Seven Year Itch? Nope.

Jeff and I had our seven year anniversary on August 15th. We had already celebrated in Utah with our little getaway, but Jeff surprised me with a stay at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver, the day of our actual wedding anniversary. We loaded up the kids and made our way to the hotel Saturday afternoon. Swimming in the rooftop swimming pool was at the top of our list, so after we checked in it was straight to the pool.

Then we meandered around on the 16th Street Mall while trying to decide where to eat for dinner. We ended up at Johnny Rockets. I've always wanted to try it, but will probably never go back. It was fair.

Then it was back to the hotel for bed jumping and movie watching. After complaining about our TV reception we were upgraded to a suite. (Sweet!) Anna had her own bed, and we were able to put Isaac to bed in the separate sitting area. We set Anna up with her portable DVD and Jeff and I splurged with a pay-per-view movie. Angel's and Demons was our choice and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

In the morning the kids actually slept in. SLEPT IN! This is unheard of as I am sure I have produced the earliest risers known to man.

Funny enough, we didn't get any pictures of me and Jeff.

My favorite picture of the bunch.

The Scraps

Random "odds and ends" from our trip.

The Wright family cousins.
Back Row: Anna, Riser, Brooklyn, Rylee, Tanner, Ethan
Front Row: Isaac, Cayson, Boston, Avery, and Bradon

Ryan and Isaac. Ethan, Rylee, and Isaac. They look like they could be siblings even though they come from three different families.

Isaac loved the airplane windows and spent most of the flight looking out and squealing with delight. Poor boy had an infected nose when we arrived. Thank heavens for antibiotics.

Dan being dashing and Isaac and I being shot by Anna. (She needs to work on her camera angles, I think.)

Anna loved playing with Grandma's bedside flashlight, and Riser being mad at Tanner.

Pretty much the best looking couple ever.

Campout with Uncle Chris

If anyone needs lessons on how to be the favorite uncle, call Chris. He's got it down. He really out did himself this time with his niece and nephews. Chris planned the ultimate back yard camp out.

First off, he set up his gigantic tent. Anna, Ethan, Tanner, and Riser were ecstatic (and a little giddy) about getting their sleeping bags and pillows set up. There were rousing renditions of the BYU fight song from the boys (Anna has not yet been properly indoctrinated with BYU love from the Hepworth boys so she did not join in), lots of running around on the grass, and just general excitement at the prospect of sleeping outside.

Then Chris, never to go small on anything, brought out an actual fire pit and made a campfire right on the driveway. After all, you have to have s'mores at a camp out. It was perfect. The kids were excited, to say the least.

After s'mores Chris tucked in all the kids and told them stories until they fell asleep. Pretty impressive considering all the kids were under five years old.

My favorite moment of the night, however, was after the kids were bedded down and Chris was telling stories. Anna had left Kit Kat, her most loved stuffed companion, inside. I went out and "knocked" on the tent door. Chris piped up, "Uh, oh. I think that's someone's mom." He opened the door, Anna saw me, jumped out of her sleeping bag and exclaimed, "It's MY mom!" and threw her arms around me. I gave her Kit Kat and she happily went back to her sleeping bag. I know it was a selfish moment, but I loved that Anna seemed to feel like she won the jackpot.

Anna is completely enamored with Uncle Chris. All the cousins are. He's going to make such an excellent dad one day.

A perfect representation of the kids' excitement.

Black Family Photo Shoot

My mom set up a photo shoot for all her grandkids. We were then able to take some individual family pictures too. I had to steal this picture from Liz's blog because I left my CD of all the pictures in Utah. Of course the one picture Liz posted was with Anna picking her nose, but I guess I'll take what I can get. I'll post the pictures of our famiglia when I get my CD back.

Back Row: Jacob, Ian, Caleb, Amelia, Anna, Kanon, Eli, Joseph, Adam

Front Row: Grace, Elsa, Isaac, Taylor

Matt and Amanda's Wedding

Matt and Amanda's wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was very well done and reminded me of my own vows taken seven years ago. (It doesn't seem possible that it's actually been that long.) Weddings should always remind you of your own union, don't you think?

After the ceremony we had a delicious dinner buffet. Brats, hamburgers, salads; it was all so yummy. Then dancing and the reception. Cheese plates, bruschetta, and of course, wedding cake followed. Mmmmm.

