Smile

Courtney can't stop smiling since she got her braces off. She looks so much older now.  Crazy!

Bathroom

I hate painting.  I love what it looks like afterward but I don't like the process.  We are finishing our basement so I wanted to check out the paint color I want to see if I would really like it.  (Andrea suggested the color when I asked her what a good neutral gray color would be for the walls.) Courtney volunteered her bathroom for the test.  While she was in Hatch, I bought the paint and began painting. I painted the ceiling white and then painted the walls.  The color coordinates really well with the shower curtain she received for Christmas.

 It went well and I love the way it turned out.

I want to put crown molding at the top of the walls and paint the cabinet the same color as the one downstairs, but I haven't gotten to that yet.  We want to change the flooring someday too, but that will be at a later date...after we finish the basement.

Hatch

 Courtney, Hayley, and Kooper decided to go to the Larsen's cabin in Hatch for the weekend.  They had a carriage ride, rode 4 wheelers, played in the rain, hiked in Bryce Canyon, and then they came back to Ivins to swim in the Larsen's pool, watch movies, and sleep at their house.

They are fun girls and had a great time together on their "getaway."

Braces are off!

Courtney got her braces off!  She was so excited.  Since she is missing teeth, we had to go buy some new ones that they could glue to the teeth next to them so her smile wouldn't have gaps in it.  We could have gotten her a retainer that she could take in and out that had the teeth attached, but the orthodontist prefers to have the teeth glued in because it looks nicer.

The bottom ones were off before I thought to take a "before" picture.  So this is partway through them taking the braces off:

The braces are off and you can see the holes.

She's done!!

Can you tell how happy she is to have her braces off?!

Courtney has been craving Dots for as long as she had her braces on.  I think she cheated once and ate one but she was so nervous to break a bracket that she didn't dare again.  The first stop we made was to Lins so she could buy a huge box of Dots!  

The orthodontist gave her a bin of contraband candy that she can now eat. She got soda pop, pop rocks, blow pops, etc.  She was in heaven.

People say that, without the braces, Courtney looks a lot like Ethan.  I did a side-by-side to see what I think.  Courtney doesn't see it but I do.  You can tell they are siblings.

The orthodontist gave Courtney a retainer to wear at night.  Because of her fake teeth, they gave her a thicker one than usual so it's like sleeping with a mouth guard in.  

Pack Family Reunion

 July 6-10, Pack Family Reunion, Royal Gorge, Canon City, Colorado

We left on Monday to drive to Colorado.  It was a long drive but we had Courtney to take a turn driving.  She was thrilled!

By luck, we met up with Andrew and David on the way so we were able to caravan with them through Colorado.  It was fun to leapfrog with them all the way to the KOA.  We arrived later than we had expected but we got all unpacked and then went to bed.

It was a great KOA and we stayed in a cabin with a bathroom/shower.  It was a nice facility.

The next morning, we got up, ate breakfast, took family pictures, and went to the Royal Gorge Bridge. 

We rode the gondola across the gorge, Courtney rode the zipline, and we explored.  There were a ton of people and it was pretty hot but the view was gorgeous.  

It was a long way down!

That's Courtney on the right in the center (on the zipline):

The next day (the 8th) a group went to Great Sand Dune National Park to do some sand surfing.  Courtney and Bryan had a great time!

When the sand surfers got back, we loaded up and went to Centennial Park in Canon City.  It was SO COOL!!  They have a river with small rapids that runs through the city.  All along the riverbank, they have stations with life jackets that are free to use and cemented pull-out locations with stairs and stuff.  We put on the life jackets, got into the river, and would float down to the out-take point.  We had a BLAST!!!  We spent a long time there and could have stayed for longer but it was getting late.  The park was so much fun!!

That night, Andrea taught us how to paint a self-portrait.  She is an amazing teacher because they turned out really well.

The next day we went river rafting.  That also was SO FUN!

We got to get out and jump from a rock into the river.  The water was cold but we were so hot that it was refreshing.  We had water fights with the other boats and had a lot of fun!

Bryan was bitten by the river shark:

It really was a rock that he fell on in the water, but we told Tyler it was a river shark.  ;)  We told him the truth but the cut was really gnarly.

It was a great reunion hanging out with family and playing.

She didn't want to take a picture ;)

Exhausted!  That means she was having a great time!

Courtney got to hold her baby cousin, Johnathan.  

We drove home on Saturday.  It was such a fun week with a great family!