On a Happier Note...

Now that it's officially August I thought it was time to post about July. July is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the 4th of July and everything associated with it. Growing up, we'd usually have a Drake Family Reunion in Arkanasas over the 4th, which meant boating, fireworks, brisket, watermelon, and my personal favorite summer activity, a canoe trip on the river! It's always so much fun to spend time with the cousins. That being said, I also really enjoyed my first Fourth of July away from home. On Saturday (the 2nd), once we got off work, Johnny and I drove right up to Layton for his brother Scott's birthday party. It was very fun and of course there was lots of delicious food. We spent the night at Johnny's parents' house and went to church with them the next day. After dinner we drove to Copperton, Utah to visit Margo's dad, Grandpa Bodily. It was my first time in Copperton and I absolutely loved it. It's just this cute little mining town that looks like it came straight out of a movie. It was so fun to see Grandpa Bodily, too. I haven't spent a whole lot of time with him, but he's super funny and I really like visiting with him and hearing his stories. On Monday, we watched Daren walk in the Clearfield Parade. He is a principle at an elementary school in Clearfield so he walked with some of his students. Then we got all packed up and drove to Bear Lake! Which would have been completely perfect except almost everyone was feeling pretty sick that weekend. Here's everyone who went: Daren, Margo, Nate, Claire, Norah, Scott, Johnny, and me. Here's everyone who felt sick: Margo, Nate, Scott, and Johnny. Norah was sick a little bit earlier in the week so she was better by the camping trip. Still, all the sickies were such troopers! The stomach flu lasted about 24 hours for most of them, so they just had to take it easy for a while. By Monday night, we were able to go watch a firework show, and by Tuesday morning, everyone was feeling much better. We packed up camp and went to the lake to swim and play all day. It was such a fun trip!
We forgot our camera but luckily Margo is always prepared and willing to share her pictures.

Scott's Party

this is how Norah smiles for the camera - she's very enthusiastic

the star of the parade

watching Johnny's celebrity of a dad

cuddlin' at the freezing cold 4th of July fireworks show

skipping rocks like a champ at Bear Lake

you can't pose for a picture like this and then expect for it to not get posted...

the whole camping crew

I basically love camping, which is perfect because Johnny loves camping too. I'm sure we'll have many years of camping trips to look forward to. We can't wait to take our future children on these trips with us. It will be so much fun!

We missed Jeanette and her family, Sharla and her family, Ryan, and Amy on this trip. Amy has been on Catalina Island all summer long, working at a Boy Scout camp. She comes home in like two weeks and we're so excited to have her back!

Nate, Claire, and Norah moved to Phoenix in the middle of July. We already miss them lots! Norah is just so dang cute!

On the 24th (which also happens to be a big holiday here in Utah), we drove up to Layton to have a birthday party for Jeanette. We had a wonderful dinner and Aaron made my favorite kind of cake - yellow with chocolate frosting. It was delish! After dinner we played some tape ball (an Allred family tradition), a nice game of Horse in which I almost beat Scott (but at least I got Johnny and Aaron out - first time ever!), and did some fireworks for good ol' Pioneer Day.

watching Jeanette open presents. my husband is a goof.

Also in July, Johnny and I got to go visit Sharla and Ben and their twin girls, Gracie and Clara. Sharla made us a yummy dinner and then they went out for a date night while we watched the girls. They are so cute! And so good too! We basically just put them to bed and didn't hear from them for the rest of the night. It was so much fun.

I think that about covers last month. July was kind of a roller coaster of emotions, with lots of ups and downs. I'm grateful to start up August. School starts at the end of the month, and that means Laura and Becca and Christian get back to Provo! I miss my family mucho, so I can't wait to have them back. And Emily has her baby girl this month! Probably at least by the 10th! I'm so sad I can't be there - it's gonna be killer to not get to meet that little girl until Christmas, but I guess that's what happens when we live 1361 miles apart. Oh, and our dear friend Jason Dale Lane is taking a little vacation from dental school in Minnesota and returning to Utah for August! We can't wait to spend some quality time with him. It's going to be a great month:)