Page Family Reunion

I just realized how nerdy it is that I am so on top of posting on this blog. But hey, when you only work about three hours a day, you have some time to play on the computer ;) And I love the excuse to take pictures (or steal them from other people) and chose ones to post.

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Tonight, Marcus and I went to the Page Family Reunion up in Sandy. We got there late because I was at work, but we were still early birds compared to the rest of the group. It was nice to only drive forty minutes to the reunion after all the driving to and from California.

We had hamburgers and hot dogs. Yum!

Some of the Ron Page clan

Marcus had a fun time-- probably because I had just let him beat me wrestling.

Jonne was keeping everything in check.

Chris and Lisa brought their puppies. Sydney liked to point to them :)

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We were glad that we could make it up for some of the reunion. Marcus had to get to bed early for a 4:00 A.M. work shift, but we had enough time to see a lot of family. Next month, there is a Hardy family reunion, but besides that, we're basically back for the summer.

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For the record, Marcus is still up because he can't sleep for some reason and has officially made his first written, non-editorial contribution to the blog. - Marcus

Oceanside

Marcus and I drove out to Oceanside, California for the second half of the annual Gardner family beach trip. We had so much fun-- it was worth the hours in the car. Once again, I failed to take pictures. Luckily, my mom had her camera and emailed me some. It is always a trip worth remembering. The sad thing is that the house we stay in is up for sale! Hopefully it will be around next summer because I am ready to start counting down to the beach trip again. Mimi & Grandpa have perfected this vacation! My dad, Brad, and Jessica were the only ones who couldn't make it to at least a part of the trip this year. Jeff & Debbie's family was there (Gage, Kade, Jake, and Jake's girlfriend Alyssa) as well as mine. And we all had a blast in the sun!

Trevor and Kade (who still refers to me as Jack :) )

Gage, Trevor, Marcus, and I played volleyball one afternoon. There also was a fun all-grandkids baseball game another evening which only resulted in one injury (from stepping on a rock).

Marcus' first time boogie boarding-- it took awhile, but we caught a great wave!

Marcus helped out with the hamburgers for dinner

I tried to act like I was helping :)

Marcus was trying to get some homework done on the beach

our home base (on the beach just below the house)

After Marcus received a surf shirt as a late birthday present, he was ready to catch the waves. He must have enjoyed it because he kept suggesting to go boogie board all day.

the guys (Trevor, Brian, Jake, Marcus)

Watching the waves (if you look closely, you can see a faint sunburn on my back-- I must admit, it was the least sunburned I had gotten at the beach in years!)

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Brian came up on Thursday night after work, and he brought his mission call. He had just gotten it in the mail that afternoon, so he opened it with us at the beach.

It was exciting waiting to hear where he would be going. Guesses included Louisville, Kentucky (my mom), somewhere beachy (me), and others. But we were all wrong...

Brian will be going to MOSCOW, RUSSIA!!! He reports to the Provo MTC on November 18th and will start freezing his butt off across the world probably three months later. It was fun to read through the warm clothes he'll need to get once he arrives there-- it is definitely not Phoenix or Oceanside weather! Russia was definitely a shock, but it sinks in more every day :) He will have an incredible experience!

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back on the beach...

all the grandkids--Alyssa, Jake, Kade, Marcus, me, Gage, Trevor, and Brian

(next year, there will be one more after Brad & Jessica's baby is born-- another girl, yay!)

with Grandpa (G-Daddy) and Mimi

I love going to the beach, and it was great to hear that Marcus had a fun time too. I guess that means they can count us in for next summer! Thanks for a wonderful vacation!

My New Job

I just found out today that I was hired through the Provo School District...

Yay! A job! It's a part-time job working with the Child Nutrition department at the district office as well as at one of the elementary schools in northern Provo. The hours allow me to continue teaching cello lessons and hopefully get another part-time job in the evening (which I am in the middle of applying/interviewing for now).

It's amazing how less stressed I am now that I know I will have a job as soon as Marcus and I get back from the beach. It's been a hard process searching and applying for jobs. Good thing Marcus has been working so diligently at the Motion Picture Studio! I am so glad everything is falling into place finally, and it's so nice that we are able to have the time to go to Oceanside this week.

Watkins Family Reunion

On Saturday, Marcus and I went to the Watkins Family Reunion (Nana's side) way up in Farmington. It was a long drive from Provo, but it was a neat area. There were a lot of people there, most of whom I didn't recognize or know names :( That also made it difficult to give Marcus the who's who. But by the end, I could name most everyone-- or at least how we're related. After dinner, there were introductions and family pictures, which were interrupted by waterballoons...

around dinnertime

Sydney (Matt & Jolynn's daughter) smiling big for the camera

Cameron and Corie

watching introductions

Sydney was having a blast with Nana

waiting for family pictures

filling waterballoons

this is just proof that Marcus was there too :)

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And now we're getting ready to go to the beach with the Gardners! WooHoo!

Paden's MTC Day

On Wednesday, Paden reported to the MTC. He'll only be there a couple weeks before flying to Texas. He was really excited, and it was fun to be there as he was dropped off.

Me, Marcus, and the new Elder Hardy

Paden with Cozette and Mike

The Sibs-- Paden, Kate, Marcus, and Derek

One last cute brother picture

It was fun listening to Marcus give Paden tips before he left...

...Including a warning for Paden to wear sunscreen. (Marcus didn't wear enough sunscreen on his mission, and that definitely didn't help since he was in Arizona. He had a new mole, which was noticed within seconds of his return, and it had to be removed--that was a traumatic experience...)

Kate wanted to take a picture of Marcus and me, but Marcus was too sad to smile. He said it was a happy type of sad.

And he's off...

Elder Paden Hardy

Texas Dallas Mission

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After Paden was dropped off, Marcus, Derek, Kate, Cozette, and I went to see Harry Potter 6! It was pretty exciting...

Plus, we were first in line! We had to wait a long time, but we were able to pick the best seats in the theater.

It was an incredible movie. Worth the wait.

Overall, a five star day :)

The 4th of July

We had a great 4th of July, bouncing between Marcus' grandparents' home in Genola and Margaret's home in Salt Lake. I only have a couple pictures of Margaret's BBQ and the Sugarhouse fireworks, but we had a fun time in Genola too. Marcus' family and his aunt Tracy and her family were all down there, so it was pretty exciting. Lots of people--Tons of food!

Marcus enjoying his steak in Margaret's backyard.

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Rea, Annie, Amy, Randy, Alex, Max, Rick, Denise, Margaret, Bob, Mike, and his two boys were there too. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone. It was a lot of fun, and the food was delicious. After dinner, we played with sparklers...

Alex Maurer with his sparkler. I should have taken more pictures of him and his baby brother Max-- they're too cute.

I had three different flames on this sparkler, but they died right as the picture was taken, hence the sad face.

Later some of us went down to Sugarhouse Park to watch the last fireworks show there. It was amazing-- this picture does no justice. And we only had to wait about an hour after the fireworks to be able to drive on the crazy busy streets. :)

We had a blast this past busy weekend seeing lots of family and eating more than we should have. Now it's been back to homework and work for Marcus and more job applications for me.

Happy Fourth!