July 2011

Just a warning...this is a long post. :s

Pearl, Coby and I flew to Utah on June 24th and spent a week there before KC joined us. (He had to work one more week at Big Spring). One day some of my family and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and did family history work. It is a fairly new temple and is beautiful!! My sister Shilo lives just a few miles from it. I had actually spent quite a bit of time researching family names prior to this temple trip so it was a special experience for me.

In Price, Utah rain dancing at Grandma's house. Since it hadn't rained at all this year in Lubbock, and everyone there had prayed for rain for months, Pearl and Coby were SO excited to see rain. :)

Pearl (3 1/2), Coby (2), Caroline (2), Laura (2 1/2)

Bridal shower in Price for KC's sister Mikenzi (in the middle in pink). Isn't she beautiful?!

The morning after the bridal shower, we headed north with KC's family to begin their family reunion. We first went to the Draper Temple where Mikenzi and Bethani (another of KC's sisters) attended the temple for their first time and received their endowments. Endowments are received in a special ceremony in the temple where we make covenants with Heavenly Father. It was such a neat experience for all of us, KC's parents and their 5 children with their spouses, to be in the temple together. I have a picture of all of us outside the temple but, unfortunately, it is on my phone and I couldn't upload it for some reason. :s

After the temple we headed up to Heber, Utah to a cabin in the mountains. KC and I acted like tourists as we ooed and aawwed over the beautiful scenery. I forget how beautiful Utah is!! We got to attend church the next day at the Ackerson's ward (KC's sister Kim and her family). We even got to hear Kim teach the relief society lesson which was neat. The following morning was the 4th of July...the day of the big race! Several of us ran in the SLC Freedom Half Marathon.

This is KC and I at the end of the race. I wanted to die after about mile 10. The race was 13 miles. :s I don't think I had properly trained for such a hilly race, since 90% of my training was on the treadmill. KC stayed with me the whole race though and we finished in 2 hours 20 minutes, which was about what I predicted. It was a beautiful course.

Kyle (my bro-in-law), KC, Me, Preston Ford (Mikenzi's fiance), and

KC's sisters: Mikenzi, Brittani, Kimberli

After the race we headed back up to the cabin for more playing. Got to do more rain dancing!!

The 5 Bentley siblings

Last evening of the reunion. Roasting marshmallows and discussing the next reunion. :)

From KC's family reunion, we headed to Bear Lake for my family (the Mays family) reunion. My parents and two sisters and their families met us there. My uncle and his wife and children also joined us there for a few days. It was a blast! So nice to be in the mountains and out of the Texas heat!!

I thought this was a cute picture of Coby delighted to be playing with a ping-pong paddle and a rock. The simplest things entertain them the best!

We spent a few days at Bear Lake. The water was QUITE cold, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity for wave runners, boating, and water skiing. Pearl's first wave runner experience. :)

The fantastic four :)

My mom and dad with their 4 most prized possessions. ;)

After the Mays reunion, we headed down to Southern Utah with KC's family to visit KC's grandparents. While there, we took Pearl to see "The Little Mermaid" at the beautiful outdoor Tuacahn theater in St. George. She loved it! It didn't get over until almost midnight and she made it through the whole thing.

Staying at Granny's house was quite a treat. That was our first time staying there. We also got to see Grandma Hettie (who spoiled the kids with toys and candy :), and Grandpa Rod. We flew from Las Vegas to McAllen. I was SO excited to see our house!

When we arrived in McAllen, KC had a week and a half off before he started work. So we made a lot of progress and pretty much got all unpacked. (We also managed a trip to the beach. Still can't believe we are just an hour away!) We still have a lot of decorating to do, curtains, blinds, rugs, etc. We will just have to do that slowly over the next months.

So during the days we were unpacking and in a mess of clutter, Coby decided that we would keep taking off his diaper. :s With KC and I very busy and distracted, Pearl decided she would take over and teach him how to wear panties and use the potty. This is how we found them once, both wearing Pearl's Ariel undies. :s Pearl was proud as punch and said "We are twins!!" Under Pearl's instruction, he did pee-pee on the portable potty a few times. He also had a few accidents. I was going to just go along with it and potty train him. I even bought him some little boy undies. I decided though that I couldn't handle potty training in the middle of unpacking...so we'll have to tackle potty training another month.
Cupcake monster!! We made cupcakes and I let Pearl and Coby frost them. Their favorite way to eat them turned out to be: frost the top of the cupcake, sprinkle, it eat. Frost the next layer, sprinkle it, eat it, and so forth. They made a HUGE mess and loved every minute of it.

Pearl has been drawing people. Pictured above is her baby.

I like the hair that goes all the way around the head. :)

Happy to be in our new house!

When Pearl can occasionally talk Coby into playing babies with her, he always chooses the one that cries without it's binky. He names it "Bonker-baby" and bonks it into the wall or on the floor and it cries. :s Little boys sure play different than little girls!

To Utah again!! We headed to Utah again on July 29th for KC's sister Mikenzi's wedding. (Thankfully the stewardess on this flight was a little more lax.)

KC officially started work on July 24th. He worked 4 days before we headed back to Utah again. It was a great 4 days! He left for work at 7:30 and was home about 5:15, looking happy and refreshed. Just having him home at a normal time made the whole week feel like a vacation. We decided we could both get used to this kind of life!! Not sure once he starts operating that life will remain this stress-free. But so far, the practice seems great. Everyone has been so welcoming and nice to our family. Feels nice to be needed.

There was a reception the evening of the 29th in Riverton, Utah. The kids had a blast running around the yard and through the house :s Mikenzi's new in-laws don't have any grandchildren yet. Now they know what they are in for!!

All the girl cousins on KC's side: Camden, Emma, Abigail, Ali, Pearl

We got to meet our newest cousin/niece (My sister Mindy's new baby girl): Lydia Dawn Langford. She is SO pretty. She was born on July 23rd. Pearl was in heaven holding her. Since Lydia's birth, Pearl's favorite doll is no longer named Baby Anna but is now named Baby Lydia. She told me Anna grew up and that she has another baby now named Lydia.

5 Mays grandkids. :)

On July 30th, Mikenzi and Preston Ford were married in the Manti, Utah temple. I need to get some better pictures of the beautiful bride and post them later. It was such a sweet ceremony. I hadn't been to this temple in years. It is the temple that my family was sealed in, the temple we went to on youth trips and the temple I was married in. Isn't it beautiful?! I love the Manti temple.

At the luncheon after the wedding.

Pearl and Ali shared a necklace. Bentley and Coby hunted for sticks. One of my favorite things about this summer has been so much time spent with cousins. Pearl and Coby had a blast.

Granny, Coby, and KC at the reception July 30th in Price. It was a beautiful reception. All decked out in pink, yellow, and lights.

KC's cute sister Bethani caught the bride's bouquet. :)

Mikenzi and Preston Ford begin their life together. :) One side-shot of Mikenzi in her dress does not do justice to how beautiful she looked. :s Hopefully more pictures to come!!