Bear Lake getaway

Quick getaway to Bear Lake with my high school besties to celebrate our 40th birthdays! 💙 A perfect overnight trip full of laughs, good food, gorgeous views, late-night chats in the hot tub, and soaking in all the nostalgia. 

We stayed at Heather’s parents’ adorable lake house with the most beautiful view of the lake—it was the perfect spot to relax, laugh, and reminisce. We did a fun gift exchange of our favorite things, ate at some yummy local spots, and of course couldn’t leave without getting a Bear Lake raspberry shake. 

Grateful for decades of friendship and the kind of friends who you still love and can pick right up where you left off no matter how much time has passed.

Her parents lake house had the most gorgeous views! 

and fun little visitors

Just sitting on the deck, enjoying the views, and catching up on life!

When in Bear Lake you can't pass up the opportunity for a raspberry shake!

 It was a great way to end our month long Utah stay!  Till next time Utah!

Duchesne Cabin

This month my parents sold the family cabin — and with that, we said goodbye to a place filled with decades of memories. We were lucky to go down one last time to help pack it up, but also to soak in all the lasts.

This wasn’t just any cabin — it was built by my grandparents the year I was a senior in high school. It was my grandpa’s baby, and it truly felt like a piece of him. We spent countless weekends there building fires and roasting s’mores, sitting on that old wooden bench (the one that always threatened splinters), laying in the back of Grandpa’s truck watching for shooting stars, and shooting BB guns at old tin cans in the yard. Inside, the soundtrack was old school vinyls especially Queen — the unofficial anthem of the cabin — with old Disney VHS tapes of childhood favorites playing in the background.

We’d play darts, I would read books out on the porch, paint rocks (my grandma was such an artist — her creativity was amazing), and stay up late playing Scattergories. Starvation Reservoir was just outside of town, and we loved spending hot summer days in the water. Duchesne was the sweetest little country town, famous in our family for its small-town rodeo.  Movie nights at the old drive-in just a town away. And of course, the Rhino — everyone’s favorite. The boys could ride it for hours on end.

After my grandparents passed, I was so grateful my parents kept the cabin in the family. It meant more time to make memories in that beautiful place with the most stunning sunsets.

It’s hard to see it go. So many memories packed into those walls.

Thanks for everything, cabin. 

My first and last signature on the door

🩷

Link to past cabin blog posts
 

More Utah fun

After our time in Idaho, Brad headed back to Texas for work, but the rest of us kept the fun going during our month-long stay in Utah. One of the sweetest highlights was Brooks’ baptism. He asked Carson to play a special musical number on the cello—When I Am Baptized. They even rented Carson a cello for the day. It was beautiful and such a tender cousin moment.

We squeezed in so many family moments—ice cream after family pictures, 

a Mickelson reunion in Logan

where the kids’ favorite game, Right-Left-Center, ended with Emily’s son Sam as the big money winner!,

and of course when you're in Logan you have to stop for Aggie ice cream.

There was swimming with cousins,

a cousin Lagoon Day where we came, we screamed, and stayed until closing, Lagoon days are the best kind of tired.

and bowling with Grandma Clark.

Kae and I took on the Ice Box hike near Snowbasin,

Kat spoiled the boys with back-to-school shopping, 

and the Murphy family honored Olivia by continuing our summer mini-golf tradition—followed, naturally, by even more ice cream.

 

We also had plenty of movie nights—so many superhero releases this year! We watched Superman, Fantastic Four, the last Mission Impossible, F1, and for Logan’s birthday, Jurassic Park.

Utah always means time with family, traditions we treasure, and—apparently—lots and lots of ice cream. 🍦❤️

New cousins!

Since last summer, we’ve had the sweetest baby boom in our family—four new cousins have joined the crew: Jack, Lucia, Anders, and Calvin! It’s been so fun meeting each one and watching the family grow with all this extra cuteness.

And just now I noticed something hilarious—Tanner is holding every single baby in the photos! He’s our official baby whisperer. He loves babies and little kids and they love him. 🥹👶💙

We’re so lucky to have these new little lights in our lives. Can’t wait to watch them grow up surrounded by all these built-in best friends.

Jack-10 months (Tim and MaryKate’s)

Lucia-6 months (Emily and Dom’s)

Anders- 6 months (Ryan and Sasha’s)

Calvin-3 months (Daniel and Kelsie’s)

 

4th of July

We kicked off the 4th of July at the Layton Parade with my parents and Aaron. The morning started off overcast, and we were all excited for a cooler parade—but just before the first float rolled by, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out in full force. Classic July! ☀️

One of my favorite traditions of the Layton parade is how it begins—with Astro Pops for everyone, handed out by our local Smith’s grocery store. Such a fun, nostalgic treat! The parade had some especially cute floats this year, including a cheerful Bob Ross and a very tall “Joseph” promoting Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.

It was extra convenient this year since my parents’ newly remodeled home (formerly my grandpa’s) is just down the street, so we could walk over and skip the parking hassle. After the parade, we had a BBQ where the boys got to meet baby Jack for the first time—he was born just a couple of weeks after we left Utah last summer, so this was a long-awaited introduction!

Later in the day, we headed to the Clarks for another BBQ and another cousin meet-up—sweet baby Lucia! 💕 It was so fun seeing all the kids together. 

We also formally celebrated Logan’s birthday with a birthday cake and wishes.

The sunset that evening put on its own show—it looked like fireworks in the sky. We decided not to venture out for fireworks this year and instead joined the neighbors for what ended up feeling like a private, professional show right in the neighborhood. Such a fun and full day celebrating! 🇺🇸 💥 🎆