Definition of "spontaneous": The Floyd Family

What do you do with a perfect Saturday in July? Take the boat out for some fun!

And then head home for the baptism of a special young man in your ward...

And then head up the canyon to roast hot dogs and marshmallows! At least that is what we TRIED to do! After driving up American Fork Canyon and heading down the other side...and not finding one open picnic spot...but lots of beautiful scenery....

We ended up at Sundance and decided we had driven far enough! We bagged the campfire idea and headed inside to the restaurant for dinner! We were told that it would be a 45 minute wait... but the guy behind Dan in line was cancelling for his party of 6 and told the hostess to let us have their place! (We were a party of 5 with McKenna's adorable friend Mallory along...) So we only had to wait a few minutes before being seated!

As we walked to our table, seated nearby was Stephanie Nielson with her sweet husband and another couple. (If you don't know who she is, check out her blog.... the nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. She and her husband were in a terrible plane crash and survived. They are an AMAZING couple!!!!!) Not to long ago for a family home evening we watched "Mormon Messages" and their story was on it! I have read her blog for quite awhile...after my sister told me about her... and was really impressed with her courage and strength and testimony. After we sat down, Courtney told me she really wanted to go tell her hello. Since they hadn't been served their dinner yet, I told her it was okay. She walked over and tapped her gently on the shoulder and Stephanie turned to look at her. Courtney proceeded to tell her that she thought she was amazing and that her story inspired her to want to be strong. Stephanie slid her chair out, stood up, and wrapped her arms around Courtney and gave her the biggest hug ever! She then asked her where her family was, and they BOTH came over and introduced themselves to us. They showed so much love, and kindness, and were so gracious. We are HUGE fans of the Nielson's! They waved goodbye and told us how nice it was to meet us as we left. What an amazing experience that was!!!! (And my pork chop was WAY better than a hot dog!!! Win Win.)

As we headed outside after one of the coolest dining experiences ever, the girls noticed that the ski lift was running... they asked if we could go for a ride. It was about 8:45, but we figured why not and bought 5 tickets and jumped on... The three girls were on the one if front of us... perfect!

A view of Timp as we headed up... Have I overcome some fears or what?! I called my sister from the ride to tell her about meeting Stephanie and she laughed when I told her what we were doing. I wouldn't have done this 5 years ago... no thank you! But it was AWESOME!

Come to find out, they do what they call "Moonlight Madness" where they open the chair lift when there is a full moon... The line was HUGE by the time we got back!!! We had no idea... thank goodness for no open picnic spots... full moons... meeting a true "hero" in person and having them exceed your expectations... and for being spontaneous enough to allow it all to fall in to place!!!! What a great day!

McKenna's New Bedroom

As one of McKenna's Young Women Projects, she decided that she wanted to "redo" her room to feel more like the temple. It has been aqua blue for several years now and had an "ocean" theme to it...super cute...but not very relaxing. This is what it looked like after we had emptied it and were preparing to paint... And this is it now!!!! Everytime I look in her room I want to go in and sit down!!! It is just beautiful!!!!! We still need to go pick up a white chair that we found that she can sit in to read, and one more lamp...but other than that we are done!

Don't you want to hang out in here?!

This picture is what she wanted for Christmas... a picture of the Savior holding a newborn baby. We are having lettering made with her favorite scripture to put above it that says... "Fear not little child for you are mine"...

This is where the other lamp will go... on her nightstand. It will be perfect!

I don't know about you, but when I was almost 16 this isn't what my room looked like! If my mom would have let me I would have covered the walls with pictures of rock stars and movie stars... I sure love my teenage girl!!!! McKenna, you make me want to be a better person and mother!

Slip-N-Slide Party!

Last Saturday, we decided it was time for a much over due slip-n-slide party. So we called some neighbors and friends and told them to put on their suits, grab a salad to share and come on over! This "slip-n-slide" is 15 feet wide by 135 feet long... The kids were getting a little impatient waiting for it to be set up and ready to go....but can you blame them?!

It draws quite the crowd... and if you didn't get an official invite but see it going up...come on down anyway! The more the merrier!! Courtney and her bestie Camilla...

It is always so much fun...

