Cross Country Team Reunion

When we decided how long we'd be staying in Utah after our trip to Yellowstone, Ethan decided to put out a call to his former team mates from Cross Country to reunite.  He was so excited!!  He and Ron planned a big barbecue where he'd bring the meat and buns and the others would bring something to share... turns out it wasn't quite understood, but dinner didn't matter, they had a great time catching up.

They had to pose for a picture on the bridge where their team picture was taken many years ago.  There were a lot more people in the original picture...maybe next time!

They all gathered around Ron's phone to talk to another of their teammates.  I had to capture it to remember.

The kids had a ton of fun playing at the playground with the other kids.  Abe found a water spigot that was dripping.  He was entertained for quite a while.  Love that boy.

Jonas and Chase hit it off.  I wonder if he's as much like his dad as Jonas is like his.  That would explain why they were so chummy.

Ethan's rekindling of friendships lead to some new friendships for me and the kids.  Levi and Garrett (the son of another of the guys) also hit it off.  Levi said to me when it was time to go, "Garrett's a good friend, mom."  It was sweet.  And then we were able to have them join us on Levi's birthday for a little while.  They may even come see us in California!  Pretty awesome!

After a few of the guys left, these four ran up to the track.  I just loved watching Ethan be so happy!  When I talked to his mom about how excited he was she said, "This was his whole life!"  The team was like an extension of his family.

It was such a fun night!

Bolton turns 4!!!

Bolton really wanted to have his birthday in California... or so he kept telling me.  I'm not sure why.  Poor guy had to celebrate in Utah with all his cousins.  We had a spur of the moment water party during the day.

The kids were eager to get wet, so they sat here while we set the other activities up.

We divided them into two groups, 6 and under and 7 and up.  The younger group played this game first where they had to use only their noodle to touch a balloon and try to get as many balloons as they can into the plastic tub.

While they were doing that, the older group was making its way through the giant web!  The object was to get through without touching any of the strings.

A lot of the bigger boys jumped through this spot.  It was pretty fun for them and entertaining for the rest of us to watch!

Then they switched... but no one had as much fun after that.

So we moved on to the next game, the classic water bucket fill up relay.

It was fun to watch all the kids trying to do it. Some of the smaller ones would forget to load the sponge balls up with water before running, some would drop them into the fill up bucket.  It was fun to hear the big kids cheer for their younger teammates.

Finally, we played some water kickball.  Kickball is totally a favorite for my kids.  They even (try to) play in our tiny odd shaped backyard.  So Grandma and Grandpa's yard was perfect!!!!

Homebase is usually a slip and slid, but we didn't have one and I didn't feel like buying an additional thing for the party, so we opted for running through the crazy sprinkler.

The younger kids really loved 3rd base.

Sweet sister moment.

After everyone tired of kickball we pulled out the cake.  Bolton wanted a Yellowstone cake, so this is what I came up with... Good thing he thought it was awesome!

If you need an explanation, the top left is one of the many awesome colored pools, the bottom right is a geyser and the graham crackers in the middle are, of course, the boardwalk.  Be sure to look at the Yellowstone post if you haven't.

 Dalton and my dad went at it with an arm wrestle, Dalton won.  I thought for sure my dad let him, but he informed me that he didn't.

Bolton's new hat from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Woody (curtesy of Erin and Cade) was a huge hit. He is such a cute guy!

The kids went back to having fun in the web...

...and pools...

...hanging out....

After everyone left we sliced up one of the watermelons and feasted.  We may have even had an eating contest that I may have even lost to this guy... he really likes his watermelon.

Bolton is such a fun boy.  He has the sweetest face and voice.  He loves to play with his big brothers. They've definitely passed on the Lego gene and he is just as obsessed with them as they are.  He pretty much wants to do everything that they do and for the most part they are cool with letting him.  He is becoming a lot more stubborn in recent months.  My dad made a comment that we definitely named him right at one such stubborn moment.  See his middle name, Alma, is after my mom's dad and legend has it Grandpa was a stubborn man.  But Grandpa was so good and if Bolton turns out to be half as Christlike and giving and fun and courageous as he was we'll take any stubbornness that may come along with it.

All in all, I think he ended up being glad to celebrate in Utah.  We had another fun event in the evening, but it wasn't for him... another post for another time.

Love you Bolton!  Happy Birthday!

Utah Summer 2014: Day 1 Henry's Blessing

We drove back down to my parent's house on Saturday so we could get up and be to church on Sunday.  I loved this moment I caught of the boys reading the comics.  Don't they look sweet?  Abe was really tired, I needed to bake something to take to the family party for baby Henry's blessing, so I sent Ethan to church with the kids while I stayed behind.  Then he came back for me and took me to church at Eric and Sara's ward.  It was quietest, most calm Sacrament meeting I can remember!

Later that day Erin and Cade blessed their new baby, Henry.  It was a lovely blessing and he is SUCH a cute baby!  We were so happy that we could be there for his special day.

