,

honey harvest and all the other little things that fill up our days here at Deer Hollow.

Be back sooooon :)

Oh, and -
It just doesn't get any better than having all of your grandchildren

together at the same time!

Empty Spaces

Blogging is great therapy and a wonderful journal for family history. Life certainly has its ups and downs and just like the joyful times, the heartache should be recorded. Nearly two months ago some of our very close friends had a family crisis - to protect their privacy I won't discuss the nature of the situation, but it is one of those life changing events that will forever change their family history and future. It is trials like these that grab your heart and send you in a downward spiral. Working through grief is a process and something that takes a lot of time and tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father. Work is a key word in the process - and it is hard work to fight through times like this. Thus - empty spaces in our blog while time forges onward and empty spaces in our hearts and home.

A quote from the July Ensign reads:
"I know that having the Lord in our lives can bring joy to our existence. He is our friend, our teacher, and an example of enduring to the end. He truly endured all things, and knows what we are suffering. His atonement has brought about the miracle of putting all the broken pieces back together in this life in preparation for the next." S. E. Christensen (p.8)

Friends are a priceless gift and we will forever hold pieces of them in our hearts, for they have helped mold us into who we are and shared our sorrows and joys. All our love to some very special people.