Our cute neighbor Lindsey and her adorable little girl found some shade on the deck...

A reason to celebrate... Taylor finished chemo the previous week!!!!

Another cute neighbor... isn't she just beautiful!!!

It has been a long day... you know its time to put things away when these two are sitting still...

What a great way to spend a beautiful summer day!

Road Trip June & July: Day 1

Time for a road trip!!!! The girls are in the car and ready to roll! First stop... Metro to pick up Dan... After picking up Dan we ran to Primary Children's Hospital as quickly as we could to celebrate Taylor Davis's final chemo treatment! We made it just in time...just as they were "unhooking" him from everything...

Here is a shot of Taylor in the elevator with all his "loot"... the bear was one of his gifts... the quilt we made him when he started chemo... There will be a ton of pictures on Taylors blog in the next few days...

Saying goodbye...

Watching movie #1...

Crossing from Idaho into Montana...

Coming into West Yellowstone...

Time for some dinner and bed... we have a big day tomorrow! Yellowstone, here we come!!!

Road Trip June and July: Day 2

This morning we started out in West Yellowstone and headed into Yellowstone Park! We have been here before, but Courtney was young enough she didn't remember any of it!

As we headed into the park these were the first "wild life" we encountered... Courtney wanted to pose with them... "Katonka"...

At the first set of geysers we saw... Courtney was amazed... HATED the smell...but amazed!

This sign says it all...

See above sign... Dan told Courtney this was all that was left of a guy that ignored the sign...

Waiting for "Old Faithful" to do her thing...

Me and the girls...

There she blows!!!! Why does this never get old?... Snow! We had several people tell us that a week ago it was still snowing! Guess we waited until the perfect time to visit...

Is it really possible that my child hasn't seen a public pay phone?

A view of the park...

Every where we traveld the water in rivers and lakes was high and fast...

Cool rocks... can you imagine being the guys clearing this area for a road...

Looks hot....

After leaving the park, we drove to Fairmont Springs, Montana. This is a horrible picture with all of the bugs on the windshield and the lighting... but this gives you an idea of why the kids were soooooo excited to get here! A 360 foot waterslide into "hot spring" pools. The pools are open 24 hours a day...so we got some dinner and headed to the pools!

Road Trip: June and July 2011: Day 3

Today we started out in Fairmont Springs, Montana. After having breakfast...I know this picture is terrible, but you can kind of see out to the pool area in this shot... we headed out for Georgetown Lake. It was about an hour drive from here. We can't wait to see Marv, Cheri, and Jonathon! Courtney's cross-eyed hot chocolate shot of the day...

We noticed this mountain peak while driving...doesn't it look like where the "Grinch" lives?

Arriving at Georgetown Lake... the bugs on the windshield are getting a little out of control!

I can't believe I didn't get more pictures! Here Courtney is snuggled up to Uncle Marv. Aunt Cheri made her famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn on the cob. Plus apple and cherry pie. Is it any wonder we all gained a few pounds on this trip?! Gene and his wife Jeanie and Wendy and her husband were also there. It was fun to get to know them better. Gene sure looks like Grandpa Tommy did! (He is his younger brother.) It was fun to reminice with them about grandma and grandpa.

Courtney wrote a book while on our trip and was sharing part of it with Marv. He is such a great guy! He loves our girls!!! I just love how they are sitting in this picture. She climbed into the little spot behind his legs and snuggled right up... so cute!

We didn't leave until 5 pm!!!!! It was so hard to go... and we had a 4 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to reach Sandpoint, Idaho! It was worth it...getting to spend time with them on this trip! The ride between Georgetown Lake, Montana and Sandpoint, Idaho was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I should have taken more pictures...but the lighting wasn't great.

This is coming across the lake into Sandpoint... gorgeous!

This too...

After checking in, we headed over to Burger King to grab a quick bite and then let the girls go swimming. Long day...but perfect day! Only regret? That we didn't stop at the redneck theme park we saw about 30 minutes outside of Sandpoint and let Dan and Kenna go on the roller coaster. If we had realized that we were in a new time zone....that it was an hour earlier than we had thought....we totally would have. Here's to ALWAYS being spontaneous!