The poor van!

 Our poor van!  We bought it new on January 1, 2005, and it was a 2004 Mazda MPV. We bought it right after we found out we were pregnant with Courtney and it has gone all over the western United States.  We have driven it from Oregon to San Diego; from Phoenix to Denver; from Ivins to Yellowstone; to a ton of mountain bike races, dance competitions, and soccer games; and everywhere in between.  It has been an amazing van but had 253,876 miles on it and was leaking oil like a sieve.  Courtney started calling it "The Beast" and refusing to get in it because she was afraid we wouldn't get home.

It had its quirks over the years.  The engine would turn randomly off when we were driving and then it would keep running after we turned the key off once we parked.  The driver's side seat belt once got stuck and so we had to crawl in and out of the seatbelt until we found a mechanic who could fix it.  On our trip to a family reunion in Oregon, it started making a weird noise.  After the trip, I took it to a mechanic who said that the axel was barely hanging on and he had no idea how we got home.  We once drove home from Denver with it overheating the entire time.  We had the windows down, the heater blasting, and we made it home.  The mechanic said our radiator was broken and he had no idea how we got home.

I call it our "Tithing Van" because that is the only way it has lasted 16 years.  

Courtney and I went to pick something up at HomeDepot and when we got home the van smelled like something was burning.  I called the mechanic who checked it out and sent me a text saying that there were too many things wrong with the van that it wasn't worth fixing this time.  I will admit, I cried.  Courtney was estatic!  Bryan and I decided to donate the van (although the only thing really worth anything in it would be the seats because they are in mint condition due to the seat covers).  I called to set up the appointment and then Courtney and I cleaned out the van.

The next day I got a phone call telling me they were in the area and could grab the van.  It was ready to go, the plates were off of it, it was cleaned out, and I had said goodbye.  I watched as the man hooked the poor van up to take it away.  When he lifted it up, a huge pool of oil came out of the engine.  Oops!  And when he drove off, you could see oil dripping.  It was time to say goodbye.

I watched until the van went around the corner and it was gone.  Courtney had no sympathy but it is the end of an era.  

Now we get to find a new van.

Jazz Bear

 Courtney was driving us to the store when I saw the Utah Jazz Bear on a motorcycle just ahead of us.  I pulled out my phone to take a picture but he was moving up and down and it was hard to get a good one.  When he passed by us, he did the "hang loose" hand sign and then drove off.  He was in town hiding something for people to find with a promotion for one of the car dealerships.  I didn't know that but it was something you don't see every day in St. George.

Changing her earrings

It has been 3 weeks and Courtney could change her earrings.  It was a struggle because it was new to her and she was afraid of pulling too hard to get her earring out but she did it.  She likes the small gold hoops and they look nice.  She is loving having her ears pierced.

She thought I was weird wanting a picture of her ears so she was making a strange face.

She took the phone away to take her own pictures because she is so good at selfies.  But she didn't show her ears which was the entire point of taking a picture.

So she moved her hair so you could see a bit of her one ear.  Compromise!

Moonlight 5K

We signed up for a 5K last month but we didn't know it was going to be during a heatwave!  It used to be called the Midnight 5K and so we thought it was weird that they were starting it at 9 pm until I realized it was "Moonlight 5K."  

It was going to be a crazy night so Courtney and I ran out to pick up our packets, get our shirts, grab the glowsticks, and run home to grab Bryan.  They had a new location for the run this year.  It was off the Southern Parkway at a new community with a beach (yes, a white sand beach) next to a man-made lagoon.  It is pretty cool!  One incentive to get people to run is that they were going to let us swim afterward.  We, naively, thought we were going to be swimming in the lagoon...but it was just a small pool that is at the clubhouse.  We didn't end up swimming afterward.

It was a run to benefit the fire department so they were out at checkpoints with their fire trucks to spray the people.  This was really nice because it was super hot, even at 9 pm.  But it was bad if you weren't with a group because then they only had you to spray and amuse themselves.

I was in between 2 groups so I got sprayed a lot and was soaked when I finished the race.  I didn't think it would matter because we were going swimming, but then it wasn't in the lagoon so we just went home.

Courtney doesn't like to be bored when she runs so she usually will Facetime with me as she is running.  It makes for some hilarious pictures. I either see up her nose or at the sky.  But once in a while, I get to see her cute face as she is running.  She does really well but I am slow.  

Bryan took a detour to get our swim stuff before coming back and running across the finish line with me.  It was a fun night, we were all wet, and it was something to do during a heatwave.

Here is our after picture:

This is the medal we got.  The center turns and it glows in the dark.  That was pretty cool!

Beautiful Ivins

 I love where we live.  Yes, it is super hot during the summer (I'm just grateful I wasn't a pioneer who didn't have AC in St. George!) but it is beautiful in the mornings when the temperature is right and it is quiet.

I took these pictures on my morning walk.

Another lake day

 Courtney has some great young women leaders who are game for anything.  They didn't know what to do for the activity and Courtney suggested they go to Ivins Reservoir (Fire Lake Park).  So they went.  This was the second day in a row Courtney had been to a reservoir but she had a blast.

I am grateful for her leader who posts everything they do online so we can see it!  Courtney is on the left.

Fun at the Reservoir

Now that some of Courtney's friends have driver's licenses, they have the freedom to be able to do fun activities in the summer.  Courtney and 2 of her friends decided to go to Gunlock Reservoir to play in the water and paddleboard.  

They took chairs, an umbrella, and had a great time...until the cows decided to get involved.  The girls think the cows were getting ready to charge and so they got on the paddleboards and got away.

Here's the cow attack so you can judge for yourself:

These girls are so fun!  Courtney and Kooper have the "soccer tan" going on, so they are trying to get to the reservoir each week to attempt to get rid of it.  Courtney is on the right.

When they finished, they went to McDonald's to get slushies.  Kooper's uncle owns the McDonald's they went to, so they got the royal treatment.  They had such a fun afternoon and are going to make it a regular weekly tradition.