I caved in..

and surprised Jon with this for his birthday.

I'll admit, I was totally against it,
but I always give in to a good surprise.

DLand 2011

Ok, I've been slacking quite a bit in the blogging world, so where do I begin??

Back in August (see I told you it has been some time), we decided we wanted to go on a last minute road trip to California before summer ended, and everyone had to go back to school. It was literally last minute. We had gone to dinner before the baseball game (previously posted), and randomly started talking that we needed to go to Disneyland! Really, is there a better idea? Obviously not, since two weeks later we were on our way!

The DLand 2011 crew consisted of Jon, Davis, Aleesha, McElle, Caden, and myself. It really was such a good time! I know what most of you are thinking, why would six grown ups (well I guess McElle and Caden can't be considered grown ups) want to go to Disneyland? Umm hello.. it's the happiest place on earth, so more like why not?

We drove in style in Caden's family Escalade,
and packed ourselves into one room at the Marriott.
Yeaaaaahhhh..
Six in one room.
But Aleesha's dad hooked us up, and got us a free room,
so we managed.

We also sported awesome custom neon fanny packs,
that included our trip nicknames.
You don't need to judge us, we already received plenty of weird looks from everyone else.

Davis was even called out on his nickname "Drama King" by a 10 year old kid on the rapids ride.
He really had no comeback.
I think it was a first.
However, no one was laughing after the ride, since all of us were drenched from head to toe.


Tower of Terror was for sure the trip favorite,
as we did go on it at least 17 times over the two days we were there.
However, Jon would disagree.
He absolutely hates this ride.
We convinced him to go on it at least once, and he refused to go any more than that.

Just some of the awesome memories we were able to catch on camera..


While we were there we celebrated Jon's 27th Birthday,
and enjoyed some good food at the Cheesecake Factory.

On our way home, we had stopped in Vegas to ride the Desperado/Buffalo Bill's roller coaster.
Oh man.
It was seriously intense, and the fastest roller coaster I have ever been on.
I don't know if it was fun, or totally ruined my life.
I'm leaning towards the latter.

Jon also surprised me, and we stopped at Caesar's Palace so I could go shopping at H&M as an early birthday present.
Love that place.
Too bad the new one that just came to town doesn't even compare.

Even though the drive home seemed like it was never ending,
it was still plenty entertaining.
We had to drive through a big thunderstorm,
and ended up having to call 911 to report a field that we saw burst into flames from the lightning.

Overall, the trip was very successful!
I would think I would be sick of Disneyland, since we have been 3 times in the past three years, but it really doesn't get old.

Pinterest.

Just received my invite.
Already addicted.

The Snake.

I know it looks like I'm about to die..
but somehow I made it to see another day.

Pioneer Day {Weekend}

I wasn't kidding when I said I LOVE JULY!!

There is always something fun to do with family and friends,

and the weekend of the 24th was no exception.

Once again, I didn't take as many pics as I wish I had,

but the weekend was packed full of..

FIREWORKS with the fam in the church parking lot.

Is that legal?

It was the only open space nearby.

CHERRY HILL with Cackee and Fish.
I don't know which was more memorable, Cackee yelling "Somebody HELP ME!" all the way down to the bottom of the water slide, the lifeguard shoving me while in my tube to the next waiting pool with the craziest man face ever, or DJ thinking they really only got paid $3 a day?


The classic SPAGHETTI FACTORY with the Emery clan.

{However, I think Barb could have gone through her entrie dinner without hearing how Davis would prefer his lasagna}

Also where the greatest idea of DLAND 2011 took place.

And of course, we went to the BEE'S GAME to end the weekend off right.

Yeahhhhhhh buddy.

{I know, I know.. I'm just as disappointed in myself that I just publicly admitted that I actually watch that show people call Jersey Shore. It's an addiction I tell ya.}

The Fourth.

The Fourth of July has to be one of our favorite Holidays.

LOVE the heat.
the BBQ's.
laying by the pool.
local parades.
and of course the fireworks.

The night before the big day, we got together with the VB's and Christensen's for some delicious ribs, the classic Eaglewood fireworks, and a sneak peak of Ladd and Brody premiering in the next Twilight movie. Never a dull moment with this bunch.

