MADISEN BROOKE EMPEY IS BAPTIZED: Saturday, July 2, 2016
Our beautiful granddaughter Madisen turns eight years old on Friday, June 17, 2016. Two weeks later, at a baptism arranged by her stake, precious Maddie is baptized during a very sweet, spiritually touching service.
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| Maddie is very prepared and so excited to be baptized! |
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| Maddie with Great Grandpa Millett |
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| Maddie with Uncle Gary |
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| Maddie with Leah, Hannah and Alyssa Wilson (Cousin Spencer's Girlfriend) |
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| Maddie and Family |
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| Maddie with Her Loving Parents, Spencer and Erin Empey |
Madisen has always has been such a joyful, bright ray of sunshine wherever she goes. We feel blessed and very grateful to have Maddie in our family! We love you, Sweetheart!!
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WILLIAMS FAMILY REUNION AT SUNDANCE: July 3 - 10, 2016
It's been four years since our family reunion at Southern Cross Cabin in Gatlinburg. Because our grandchildren had the best time together in Tennessee, Gary and Rhonda are asked from nearly every quarter, "When are we going to have another reunion?" These queries keep reunion thoughts simmering, but the two biggest reasons we want to hold a reunion this summer are named Jessica and Kyle!! These two wonderful grandkids, who graduate high school in June 2016, leave for college this fall. Kyle has mission papers filled out, hoping to leave in January 2017. We definitely want to include Jessica and Kyle in another family reunion, before they become too involved in their adult lives.
Rhonda searches online for a cabin in central Utah, large enough to accommodate thirty people. It doesn't take long to find the perfect one -- Grove Creek Cabin at Sundance!
https://www.vrbo.com/243502#photos
We gather from Texas, Michigan, Ohio and Utah, for another great week together -- hanging around the cabin (with game room, hot tub, theater, playhouse, large deck with chair swing), as well as enjoying outdoor fun in Utah's beautiful mountains.
SUNDAY, JULY 3RD - Getting-to-Know-You Night (with Aunt Kristen)
MONDAY, JULY 4TH - Freedom Festival Parade/Activities in Provo
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| Cute Seth Sports a New Reunion Shirt |
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| Early Breakfast at Grove Creek Cabin |
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| At Grand Parade - East Center Street, Provo |
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| Kids Get Front Row Seats! |
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| Our Triplets (Alex Dyal, Carter Brown and Justin Buhler) |
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| Ron and Mona Millett Enjoy Deck Swing |
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| Such Sweet Kids! Cute Logan Always Enjoys His Little Cousins! |
TUESDAY MORNING, JULY 5TH - Hiking at Sundance
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| At the Base of Ray's Lift - Sundance, Utah |
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| Our Grandkids Adorn Arrowhead Summit Quite Nicely, I Must Say! |
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| Cute Brown Kids Enjoy Views from Arrowhead Summit |
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| Dyal Family - Trying Not to Block the View! |
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| My Best Friend, Alex, at Arrowhead Summit |
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| Two Senior Citizens - Escaping Texas Heat! |
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| Two Cool Dudes (could such handsomeness possibly be with our group?) |
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| Gary and Rhonda with two of their favorite daughters |
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| King of the Hill |
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| Yay! Lizzie Loves Grandma! |
At this point, the group at Arrowhead Summit returns to the top of Ray's Lift for a hike to Stewart Falls. Meanwhile, the Empey family hikes Black Forest Trail.
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| Cutest Hiking Group on the Mountain |
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| Marshall Has It Made in the Shade! |
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| Selfie Queen captures the whole family and the full gorgeous scene! |
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Those with little tykes return to the bottom first. They enjoy a picnic lunch at Sundance, before heading to Heber City for a train ride on the Deer Creek Express.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 5TH - Riding the Deer Creek Express
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| All Aboard the Deer Creek Express! |
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| Our Fearless Foursome -- All Heading in Great Directions |
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| Spencer, Erin and Half Their Brood -- Empey Kids Are in Hot Demand! |
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| Ahhhh! Nice to Relax after Hiking Stewart Falls...Right, Julie and Josh? |
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| Definitely BFFs! Jacob and Logan Can Usually Be Found Together |
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| Hi, Kim, Tyler and William! Lizzie Must Be Off, Flitting Around the Train |
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| Crazy Tall Triplets -- Growing Up Way Too Fast |
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| Jessica, Kyle and Parker -- Setting Great Examples for Fourteen Younger Cousins |
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| Awww, So Sweet ... A Little Girl for Kristen and Aaron! |
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| Hannah Sure Loves Her Uncle Gary |
WEDNESDAY MORNING, JULY 6TH - Timpanogos Cave Hike/Tour
We conquer Timp Cave in two groups. Families without young children begin the hike at 8 am; families with young children begin the hike at 9:30 am.
