Family Reunion

Before my sister, Jennifer, and her family moved away to Pennsylvania for a few years we had a little family reunion.  We went to Ensign Ranch.  We rented a couple little cabins.  My parent's and Karyn and Jason (and Chandler) stayed in one and Joe, the kids and I stayed in the other.  Nancy and Adam's family and Jen and her kids stayed in tents outside our cabin. Amy and Sloan's family came up one evening and joined us for dinner.

They had super fun horse back riding.  The kids loved it!  We got to guide them around this big pasture.

Abby and Emily feeding the horses.

Jen leading Josie's horse.

We also went to the waterslide.  It is a huge hill covered in plastic with running water.  I was a little nervous at first but it was a blast!  There was a lot to do.  We never made it to the rope swing or the lake for boating.

Giving my filthy kids baths in a tub in our cabin.

   I thought the cabins were fun.  We didn't have to set up a tent so that was nice.  There was electricity, a refrigerator and microwave.  However there was no running water inside.  We just had to go to the water spigot at the edge of our campsite to get water.  Upstairs was a big open loft that was great for kids to play in.  The downstairs had a bedroom with a queen bed and  bunk beds.  We had yummy food every day and a yummy dutch oven dinner one night.  Smore's galore and roasted Starbursts, too.

   Joe and I are going back in the winter.  There are wood stoves so hopefully we'll stay warm.  Anybody want to join us?  P.S.  It's super cheap, too!  There are sleigh rides and sledding.  :)

Summer Time

We had a fun busy summer.  We played in our backyard, once the grass grew in.  Doesn't it look nice!

We played ladder ball and badminton.

We got a trampoline.  You can sort of tell from the picture that it is rectangular.  Joe has a need to be different from all the people with round trampolines.  :)  I like how well it fits on the side of the house, though too.  Romney especially loves it.  He loves to jump and jump.  The kids have slept out on it a couple times.  It's great for putting a sprinkler under and jumping to cool off.  Such a fun investment.

   This summer was also filled with the excitement of getting a dog.  We went and picked her out at the shelter.  Her name is Kaleigh and she is a Border Collie.  She's very good with the little kids.  She is very energetic and playful.  She loves to fetch although she doesn't always bring things back.  She likes to have you chase her around to get it back.  Rebekah is so funny with the dog.  She knows she is in charge and gives the dog commands with all the authority an almost 2 year old can muster.  She loves to give her hugs and tummy tickles.  Romney is mostly afraid or annoyed by Kaleigh.  He doesn't play with her much and doesn't appreciate all her affection.  He just kind of tries to ignore her.  Paige has been begging for a dog for years.  We always had excuses:  We're renting and can't have pets, when we get in a house, after we build a fence, etc.  We ran out of excuses.  Paige adores her and wants her to play whenever she goes outside.  Jacob thinks the dog is kind of neat.  He likes to walk her.  We have to take her in for some training because right now she likes to growl, bark or jump at people.  Not such a good thing.  She is very protective of us!

   I'll have to do another post when I figure out how to get pictures off my cell phone.

Twelve Years Old!

I can't believe Jacob is already 12!  It's gone by so quickly.  Once they hit school, time speeds up.  Now he's a deacon and passing the sacrament.  I couldn't look at him the first time because it was making me cry to see him up there.  (Sappy Mom).

We had some cousins, grandma and grandpa Hull and a neighbor friend come over for a little party.  They played outside with water balloons, slip and slide, and a sprinkler under the trampoline to stay cool.  Then we had a BBQ and cake.

Jacob opening cards and presents.