Temple Trip.

With two temple dedications within the past few months, Salt Lake is the luckiest county in the country (confusing I know!) . I was dying to go to the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain temple but summer term at BYU was consuming every spare minute of my time. Finally my grandma and I siezed the opportunity to go on one of the last days of the open house...talk about procrasination. It was so beautiful and I don't think that I could pick a favorite part, although the Celestial room and Bridal Dressing room were absolutely gorgeous. Someday... but definetly not in the near future.

Grandma Laurel, Nolan Pope, and me standing in front of the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

Tuna Salad.

Today for lunch my Grandma Laurel and I made the yummiest tuna salad and I just wanted to share with you all some of the delicious things we added in case you are getting tired of the uncreative version of tuna with mayo, mustard, and pickles. You don't have to add all of these things but any combination would be very yummy!

Boiled Eggs

Pickles

Celery

Carrots

Frozen Corn or Peas

Apples

Cheese (yummy melted on top)

Craisins

Sunflower Seeds

Wheat Germ

Avocado

Mandarin Oranges

Grapes

Enjoy!

Patrick Family Reunion.

As a result of my over-achieving decision to take summer term at BYU I wasn't able to go to the Oregon coast for the Brutsch family reunion (my mom's side of the family), which made me very sad. But taking place the same week up Provo canyon was the Patrick Family Reunion, so after I was done with classes on Thursday afternoon I enjoyed the beautiful drive up to the cabin and then spent a couple days with my Dad's side of the family.

On Friday morning we held the traditional "17th of July" with sprint, 3-legged, and sack races along with the pie eating contest and the balloon and egg tosses. Katie Patrick and I (far right) were super speedy and won the 3-legged race.

All the teenage girls that were at the reunion. On Friday night most of the teenagers stayed up until 5 am playing Phase 10 and Catch Phrase and then pretending we were all asleep when any adults came down to check on us...I don't think they were fooled. :) A bat that got into the cabin and was dive bombing us at about 3 am added to the excitement.

My Grandma and I in front of the cabin right before we packed up and headed home.

Eagle Scout.

Today my younger (but definitely not little) brother was awarded his Eagle Scout award. For his project Daniel tied over 100 fleece blankets that were delivered to an orphanage in Mexico when we went down over Christmas break to build a house. You don't usually think of people in Mexico needing blankets but the area where we went gets fairly cold during the winter and those wonderful children were so grateful. I am so proud of my amazing brother and for his willingness to serve. He has always been so kind to me, even when we were younger and I wasn't very nice to him. My mom always threatened that one day Daniel would be bigger than me and able to "beat the tar out of me" and now that it has happened I am grateful for his forgiving and loving heart. :) There isn't another 15 year old boy that I know that I would trade for Daniel and I feel so blessed to have him as a brother. I love you "D" and am so proud of the good things you are doing with your life. Keep up the good work!

Land of the Free.

On Saturday morning, Mum Laurel and I loaded up our lawn chairs and snacks and headed over to Provo to watch the Fourth of July parade. I remember in years past getting up at 5 am with my family so that we could stake out a good spot along the parade route, but with only two of us this year we were able to get a perfect spot under the trees without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Waiting in the shade for the parade to start. Although I loved the BYU float and the MTC float with all the missionaries (especially the Sisters!), my favorite part of the parade was seeing all the veterans and standing with my hand over my heart as the flag went by. I am so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and for those men and women who have fought and are continuing to fight to protect them. I love this country and feel so blessed to be an American.

After the parade we drove down to Wales for the Fourth festivities, which featured food, entertainment, and two very silly clowns. Brother Brower (left) in our ward is a long-time clown and asked Daniel (right) to help him. I was impressed what a good clown Daniel made...and how good of a shot he was with his flower squirt gun!

Besides squirting me with his flower while we were taking this picture, Daniel also became quite the balloon hat maker. I think the nose and white suspenders should become a permanent part of his wardrobe. :) The biggest disappointment of the day was that the fireworks were cancelled because of rain and lightning but other than that it was amazing!