Celebrating "80"

The next birthday that both of my parents will be celebrating is their 80th, Mom in August and Dad next February, so we decided to get the entire Thorpe gang together to help them celebrate. Looking for a weekend that everyone could come together was a challenge, but this summer was the best chance, and the July 4th weekend was the best option. It was a great opportunity to not only have a great family reunion, but to participate in some of Provo's July 4th Freedom Festival activities as well!

We kicked off the weekend with tickets to Provo's "Stadium of Fire" concert, featuring David Archuleta and Brad Paisley. It was a fun evening of entertainment and ended with amazing fireworks.

First thing the morning of the 4th several members of the family ran in the "Freedom Fun Run" races: the 1-mile, 5K, and 10K. Tara had designed a logo for our running shirts warning everyone to Yield to the Thorpe Thunder!
Colleen did the family proud and placed 2nd in her age category in the 5K with a time of 22:08!
By lunchtime on the 4th everyone had gathered at Canyon View Park for the 80th birthday celebration and family reunion. We had a great time visiting, eating, playing games, exchanging scrapbook pages, and making memories. The little kids had such fun spending the day with their cousins.
That evening we all gathered again at Dad & Mom's house for treats and fireworks - topping off the birthday party and family reunion with a big bang!

The next morning Lee and I left early to make the 12-hour drive up to Montana. We had time to get a few groceries and uncover the furniture the next morning before picking up Ben & Amy and girls at the Glacier Airport. We spent the next week enjoying showing the Cosby family the joys of "getting away from it all!" Lee worked every day, from dawn to dusk, painting the trim on the house and the decks, and enlisted me and Ben to help off and on. Amy & I learned that an old-fashioned traveling circus was coming to Kalispell one day, which was such fun for Isabelle. We did some hiking and exploring, and Isabelle found some bear fur snagged on a tree that she was thrilled to take home. We spent one afternoon at the ski resort, riding the lift to the top of the mountain for an amazing view of the Flathead Valley. Whitefish is the perfect retreat from the Texas heat in July -- especially when you spend it with your family!