It was so great to mingle with Matt and Amanda's friends and family. Jeff even found a fellow fly fisherman with whom he exchanged information so perhaps one day they could meet up on the river.

Perhaps my favorite part of the night was the dancing, or the watching of the dancing. I tell you, the Black boys know how to get down. Ben and Nate were particularly entertaining. I recorded some video. I'll have to post it. I even convinced Jeff to join me on the dance floor. He's generally opposed to such public embarrassment, but humored me.

A few of my favorite wedding details included the herb center pieces, bouquets, and boutonnieres, Amanda's gorgeous old Hollywood glamour (she really was stunning), and the memorial table with pictures of those who have passed.

It really was an unforgettable, lovely evening. And I'm so glad Amanda is joining our family. She's just aces.

Lookin' good. Liz and Matt, our wedding dinner table partners.


Ben and Nate getting down with their bad selves. Dan, Dad, and Michelle at the wedding dinner. Isn't the backdrop gorgeous?

The whole Black Family Clan.
Dave, Mary, Kelly, Nate, Jeff, Me, Matt, Liz, Amanda, Matt, Dan, Michelle, Josh, Julie, Ben, and Sarah.

The Rehersal Dinner

After the rehearsal we switched canyons and met up at Storm Mountain picnic area. The families gathered and ate while the kids gloried in the endless supply of dirt and sticks and rocks.
And of course we couldn't resist a photo shoot. It doesn't often happen that everyone in my family is in the same place at the same time. We had to document.

The Rehersal

Friday night we drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Alta Lodge for Matt and Amanda's wedding rehearsal. The views were BREATHTAKING. All the kids were invited so they could come to the rehearsal dinner after. They loved running around. I was secretly thankful that my own kids would not be attending the actual wedding. Anna just about made me crazy running through all the wedding stuff and then running up and down the mountain side. And Isaac just wanted to wiggle right out of my arms and join the fun.





Anna and Amelia up to no good. The Black boys spying on the fun.





Matt giving instructions.

Flooding the Sandbox

Anna was ecstatic to go to Cynthia and Brian's house to flood the sandbox. The kids had a blast. All the boys were thrilled to dig in the mud and Anna, in classic form, skirted the edges of the excitement. Her favorite part was definitely the slip n' slide (Anna called it the flip n' flop) which Cynth broke out a little later.

Getting Away

Jeff and I were so lucky to be able to sneak away kid-less for a couple of nights. (Thanks Moms!) We talked about driving up to Sun Valley or down to Southern Utah, but in the end we decided to spend one day in the city and one day in the mountains near by. I'm so glad we did. We get to spend such little time doing the things and going the places that we once did before children that it was great fun going back to some of our favorite places.

The first evening we gussied ourselves up (let's be honest: I gussied, Jeff just dressed) and headed out for some yummy Thai food. Then we hit up the Broadway for a movie, 500 Days of Summer. I recommend it, by the way. Then it was off to Little America.

The next morning we drove to Utah Valley to hike Mount Timpanogos and take the Intro to Caving Tour. It was beautiful. Jeff has been trying to convince me to try caving for years know. I've always been a little freaked out about the thought of squeezing through tiny spaces with no light. This seemed like a good baby step to appease Jeff's insistence. The craziest think we did on this tour was climb through on our hands and knees and crab walking down slick rock. I must say that Jeff was right. The experience wet my palate and now I am ready to take on an actual caving experience. California Caverns maybe?

We enjoyed the company in the cave as well. Our guide was actually a jazz guitarist who tours throughout the rest of the year and then does the park ranger thing in the summer. We also were joined by Kevin and Casey, two skinny teenage cowboys from Herriman. They even wore long sleeve plaid and Wrangler jeans. The entertained us by drinking mineral drips and discussing how many ways one could die while caving.

After that we had dinner in Provo at a Brazilian grill which I can not in good conscious recommend since it made me violently ill later that night.

We headed up Provo canyon to the Sollis cabin but not before stopping at Jeff's beloved river. The Provo River is gorgeous. While Jeff looked for fish, I dozed in the shade of a Russian Olive tree. It was lovely.

I'll spare you the details of later that night but it was a disappointment. (see above.) Mostly, though, it was a much needed, overdue get away.