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| Up at the Crack of Dawn to Begin Hiking |
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| Trail Is Still Partially Shaded |
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| Waiting to Enter Timpanogos Cave |
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| Spencer, Erin, Maddie and Leah Get Ready to Hike |
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| Lizzie, Our Youngest Hiker |
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| Allison and Ethan Climb Like Mountain Goats |
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| Lunch at In & Out Burger -- My Nomination for Photo of the Day! |
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 6TH - Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point
Everybody does their own thing on Wednesday afternoon. We choose to visit beautiful Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. Since these gardens are enormous and it is a very hot afternoon, we rent a golf cart to get around instead of hoofing it.
THURSDAY, JULY 7TH - Touring Olympic Park in Park City, Utah
When we begin planning activities for reunion week, each family completes a survey of preferences. Park City is high on nearly everyone's list. The alpine slide is an especially popular choice. We are warned by our contact at Olympic Park that the line for the alpine slide gets two-hours long during the summer. We arrive first thing on Thursday morning to do the slide before it gets too crowded. Afterward, we take a tour of Olympic Park.
Family members: Please forgive me if I did not get your picture on the alpine slide! I took photos of the first group, then had to run for the 11 am tour of Olympic Park. Hopefully, you will see yourself in one of the other pictures from Thursday!
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| Future Six-Man Bobsled Team...OR...Two-Woman, Four-Man Mixed Bobsled Team |
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| Ethan and Seth - Waiting their Turn on the Alpine Slide |
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| Go, Julie! Go! |
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| Jessica's a Close Second! |
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| Ladies First, Then Here Comes Kyle - Our Ultimate Gentleman! |
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| Logan holds on for another day, but isn't feeling well. :-( |
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| Hurry Alex! Parker's about to cream you!! |
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| Always Smiles from Parker ;-))))) |
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| Hey, It's Justin! (Buhlers are coming in order now.) |
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| Of course, Seth is next...with a warm welcome from Maddie. |
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| Mom's in Clean-up Position (luckily, no accidents today) |
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| Gary's Sunglasses Come into View First |
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| Oh, Sweet! It's a Twosome!! |
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| Carefree Marshall Fits in a Power Nap |
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| Grandma's Choice for "Picture of the Day!" (after very necessary cropping) |
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| We stand all amazed, watching daredevils at work. |
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| These two can usually be found together. So glad they're great friends! |
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| On this lovely morning, several Olympic hopefuls are practicing their jumps. |
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| William with Kyle (second-youngest and second-oldest grandsons) |
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| Our Three-man, Three-Gary Bobsled Team |
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| Love this picture of Seth atop the ski jump hill! What an intimidating drop! |
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| Skeleton Girl, Maddie! |
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| Seth the Luger -- A Definite Maybe |
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| Cute Shot, Using Such a Creative Angle, Kim! |
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| Please, Carter! Let's Spin Some More! |
We leave Olympic Park, for a relaxing lunch at Cafe Rio. The last stop of our day in Park City is Main Street, where family members team up to take selfies with as many downtown icons as they can find. Ironically, Seth wins the prize in the under 12 age group; Parker and Justin win the prize in the 12+ category. Everyone gets a bag of salt water taffy. Ethan, who has braces and cannot eat taffy, chooses a treat at nearby Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
FRIDAY MORNING, JULY 8TH - Girls Morning at Cascade Springs
Sadly, Julie and Jessica leave early Friday morning to catch a flight home. We are so happy they could spend four fun days with us! Julie has been blessed with an adventurous spirit, approaching anything she chooses to do with infectious enthusiasm. And Jessica is one of the sweetest, most approachable and happy girls we know. They each contribute so much to our collective happiness. Each is missed during our Girls Morning at Cascade Springs.
You may notice that Maddie is missing from these pictures at Cascade Springs. While four of our granddaughters enjoy the morning at Cascade Springs, ten of our grandsons are enjoying a morning of fishing on Deer Creek. Maddie wants to do both, but her passion leans toward fishing. So the boys inherit Maddie for the morning. To make everything fair, the girls take baby Marshall. It's all good!
