Springville Folk Fest

The family with Carlien and Johanna

What a week it was hosting!! It was so much fun I can't wait to do it again. It all started on Sun. 24 when we picked up the girls that we got to host. It is a little weird at first, (since this is the first time that we have done it) but that changed quickly. We did a ton of this during the week other than their performances every night.

On Monday we went to 7 Peaks and had a blast. It was extra fun because I was able to go without my children, (thanks to Amanda and Steve how took the girls most of the week) and to my mom who watched the little man, I in turn drove the girls she was hosting down there. I got fried that day and am peeling from it now. It was so worth it. Later that night we went to the street dance, which ended up getting cancelled because of a storm. I wish I had a pictures from this day but sadly I do not.

On Tuesday we had a pick nick at Kelly's Grove and than we went to Payson to spend time with Alisha and the 2 girls she was hosting. We got sno cones, a first for the Belgium girls and then we hiked the Grotto. When that was all done we went back to Alisha's and had hamburgers. Than back to Springville for the first night of performances.

Me, Astrid, Nele Carlien, Carmen, Liesbet, Alisha, Johanna

On Wednesday we hiked Stewart Falls. It was as amazing as I remember. Granted it was a little bit harder to hike it than I remember. That may be because I had was hiking with both a baby on the front and backpack on the back. I really loved being able to get out and hike. It's been a long time since I have done any of that. After the hike we went to a cabin and roasted hotdogs and than had s'mores. Another thing that most of the group had not done. When we finished up at the cabin we went home got showered and than headed back to Springville for night 2 of performances.

Katrien, Sarah, Carlien

Thursday we went to Park City. We went to the Olympic park and than to the outlets for some shopping. The girls went off and I was able to hangout with my mom and sister. We had fun. We had to leave a little earlier than some of the group because my mom needed to get back early to go to a dinner at BYU. We stopped real quick at my house and than again at Amanda's to pick up Brian who was dropping off our girls for the night. Then to Springville we went for night 3 of the performances.

Front to back: Sarah, Carlien Katrien, Carmen, Astrid, Nele

Astrid, Peter, Johanna

Friday was the day we spent in Salt Lake City. We first went to South Jordan for a performance that the group had. I had a good share of the groups flags on my car so we had to be there early. Those flags are not as light as they make them look. There are quite a few of them that are weighted. When the performance was over in South Jordan we had to put the flags back on top

of the car, stop and get lunch and rush to the Conference center for a tour of Temple Square. I think everyone was late getting there. We didn't have a lot of time between the two places. I can tell you now, NEVER take a tour at 2pm of Temple Square in July. It was so hot and I'm pretty sure that there were some in the group that got heat exhaustion. We finished the tour early (thanks to Alisha who made them end early) because we had to get back down to Springville by 6 for a group dinner and no one wanted to be stuck in rush hour traffic. We had dinner at the pavilion across from the Arts park. It was great! We also sang Happy Birthday to Carlien (whom we hosted) and Jamie (who hosted some girls). Than to the performances we went.

Carmen, Nele, Liesbet, Alisha Me, Tyler, Astrid, Debra, Johanna, Carlien

Saturday was a much more relaxing day. We all slept in!! It was so nice! We than met my mom and Alisha and went shopping again. I can never again complain about buying mascara because it cost nearly 20 dollars in Belgium. crazy huh? We went to Walmart so the girls could get the food they needed to make us a meal for Sunday. We dropped them off at the park at 4 for pizza party and left and hit a few more stores. Than back to the Arts park for the last night of performances.

Carlien, Brian, Jax, Me, Johanna

Liesbet, Peter, Sophie, Jos

Sunday was the most relaxing day of the week. We all slept in really late. I got up and made pancakes for breakfast, than to my parents house we went so the cooking could begin. We had the most amazing meal and I can't wait to get the recipes! After dinner as all done we went to Amanda's to sit in the hot tub. It was so nice to be able to have a nice relaxing night.

Nele, Liesbet, Astrid, Carmen, Johanna, Carlien

Monday we had to be up at 5:30am so that we could be ready to go at 6:00. They had to be in Springville at 6:30. I'm surprised that we got there on time considering that I am not a morning person. Their bus was supposed to arrive at 7:00 but it was late which gave us a little more time to say goodbye. I wasn't expecting to cry but I did. I really loved having Carlien and Johanna in our home.

Astrid, TraeTrae, Tyler, Adi

Here's to hoping we will see them again! We really miss them! I'm so grateful we were able to be a part of this amazing group. I was able to get to know quite a few people in the group and will miss all of them!!