My Grandma Joan whom I have always had a wonderful relationship with (She is the ultimate Queen Bee) was turning 80 years old this summer and a family reunion was planned to celebrate her and my Grandpa Neal on the 4th of July. It was the perfect first stop on our family vacation, so off we flew to SLC and began our adventure. This was the first of 4 flights and the first of 2 rental cars and we were excited to get moving!
We always love visiting Utah and reminiscing about our college years while eating at favorite spots and brainwashing the girls just a bit. And of course we couldn't wait to visit with our loved ones that we don't see nearly often enough. Almost all of my Grandparents children and grandchildren made the trip for the weekend and we had such a wonderful time catching up with so many friends and family. Isabelle's cousin Max made the trip from Ohio and she was beyond excited to see her partner in crime! They played every waking moment they were together and told me they felt like they were brother and sister!
Several of us attended the Stadium of Fire celebration on BYU Campus and enjoyed the music of Brad Paisley and some of the best patriotic fireworks from across the nation. We were smart and didn't bring little Olivia for the evening but Isabelle was excited to go and almost stayed awake for the whole show. Sadly she fell asleep right as the fireworks began to shoot off, but with the time change on top of a very late night out, there was nothing we could do to keep her awake. Ben was lucky enough to get to carry her sleepy body the several blocks through the crowd to the car at nearly midnight.
Since Provo is known for their Freedom Festival we thought it would be fun to participate and woke up way too early on the 4th of July to run in the Freedom Run. We all had matching shirts showing we were part of the Thorpe Thunder and had fun getting our morning exercise while hundreds of people lined the streets for the upcoming parade. All of the excitement must have quickly caught up with little Jelly and of course she woke up hours before the race with a stomach bug. She was so disappointed to miss the action since she had a matching shirt too and had been "training" in the San Antonio heat for the 1 mile race. I took Livi and headed to the race while Ben stayed back with sick Isabelle and held her bedpan.
That afternoon the 80th Birthday Party began and all of the Thorpe family gathered at Canyon View Park and celebrated together. We enjoyed yummy food, games with prizes and lots of time just hanging out and chatting. Isabelle slept off her illness and decided she wanted to make an appearance at the party, but she quickly felt too warm again and had to say goodbye. She headed back for a nap in hopes that she could feel well enough to continue the party late into the 4th of July evening. Olivia on the other hand felt great and had such a good time swinging, playing with her cousins, and just wandering around while getting dirty. She wore herself right out and went to bed exhausted and happy from a busy 4th of July...sleeping through all of the noisy fireworks that evening!
The clan all met back at my grandparents home that evening and set off fireworks that we hope were legal! It was quite a show and all of the kids loved running on the soft, cool, Utah grass with their glow sticks around their necks. Isabelle has so much fun when she gets a chance to play with all of her 2nd cousins and loves each one of them dearly.
We were happy to be able to celebrate Uncle Hal's birthday with him in person this year and enjoyed lunch with he and Janice at one of their favorite spots. It seems we never have enough time when we are traveling, but we were glad to be able to sneak in a few special outings with some of our favorite people! One afternoon Isabelle, Hannah and Grace literally played outside under a big pine tree in Grandma's yard for hours decorating and playing "house!" The mountain weather is such a nice change from smouldering Texas this time of year and the grass is soft and cool for bare feet. Jelly looks forward to visiting her Great Grandma Joan and Salem, UT every summer and we are sure Livi will follow with the affection for the Wasatch Front! Ben and I always laugh because after the very many different destinations Jelly has been lucky enough to visit she lists Salem, UT in her top 3 always!
We love our country and feel so blessed to live in such a place and at such a time. We were grateful to be able to celebrate the land that we love with so many people that we love as well! God Bless the USA.
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