And baby Nora has totally won our hearts again.  She is so sweet.

The highlight of the day was watching this interaction between Grandma and Bolton.  She just sat and talked to him for 20 minutes or more and he was being so funny!  He had that cup of water you see and would say, "Want to see a magic trick?"  Then he would take a drink in some funny position.  Then he would say, "Want to see another magic trick?"  And he would put the cup on his head then take a drink.  It was the best.  I feel so blessed to have married into such a loving family.  Grandma and Grandpa definitely treat me like I'm one of their own and it makes me feel so loved and valued.  I think they are one in a million!  We know we are unbelievably blessed to have both of them in our lives still.

Yellowstone Family Vacation 2014

I normally would share this many pictures over several posts, but honestly, I don't think anyone is looking at the blog anymore (besides you dear moms, thanks for the comments!), so I'm not going to worry about it. :)  

Our trip to Yellowstone was just so much fun!  Words just won't satisfy how awesome it was.  These pictures are just a sampling (albeit a large sample) of the fun we had and the people we adore so much.

We definitely have to plan another trip like this sometime soon.  It was kind of a hassle in some ways, but the memories we made and the kids made will be cherished by our family forever.  

When we were setting up camp, we had to keep this  baby entertained, looks like Grandpa's truck was just the thing we needed!  He looks quite entertained.

Love this sister of mine.

These girls, Kari, and I walked down to the lake and tried to find some rocks for keeping around the fire to keep us warm.  We didn't have much success on our hunt, but we had fun.

And I learned that if you take a picture of Claire, she's going to ask you to show it to her... and then she's going to ask you to take lots more pictures of her.

Sitting around the campfire is always fun.  Funny story, we bought Bolton some new shoes on our way to the park... he got them a tad too close to that fire and the tips of them are now totally melted.  Awesome, good thing we got an awesome deal on them! I'd have been mad if we'd paid regular price for Sketchers.

The next morning we headed to Old Faithful, prepped for a downpour.

These three girls were happy to be reunited.  Its kind of weird to not be the only family outside of Utah anymore.  So glad Dave, Adrienne and the kids could come!

Oooh, but look! There's some blue sky peeking out!  FYI, as you can see below, Ethan had the camera at this point, and I was using my phone.  I haven't edited the phone photos at all, so hopefully they're not too terrible to look at.

Waiting for the big moment, we were quite a site to see!

And, right on schedule, the eruption was exciting to see!

It was my cute brother Davey's birthday, so we all sang to him while we waited.  Happy birthday, brother.

Richy took the first of many opportunities to relieve Ethan and me from the terrorizing Abee Baby.

We decided to walk around the whole Geyser Hill, we weren't disappointed.  What an amazing location this is.  I told Ethan I felt like we were so close to the creation of the world with the steam all around us everywhere.

 I can't remember the name of this geyser that was going on while we walked along the boardwalk.  It was fun to see all those kids gathered around Grandma.  Richy almost looks like he could be one of the grandkids...

Nola and Paige were so fun to watch hang out together as well.  Families are just the best.  Built in friends who love you unconditionally, who could ask for more?

This geyser was called Sawmill or Sawblade, something like that.  It was really fun to watch, it just kept going and going and was kind of crazy in its flow.

Lincoln and Gavin are best buddies in Utah, I was so glad to see them embrace Levi.  These three were just peas in a pod.  They had a lot of fun playing together.

Exploring along the boardwalk took a long time, but we had lots of fun and lots of beautiful things to look at.

Sean tolerates the rest of us.  And we all adore him, isn't that right Richy?  Or maybe its just me that is being tolerated... "Seriously, another picture, Kimmy?"

Jonas thought he'd be a tough guy and take the baby off Dad's shoulders.

It didn't last too long, but not because he isn't tough, just check out how tough he is.

Abraham was pretty excited to get down, but he was making us all way too nervous.  Poor guy spent most of his time strapped to one of us.

Watching these big boys take Bolton along with them just made my heart all sorts of happy.  Something about teenage boys being sweet with little kids is just like magic.  Ethan and Dalton, you guys are awesome.

One of my favorite things I stumbled upon as we walked.  The sun was shining, but Heather was protecting her skin.  She looked a dainty lady from another century.  She is the best.

Sweet girls!!!

Castle Geyser was pretty awesome.

Next we headed to the Fountain Paint Pot tour.

I just love this picture with Ethan walking into the steam.

I know I've said it before, but you can bet you'll hear it again, outdoor vacations are the best with kids!!!

Skye is quite the character, most of the pictures I have of her she is pulling some silly face/position.  I was happy to catch her in a quiet moment, taking in the beauty.

I wish I remembered the name of each of these awesome locations... maybe someone in my family will add it in a comment?  Or perhaps I'll get my book out some time and re-look these things up.  But for now I just want to get the pictures here.

Jack and Eliza even connected!  That was one connection I didn't see coming, but it made me so happy!  They're only two weeks apart in age.  I wonder if she'll always tower over him...

