Summer was absolutely crazy this year! My workload pretty much tripled with an insane wedding season mixed with family portraits, newborns, births, seniors and everything else! I was constantly coming and going, ordering/delivering, editing, blogging, record keeping, email answering, etc. I met so many amazing new clients and caught up with all the returning ones. Work is pretty much my only social life, so I really love all the amazing people I get to connect with. Right during all that crazy busy season, I had a rougher few months of pregnancy than I was expecting. It was tough, but my sweet husband, God and family got me through it. On top of all the busyness of work and preggo sickness, we had the BEST summer – mountain biking, hiking, family day trips, shopping, zoos, swimming pools, car shows, duck feeding, rock throwing, roadtrippin, Seaside, a few trips to WA, getting ready for baby Piper, lots of eating and so much hangin out as a little family!
The last few weeks have just been the cherry on top. All of my family came into town to finish with a grand summer finale! The rest of this blog post is 95% for me and 5% for all my readers. Be prepared for lots of cute pictures, a few low quality iphone snapshots and lots of stories.
Ogden Temple Open House
We went to the Ogden Temple open house. It was absolutely stunning and so special to share with a group of our non-LDS friends. Brody loved the pictures of Jesus inside, the fountain with bubbles outside and the “horsies” that lined the streets. I loved the paintings and all the details. After the open house, our big Yoli group and family headed down the road for a little Mexican grill feast.
Yoli Conference
Thursday through Sunday was the big Yoli Transform 2014 Conference at the Salt Palace. It was the first year that all the Falter kids were in attendance. I have been going since the very first conference in 2010. It was fun to finally share that experience with ALL of my siblings, but I’m not sure my siblings would say the same. ;) My poor brothers (and Yanni) had to share a room with Brody and I. Not only was he up pretty much every single half hour that night, but he pooped in their shower and dumped out the entire bottle of shampoo. Oops. ;) Oh, and they all had to listen to “I love to see the temple” song over and over and over again until I sung them all to sleep.
Thankfully for them Brody and I only stayed the night on Thursday night. We went to the opening reception on Thursday to say hi to all our Yoli family and listened to my dad speak Friday morning before heading back to Logan. After Saturday’s wedding, our whole little family came back to dance the night away at the costume party. We were the Brady Bunch, including Alice, the butcher, Tiger the dog and a foreign exchange student addition.
SLC Temple Square
Before heading home on Sunday, we made a special stop across the street from our hotel. The rest of the family went to Music and the Spoken Word (no babies allowed), while we did a little exploring around Temple Square and the Conference Center.
Pool Time
When we got back to Logan, my family stayed in a hotel down the road. This meant lots of pool time for Mr. Brody boy. He loves to put his mouth under and blow bubbles, jump & dunk and kick his little feet around. He also loved dipping his toes in the hot tub every once in awhile. One day they all decided to play chicken fight. After many victories, Austin’s hands slipped and Brody fell off backwards. He was a little scared and had some trust issues with Austin, but recovered like a champ – no tears. It was hilarious.
Jump Zone
One night we went out for Fhzookies and another night we hit the Jump Zone! It was a blast for all of us. Brody loved getting buried in the foam pit, Adam & Emma loved flips and rope swings, Dad & Austin loved their silly Zabumafu challenge, and the rest of us girls loved sliding and jumping around the big room.
Bear Lake
We spent our last day as a family (pre-family reunion) on Bear Lake. My parents rented a boat and tube and we spent the afternoon cruisin’ around the lake. We discovered that we all (except Austin) have crazy anxiety and PTSD riding on tubes from past experiences. But we did enjoy watching Luke, PJ and Austin take on the crazy rides and our very slow, delicate rides. At least I could pull the pregnancy excuse this time. Luke and I tried to take Brody, but he was not having it. Luke tried to pull us back in by grabbing the rope and dunked himself and Brody into the lake. It was a tad traumatizing for all of us. Thankfully, he had another fast recovery. After that, he just loved snugging with everyone in the boat and munching on his snacks.
We’ve been spoiled the last few months with visits with my family between weddings in the pnw, graduation, our family vacation and this. I’ve got used to having them around after two full weeks of fun and constant entertainment. Brody is soo in love with his grandma, bumpa, aunts and uncles and they have been such a big help! I’m always so so sad when they leave. Thankfully, we’ll get to see them again in September, a few in October and all again in November and December. I wish they weren’t so far away.
Kylee started Kylee Ann Photography 9 years ago, and has since grown from a one woman amateur show to a full associate team. We shoot 50-75 weddings a year, and thrive on kindness and service. After a year of teaching Intro to Photography at the local technical college, she discovered that helping other entrepreneurs create thriving businesses is what fires her up! She hosts semi-annual Kylee Ann Sleepovers all over the US, speak at conferences and teach online courses about running a small business and marketing.
September 2, 2014
Kylee Maughan
