Gramps 80th Birthday

My Grandpa Weitzeil turns 80 tomorrow, Aug. 25. 

My family decided to throw him a surprise party for him. 

His favorite restaurant is Chuck-A-Rama.

We arrived at the restaurant at 12 pm.

He arrived shortly after.

His expression was priceless.

We took many trips to the buffet bar.

I'm not a huge fan of buffet's,

so I stuffed myself with desserts.

Especially the apple crisp and ice cream.

Healthy, I know.

His children and close friends took turns sharing memories about Grandpa.

He sure is a great man. 

I am so grateful to call him my grandpa!

Happy birthday Grandpa, 80 never looked so good :)

Grandpa and baby Ryder

Amy and Taylor

Weitzeil Family Reunion

My parents decided to hold the first annual Weitzeil reunion (just my siblings and their families) up at the family cabin in Oakley, UT. The party started Wednesday night. The girls did "gel nails" and stayed up super late reminiscing about our childhood. We laughed until our stomachs hurt and we couldn't breathe. 

Chad and I bought fishing licenses for the reunion. The Smith and Morehouse lake is 5 minutes away from our cabin. Thursday morning, we headed to the lake to do some fishing.

 We found a place in a swampy area to fish... which should have been a red flag just thinking about it, but we decided to give it a try. I forgot my flip flops, so I was stuck wearing tennis shoes. I quickly took them off because it was really muddy. Mud on my new gel nails... yum.

We were constantly swatting flies away from our faces. They were the big horseflies too. The ones that bite. My fishing line got tangled 3 times. Thank goodness Chad is very patient and didn't complain each time he had to fix it. He's a sweetheart.

We didn't get a single tug on our fishing lines. Although, the people 100 ft away from us were catching fish left and right. We couldn't help but laugh about our awesome luck. At least we had a beautiful view!

On Friday, we headed to Park City for some shopping. There were some great deals for back to school. We decided to take advantage of the sales and stock up on some clothes. I love when Chad is in a shopping mood (it doesn't happen that often ;)

Later that afternoon, grandpa took the little ones on the Beast.  They looked so cute in their big helmets.

That night, we had a delicious BBQ. Mom and Dad made hamburgers and hot dogs. 

Since we stuffed our faces with the amazing food, Chad and I were stuffed to the max. We decided to go on a little walk to relieve our stomachs. 

As were we walking through a quiet, curvy road, we heard some rustling in the trees. We looked over and saw a HUGE male moose, with large antlers, 10 feet away, staring at us. My heart started pounding. I said a quick prayer, hoping that he wouldn't make us his dinner. I'm proud to say we made it out alive.  

Saturday morning was relaxing. Stephanie made the best french toast I've ever eaten. I had 3 piece of toast! Pretty sure that's a records for me. We lounged around the cabin in our PJ's 

until noon.

 In the afternoon, we made a trip to the Kamas Recreational center to go swimming. Chad and I took turns taking the little ones down the slide. My crazy sister, Amy (who had baby Ryder 3 months ago), was doing back flips off of the high dive. I wish I was as brave as her. I can barely go off the normal diving board. It was a a lot of fun.

Saturday night, we had "entertainment night". Each family had to do some sort of entertainment. We each took turns presenting our talents. 

• Mom and dad did a cute little minuet together with her accordion and his mandolin. I was impressed.
•  Stephanie and Taylor's girls, Kaitlyn and Alexis, told "knock knock" jokes. 
• Ryan & Christine's daughter, Emily, did a hawaiian dance.
• Amy and Bryce made a movie about baby Ryder.
• Chad and I showed a video of Bruno learning to beg.

The night was full of lots of laughter. It was a great night together.

It was such a great weekend with the fam! 

San Rafael Swell

Utah is so beautiful.

 We are so lucky to have mountains surrounding us, and the canyon just minutes from our house. 

Ever since my parents got their new RZR, they have been going on adventures throughout Utah. 

They invited us to join them this last weekend. If you haven't been to San Rafael Swell, you need to go! 

It is absolutely beautiful. Plus, it's only an hour and a half from Orem.

Trying to keep our balance in the crazy wind!

The Little Grand Canyon

Exploring the tunnels

The only suspension bridge in Utah

Dinosaur Footprint

Tennis Balls

Bruno loves tennis balls.

Especially fetching tennis balls.

Bruno loves fetching tennis balls especially up Provo Canyon.

So we go up there at least 3x a week.

We love Bruno.

Puppy Love

One thing I love about puppies is that they are always happy. I have never seen someone get so happy to see me when I get home from work, like Bruno does. His tail wags so fast that it shakes his entire body. He gets so excited that he starts groaning and whining until I play with him. Once I sit down to pet him, he will lick my face until I can't handle it anymore. This is seriously a daily ritual, but it's little things like that that make me happy.

Baby Nelson

Our friends, Colby and Rashell, are expecting a baby boy!! We are so excited for them, it's the first baby from Chad's so friends, so we wanted to throw a shower. We held the party at our house and decided to have a BBQ/pool party. The husbands made the dinner (meat, salads, chips and pop) and the wives put together the gift basket (diapers, wipes, outfit, etc.). It was such a great night being with everyone. I am so grateful for such amazing friends!

Left to Right: Claire White, me, Rashell Nelson, Melissa Tanner

Empty Nesters

My parents have been empty nesters for 6 months now. So what do they do now that all their kids are married and on missions? They turn the basement into a theater room and buy a RZR... those party animals!

They took the "beast" up American Fork canyon on Pioneer Day and invited us to come along. Strapped in the back, with dust flying in our faces and clothes, my dad teared up the mountain. The kid in definitely came out. He loves his ATV's. Not only was the scenery breathtaking, it was a blast being with my parents. I sure love them. 

Grand America Hotel

For our anniversary, Chad surprised me with 2 nights in the Grand America Hotel. I have never been so excited to stay in a hotel, let alone a five star hotel. It was hands down the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in. It was BEAUTIFUL. Our room was the size of our house in Provo. It was spectacular.

The view from our balcony

Saturday morning, we treated ourselves to the amazing buffet in the hotel. We couldn't stop stuffing our faces because it was THAT good. After breakfast, we decided to go to the Hoogle Zoo to work off our breakfast. Plus, Chad had never been. It was busy and very hot, so we didn't stay too long. We were grateful for the mist fans throughout the park!

After the zoo we went to the Gateway to do some shopping. There was a Farmers Market going on in the streets. It was fun looking at the the booths and watching the local dancers. We stopped at a small burger joint for some lunch. 

Later that night, we decided to get dressed up and go to dinner at the Garden Room at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We had a great view of the city. As we were about to leave, our waitress gave us a balloon and told us to make a wish. As we were thinking of what to wish upon, the ceiling retracted and opened into the night sky. Everyone in the restaurant watched as we let our balloon go (it was kind of awkward actually, but a memorable experience). 

As we were walking around temple square, Chad surprised me with a carriage ride around the city. Neither of us had done it before. It's fun because you get to see the city from a different perspective. It was a romantic way to end our date.  I would definitely recommend it if you've never done it :)

This past year has been the best year of my life. I love having my best friend with me through everything. I'm so excited for the goals that we've set to help us become even stronger. I will be eternally thankful for him and his example to me. I love you Chad!!!!