Family in Town

Nothing beats spending time with family, especially family who visit out-of-state. My parents, sisters, and brother-in-law all flew in from California to spend time with me and the rest of the North family. I was thrilled to have them here. Susie flew in first on June 23rd and stayed for two weeks. The rest of my family came for the 4th of July weekend. Here's a few pictures of the fun times we had:

University of Utah
Susie has been considering the possibility of attending medical school at the University of Utah in the near future, so went up to the U of U on June 23rd to take a self guided tour. We all went, including two-week-old Lizzy, who looked absolutely adorable and tiny.







Temple Square
The following Saturday, Brad and I took Susie up to Temple Square to spend time with her former missionary companion. While we were there we went to a Vietnamese restaurant and to the Church History Museum. Afterward, we drove to the Salt Lake City Cemetery. We briefly glanced at the graves of several church leaders before we stopped at President Hinckley's grave. It was a little strange changing a baby's diaper right next to the grave a former prophet, but Lizzy insisted it was necessary.

Jordan River Parkway
Sunday the 28th we went to the Jordan River Parkway. The parkway was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time being together. Susie especially liked it and decided to return again several times to ride my bike along the river. She is used to cycling along the San Gabriel River in Southern California, which looks nothing like Utah's Jordan River. The San Gabriel is basically a huge concrete canal with a small trickle of water-- not nearly as pretty as this.





Wheeler Farm
We went to Wheeler Farm in Murray the Friday before the 4th of July. Rachel, Craig, and my parents were all here at this time. It was nice being together, walking along the trails, climbing trees, and looking at all the farm animals. We took lots and lots of photos.
















Independance Day Breakfast Celebration
The 4th of July was a fun-packed day. We went to a 4th of July breakfast at the Stake's recreational property in the morning. The food was continental style and very yummy. Rachel, Craig, and Brad played volleyball after breakfast, and Scott and Emma had fun playing carnival games at the different booths set up. The favorite activity was a three-legged race that Scott, Emma, Rachel, Susie, and even my dad participated in.







Fireworks
Fireworks were a fun activity for our family on the 4th of July. It's illegal in Long Beach to shoot off fireworks, so my sisters and I did not have many opportunities to do that growing up. We all enjoyed setting them off this year.




Overall, the last two weeks were wonderful to me! I love spending time with my family. I miss them now that they are gone, but we'll be together again soon.