4th/Graduation/Roadtrip

The 4th was soooo hot! We spent our day enjoying the sun though. We went to church for a pancake breakfast and waterslides. The kids had a blast! Then we spent the day at the Nydams bbq-ing, swimming & watching fireworks. My parents, Jr & Mycah came too, it was fun!

Thursday am we packed up & headed for Arizona for my graduation weekend. James picked up Sarah Nydam & Ashley that morning and we loaded in for the 5hr. drive. The drive was uneventful and we arrived safely in time for dinner. Our hotel was amazing, as was the heat; it was 113 at 6pm. Heather, Heidi, Erik, Hailey & Hannah came late Friday night and we all left for graduation early Saturday am. We had to get to graduation early to check-in and for me to line up. It started about 10:30 & seemed like it lasted an eternity! It felt really good to walk across the stage and be finished with my degree.
My parents, Jr, Heather, Heidi & Erik with the girls and Thomas & Leighann all came to my graduation. I felt special to have so many people there to celebrate. We all went to eat at Red Lobster after and then back to the pool to relax & swim, in an attempt to beat the heat. Sunday we swam again & then packed for the roadtrip ahead.
Sunday afternoon, Chris Nydam met us at the resort and we drove onto Flagstaff. James, Zach and Ash drove back to Ca, while the Nydams & the girls & I (with Grady) drove on. We went to all sorts of Indian ruins, played at Slide Rock & spent an afternoon in Sedona, ate at Black Barts and then went onto New Mexico. In NM we met Jim & Rachel Nydam and the SERVE team from church. We ate with them at night, watched Indian dancers in town, hiked to the top of El Morro, visited the Zuni village and swam at our hotel. It was fun to see all the youth & what they were doing there, as well as hang out with Jen & Andy.
Thursday we packed up again...and headed west for Ca! We drove straight through with stops for gas/potty and ate dinner in Barstow. We pulled in our driveway about 9:30 Thursday night! It was sooo good to sleep inour own beds!
I still haven't caught up on laundry & housework, but I'm not sure I ever will :) I can't believe summer is half over. We've been gone almost non-stop and are home now except for a few weekends away before school starts!