Freedom Festival's Balloon Festival

This year we tried to go to the Balloon festival, this meant having to wake Brendon up early so we could drop daddy off to work at BYU and walk over to the field. As you can tell he didn't mind the early wake up call or the walk. 

 The field was filled with lots of people and all sorts of balloons.

 

  We loved being able to sit with Mimi, Aunt Kayla and Aunt Kenzie. Brendon loved it even more because they brought new friends to play with.

 Once they balloons started to inflate Brendon got really excited and we took a walk to get a closer look at some of the ones he liked.

 

 they were only able to get a handful off the ground due to poor weather conditions  so we got to watch them deflate  and fold the rest up.

Wilkinson Family Reunion

We went to Heber Valley Girls Camp for our family reunion this year. We arrived on friday set ourselves up in the cabins and sat down for a large family dinner. Once dinner was over we held a Q & A for Grandma Bonnie and her life in honor of her 80th Birthday. We also got to hear a few fun 2 truths and a lie from members of the family as we tried to get to know one another better. 

 on the morning of the second day we woke up early and went for a walk around the lake. it was such a beautiful morning even though it was chilly.

 Shortly after getting back we ate breakfast and had some play time for all the kids. Brendon, Zac, Brian and Tyson played a chasing game through an island of trees outside our cabin. 

for the rest of the morning we spent it at the zip-line cheering family  members on and having a blast visiting. Brendon spent the time playing in the sand box with several cousins and second cousins.

After the zip-line we came back to the camp and took some full family photos. Each of Grandma Bonnie's children were given a color for their families to wear. Andy was Blue, Mike in purple, Hidi in red, Cindy in Yellow, Tim in orange and Jeff in green. It was a lot of fun to see the connections of families by the colors and then coming all together at the end. Grandma Bonnie made aprons for all the girls of the family and we had a photo in them as well.

Brendon's 2nd Birthday

Brendon turned 2!!! It's hard to believe how fast time has flown by this year and how big he has gotten. Here are some pictures of him opening gifts and playing on his big day.

 as soon as he got it unwrapped he asked daddy to open it up for him so he could play. He loved helping daddy put it together but his favorite part was the bell.

 Outside trying it out for the first time.

 Mommy made a homemade cake for his birthday this year and Brendon loved blowing out the candles so much he wanted to do it again.

 Cake time!

Neigborhood BBQ

On memorial day for the last 2 years we have held a Neighbors BBQ. out of all the kids Brendon is definatly the most active and playful of the bunch.

 Brendon and his Buddy Max had a blast with the ice bucket we took over for drinks. The two of them would go over and try to eat the ice then spit it out a say "too cold". Eventually they took up throwing ice and handing it to everyone saying "Hot".

 

 Nathan had a busy day as he chased Brendon around. Between Playing with the other kids and eating Brendon thought it was a blast to just make Daddy run.

This was towards the end. We set up our tent to help create more shade. Brendon went in to lay next to a friend and he kept saying "night night". They sat there for about 15 min watching the trucks and cars going by. When the party was over Brendon crashed for a 4 hour nap. :)

Mommy Walked for Graduation!

Utah Valley University hold one graduation ceremony a year. The same for the convocation ceremonies. Although I had 6 weeks of classes still I was able to walk and enjoy the ceremonies rather then waiting a year to do it after I was done.

 After the Ceremony I was so happy to be "done" it was just a matter of getting through my last 2 classes over the first block of summer semester. 

I am a College Graduate. I have a bachelors in Arts and Visual Communications with a minor in Art History.

 Brendon loves this water fall every time we go to campus. As we were taking photos he was trying anything and everything to go swimming.

 Oh did I mention that my mom and dad flew out for the trip? It was a lot of fun to have them there for me and what was even greater was seeing how proud they were of my for graduating! I am so grateful for them for flying out here to celebrate with us.

 Mom and me

 Dad and me

Brendon was so Happy to be outside and near the water after sitting in the ceremony for 2+ hours.

A Michigan Wedding

While Mom and Dad were in town we had a friends wedding to go to. What was even better was that Mom and Dad were a surprise for the Brides parents (friends from back home). 

 My Dad was a hit for his Grizzly Adams look. Brendon thought it was a lot of fun too. He loved tugging on it, petting it and trying to look under it.

Stephanie was a beautiful bride but what I loved was her ambition to ask her dad to make her wedding cake. He had done it for her eldest sister and was ecstatic when she asked. Little did he know that he would spend the whole day baking, icing and stacking the cake to have it fall. The day of the wedding he re-stacked, re-iced and decorated it. Didn't he do a great job? I love the back story with it. 

 Although they had been on flights all day the day before, got woken up by an excited toddler early in the morning and then Baby sat for 2 hours while I took a final they still had a smile on and were laughing the night a way. If only we could have gotten them to dance....

 Brendon spent most of the wedding reception in the garden out back of the reception hall. He loved being able to run around the garden with a few other kids and explore the flowers that were in full bloom. (don't worry he didn't pick any) He also loved the bridge over a small stream with waterfall. Every time he would go over he would stop to watch for a few seconds.

Brendon's Count Down

Brendon helped me to make a count down for when my parents came out. He loved to tear the rings off each day. When we got down to 2 it was more fun to toss the rings in the hall.