We drive from Cascade Springs to Midway on a pretty rough dirt road. Rhonda and Erin, in the lead car, leave Kimberly and Kristen in a cloud of dust! We're hungry and in a hurry to get to Homestead Resort for lunch at Fanny's Grill!
FRIDAY EVENING, JULY 8TH - Provo River Trail from Vivian Park to Bridal Veil Falls
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| Young Grandkids Love Vivian Park's Playground and Pond |
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| Maddie Catches Her First Fish!! |
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| On the Provo River Trail |
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| Playing Under Bridal Veil Falls Is a Hit! |
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| Even Little Lizzie Gets in the Water |
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| When Big Boys Finish Hiking the Falls, They Return to Play, Too! |
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| No One's in a Hurry to Leave Such a Wonderful Waterfall |
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| Allie Feels Right at Home with the Buhler Boys |
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| Lizzie Gets a Big Lift from Cousin Parker! |
Wow! Now there's only one reunion day left. After investing so much time and effort in planning this week, it shouldn't be allowed to zip by so quickly...
SATURDAY, JULY 9TH - A Full Day In Provo
This day is devoted to activities in Provo. After eating a big, hot and tasty breakfast at the cabin, Aaron takes off with a group of boys to hike to the Y. The rest of us also head out, making a quick stop at Swig's Soda Shop enroute to BYU Bookstore. After shopping for an hour or so, we take a stroll around campus, reminiscing about our lives and times at BYU. When we finally think of lunch, Brick Oven is suggested and the family all agrees.
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| There Is No Good Caption for This Gem |
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| Wow! Carter Has Turned into an Amazing Musician!! |
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| During Reunion Week, Baby Marshall Serves as Family Mascot and Head Cheerleader |
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| Totally Stuffed to the Gills with Brick Oven Pizza |
Following lunch, there is just enough
time to visit BYU's Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum before it
closes at 5:00 pm. Then we stop at the grocery store for a flag and
flowers to put on Grandma Millett's grave. Grandpa Millett joins us at
the cemetery, where we spend time remembering Grandma. Aaron and Rhonda
also find the graves of Wilford and Matilda Rasmussen (Joyce
Millett's grandparents), their daughter Leah Rasmussen Lister (who doubled as my mom's sister), and her
husband, Dee Lister. These are wonderful family members who have been near and dear to
Rhonda throughout her childhood and adolescent years.
The
grand finale of our day in Provo is a visit to the Creamery on Ninth,
where we each get a scoop or two of BYU's great ice cream.
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| It's a Buhler Thing |
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| Jacob and Grandpa Millett Are Great Buddies |
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| Grandpa Millett Is So Proud of this Good-looking Bunch! |
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| Has Kyle Seen This? Too Funny! |
SUNDAY, JULY 10TH - Cabin Check Out ... Goodbye ... Drive Carefully ... Love You!!
The times our family is all together are rare and precious. Gary and Rhonda will forever treasure memories made during this great week. We love our children and grandchildren with all our hearts and, as Grandpa Millett has been know to say, "Don't you ever forget it!"
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OPEN HOUSE FOR JESSICA/WELCOME HOME FOR SPENCER: Saturday, July 16, 2016
Gary and Rhonda fly from Salt Lake to Houston on July 12th, then fly from Houston to Detroit on July 13th. We are so excited to welcome home our oldest grandchild, Spencer Dyal, who has just returned from a mission in Ecuador. Spencer and Jessica pick us up outside the airport terminal. We go straight to the nearest restaurant, Bob Evans, for a quick dinner. Why the hurry? Gary is only in Detroit for a few hours, then will fly to Washington, D.C., stay overnight to attend meetings the next day, then fly back to Detroit the next evening. Crazy schedule, right?
It's so great to see Spencer again! He looks as handsome and healthy as ever. And Gary enjoys speaking Spanish with Spencer. They can really talk up a storm. After a nice meal, Jessica drops Gary back off at the airport, then takes Rhonda to pick up a car at the rental lot. Rhonda gets the car, drives to the Dyal's to see Julie, and actually beats Jessica and Spencer home. (Josh, Alex and Logan are still driving home from the reunion. Logan became so sick in Omaha, that Josh took him to the emergency room, where he was admitted to the hospital for testing. Logan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.)
Long story short -- Josh and the boys get home; Gary gets back from D.C.; everyone pitches in to get ready for the open house; the open house turns out perfect, is very well attended, with plenty of delicious food, beautiful cakes, banners, centerpieces and displays, plus great weather! Way to go, Julie! With such a demanding schedule this summer, you truly make magic happen!