Peek-a-Boo!

We were leading the cars one time and made a very quick stop to see this lovely waterfall.

When we got back to our campsite, we found we had visitors!  See Jonas on the right in the photo below?  He's standing right next to my parent's trailer.

Funny Davey.

Richy set up a wood chopping area, the big boys loved taking turns with the ax.  I have to admit, it made me more than a little nervous.

Eliza loved having little girls (and big girls) to run around with.  They brought me this lovely bouquet before dinner.

The bison just hung out all evening.  That's our van in the photo.  I'm glad that they stayed on that side of the road, I would have been a wreck if we'd been staying in those tents you see right by him...

While we were driving north we stopped to view the beautiful valley and had Ethan snap this quick one of my brothers and me.  I was pretty upset that Dennis didn't make the effort to be their with us, but I'm so thankful that the rest of us made it!  I'm so blessed.  I have such a great family.

And speaking of a great family, the leader of the pack, is pretty flippin' awesome.  It looks like these boys really think so too.

While we tried to set up for this photo, we saw a whole bunch of people counting all the kids.  Its really funny to me how some tourists will just nonchalantly (and sometimes totally chalantly (is that a word?)) take pictures of our kids... Sean carried his tripod with him through a lot of the hikes and walks we did and it proved worthwhile.

My parents and all 20 grandkids... one more will  be joining the ranks next month!!!

Tower Fall

We were bummed that we couldn't get to the bottom of the falls, due to a closed trail, but we had fun watching the river.

Ethan wondered if this was sulfur...Anyone know?

Upper Falls overlook.

We were going to hike down to the viewing area of Upper Falls, but a big storm rolled in right when we got there, so we headed to the Lower Falls viewing area instead.

As you can see, it was cold and wet.  There was someone there set up with their easel and creating a lovely painting through the storm and all.  They had a canvas sheet draped over themselves and their painting.

Our next stop was Sulfur Cauldron.  Eliza wasn't too impressed with the smell.

And then across the road we visited the Mud Volcano area.

I was halfway through this tour when I realized that I hadn't seen Jonas in a while.  So I started looking for him, asking everyone, and then I sent Ethan to finish the loop while I ran back the opposite direction to find him.  When I got to the parking lot I saw my parents and they didn't have him, but a few minutes later they spotted him in Dave and Adrienne's van.  Apparently he decided he wasn't going to get out, though he neglected to tell anyone besides Bryant.  And when I asked him why he was in there he said that "the doors were locked."  So, I guess my 9 year old is unable to get out of a locked vehicle if necessary.  We ran up to see the volcano and the dragon's breath cauldron.  Lucy totally photo bombed us.

Ethan and I drove all around exploring the campsites near us on our way back to camp... while passing the lake we were treated to this lovely.

And when we got back to camp, we were greeted by these lovelies.  Silly girls.  I sure love all my sweet nieces (and nephews, too, of course).

 That night I tried teaching kids how to make paracord bracelets in my parent's trailer.  It didn't go quite as smoothly as I'd hoped.  Luckily, Kari, Paige and Nola picked it up quickly and were able to teach the other kids or do it for them.  It made for a fun little souvenir from our trip (and it didn't cost a fortune, either!).

 Saturday morning we got up and packed up our family's campsite, rather, Ethan packed up our site while I made bracelets and taught kids all morning.  The rest of the crew was staying until Sunday, so they were kind enough to help and to be patient while we took care of business.

Then we hit boardwalk again... actually we had a detour to the bathroom while it down poured.  Half of us went to the bathroom in a gift shop and there was a line super long for the women.  Lucy got distracted looking at stuff and didn't stay with us in line, the ladies between us and her could have cared less when I made it totally known that she was with us, not one person offered to let her go ahead of them to join us.  So we got to wait even longer.  But eventually we got out of there and got to our destination.

First we visited Black Sand Basin, (I think-correct me if I'm wrong, dear family).

 

Our next stop was Biscuit Basin.  It really is amazing how the Lord created such an amazing world for us to live in.

At the end of the boardwalk there is a trail to Mysitc Falls.  We were trying to hit the road back to Utah, but decided this was one of the few things that we had planned on doing the whole trip and we would stay long enough to do the trail up to the falls and then hit the road.  We are so glad we did!!!  It was such a lovely trail and gorgeous waterfall.  Bolton and Eliza stayed behind with Adrienne and my parents.  So it was just the big boys, the baby and Ethan and me.

The photos here are so not even close to capturing the beauty of this fall.  Its name comes from this lovely mist sneaking out the top of the fall so it looks quite mystical.  Turning the corner to where we could finally see the fall was just like we stepped into a fairy world.

As we walked back down to the car, this chipmunk caught our attention.  We were watching her and then she just started coming toward Levi.  He had a bag of chips and he was sure she was coming after his chips! It was pretty hilarious!  Lucky for us, I got it all on video, even Levi's little girl screams. :)

It was a spectacular way to end a spectacular family vacation!  We can hardly wait for the next one!