We may have started a new tradition. Thanks again for such a fun night!
{Oh, and sorry Meg, I totally stole these pics off your blog}

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics on the fourth either.
I really need to do better with that new camera of mine.
Our day was pretty low key, but was fun as usual.
We didn't make it to our local parade as we had planned,
instead we tried to get our tan on at the pool... but of course, we got rained out.
We basically just chilled with our families,
and ended the day with some more fireworks at the Allsops.
We didn't start the library on fire. Success.

Some Husbands take their Wife to Italy, Mine takes his to Milford..

Well.. I survived my first experience to Milford, UT.

Jon has family that is from Milford,

so the Johnson side tries to make a trip there every year.

I haven't been able to go in the past due to work, but I was able to get it off this year.

Boy, was I in for a treat.

I'm taking a guess here..
but I bet the majority of people have never had the opportunity to experience good ol' Milford,

let alone have heard of the place,

so let me fill you in on just what you are missing out on..

When you check in at one of the only two hotels that are in the whole town,
old creepy music is blasting out of the speakers at the Diner.
(Yes, you check in at the restaurant, for the hotel you are staying in)
It made me feel like I was in my own horror movie.

Speaking of the Diner,
even though it was all fried food all weekend, it was delish!!
You sure can't beat a grilled cheese, and your classic diner fries..
We may or may not have shared a chocolate malt at 1:00 in the morning :)

Penny's Diner for sure needs to be awarded Best Chocolate Malt Ever!!

We basically played around in the desert for the entire weekend.

Cackee and Fiff entertained themselves on this mountain for about an hour straight.

I'm pretty sure they ate their fair share of dirt.

Cuddled this little one..

Pretended to be Jack Bauer..

Discovered every creepy crawly thing there is out there..

It's nice to see that a 3 yr. old is more brave than I am.

I was obviously born an Emery.


Launched rockets..

(yiiiiiiippppp.... I really am related to them)

Notice how proud they all are.

Hiked to a bat cave..

Oh, and don't let me forget my favorite memory of going rabbit stomping.

(To give you some background on "rabbit stomping".. I first thought they literally killed rabbits. I mean, it's not like the name of such an activity would make you think that or anything.. but really the boys only run around with their flashlights trying to catch the rabbits, take a picture of the little fella, and then send them on their way)

Well.. it didn't really go that way this time around.

We drove around for two hours, and didn't catch a single one.

The only thing we caught were the flying grasshoppers that slapped us in the forehead that a certain someone kept throwing into the backseat on multiple occasions.

Did I mention that I hate bugs??

Especially those stupid grasshoppers!!

All in all, it was a super fun trip!

I for sure have never experienced anything like that before,

but looking forward to carrying on the tradition with the in-laws for years to come.

We first just need to teach Cackee that even though we are in the middle of nowhere,

that doesn't mean you can just pop a squat behind the shed next to our hotel room.

Only in Milford...

Stay Tuned..

I promise I'm coming back with some totally awesome and exciting stuff...

July Celebrations.
The Snake.
Milford. Yes, there really is such a place.
Jon's Surprise (which I still don't approve of)
Baby on the Way.
Dland 2011.
The Big 3 Yrs.


Oh, and jk about the baby. Just wanted to make my mom's heart stop for a split second :)

I'm back in business..

We are officially moved, and settled in.

{Glad that's over with}

Moving is a lot more overwhelming than I could have imagined.
Maybe we will house hunt a while longer than we had planned..
just to avoid having to do that again.
However, we do LOVE our new place.
Great neighbors.
Awesome ward.
Our own strip of grass.
Heavenly, right?


Oh, and don't let me forget to mention...
HE'S BAAACCCCKKKKKK!!
That Poltergeist girl still freaks me out..

Yep. He hasn't changed a bit.

Absolute Chaos..

If Jon and I survive the next two weeks I will be quite impressed.

We have to move three people, including ourselves over the next couple of days. Never thought I hated packing as much as I do. Let alone the deep cleaning that still has to be done. Oh.. and yes, we are still trying to get everything done at the parentals with the remodel. Never Ending. Why did we ever offer to help? (Oh wait, I remember.. we didn't want to risk letting a certain someone paint all of the cabinets forest green.)

Can't forget that we need to get everything else ready for the Golden Child to return. Did I mention I'm still trying to get through my 200 emails that were waiting for me from the Memorial Day Break??

It's all right.. I'm willing to admit this is a total "sympathy needed" post.