Sunday Sledding

We had so much fun seeing my family and hanging out. The kids had a blast sledding with their cousins. It was below zero temperatures at night and single digit temps during the day. 

We are just not used to it being that cold! 

Thank you Mom and Dad for being awesome hosts and keeping the house nice and warm for us!

And the delicious home cooked meals made with love by Mom :)

 

2012 Summer Vacation 2012 part 7 of 7 :)

 My sweet father-in-law picked me up from the airport and I just couldn't wait to see the kids! We had such an awesome and fun time but I was so homesick to see the kids. I woke up early the next day and drove to Vernal and spent a couple of days there. The kids always want to break out the Slip-n-Slide :)

 We also had a little family BBQ with my aunt, uncle and cousins

 While we were gone, the family went boating at Flaming Gorge. (I thought I would sneak this picture in)

Wes and Ricci took us out on their boat the day before we left. It's been years since I've been to Red Fleet and we had a blast. Boats are so, so much fun!

 going for a swim!

 It was a beautiful day...

 Brandt liked sitting in the cooler :)

 I've been water skiing once but I've never knee boarded. I had a hard time getting up on the board...I think I was making it harder than it is. Wes is a pro :)

 After leaving Vernal, we picked Aaron up from the airport and went to see Grandma Martha. She just had knee surgery and we wanted to see her before we left. And then it was time to hop in the van for the loonnggg drive home. We got a late start (it's a 13 hour drive) so we stayed the night in Hurricane.

The kids looked thrilled, don't they?!

And that, my friends, is our summer vacation! :)

returning to reality

Our month in Utah has ended and now we're back to the hot weather and reality. It was so great to spend time with our family and friends...I miss all of you so much!
This picture is of Split Mountain, east of Vernal. I took this right in front of my childhood home. There's just something about those mountains that are comforting to me...I don't miss the cold winters but I do miss the Utah mountains :)

our Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving and I hope all of you did too! I did the same thing that I do every year, I ate way too much. We spent Thanksgiving at my brother’s house again this year. It wasn’t quite the same without Mike, Linda and Company (Linda is my mom’s older sister) but it was still good. My cousins and I could tell you stories about my relatives and our past Thanksgivings that would have you laughing and then asking, "Is that really true?"
When Jeff Foxworthy does his ‘You might be a redneck’ stand-up routine, everyone laughs because it’s funny. I laugh because I have relatives that are exactly like the people he talks about. Good times…

I posted some pictures this summer of the kids on my Dad’s tractor. He put the backhoe attachment on it and let B&P give it a try out in the garden. Braden LOVED it! He would dig the hole and then put the dirt back in and pack it down. That’s one of the things that I love about going home to Vernal. My kids get to experience and do things they don’t normally do. Paige and Heston found leaves in the back yard and enjoyed raking them up and jumping in them.

I know it's totally cheesy but I love the shape of this tree.

some of my current faves

I was going through some of my pictures that I took over the summer. These are some of my favorites. The one with Heston and the banana makes me laugh. He loves bananas and it shows!

Greetings from Vernal ,Utah

We're having a nice little visit here in Utah. I hope to post some pictures soon.

We had an interesting day on Tuesday. Dad and Braden were driving around the neighborhood and they noticed a cat that was laying on the side of the road. The cat was black and white and it looked just like my parents cat named Bzzy. Dad came back home and he and I looked everywhere for Bzzy and couldn't find him. So Dad went back to see if the cat was Bzzy and he brought it back home. He came in and said that Bzzy had been run over. Bzzy is my Mom's favorite cat. He's been in the family for 14 years. Wes found him when he was a kitten and he survived lukemia. We knew Mom was going to take the news pretty hard.
She came home and he told her, she was devestated. Dad and Braden buried the cat and made a headstone.
Later that night while Mom and Dad were out in the garden, guess who walked out of the garage?
Bzzy.
My dad buried the wrong cat! We all went from being sad to being so relieved and happy. It was crazy! Aaron was on the phone with Braden when Bzzy came out of the garage. Braden told him, "Bzzy is back from the dead!"
Happy ending to the story.

I hope to post some pictures soon...coming here is like going to a different country. My Vernal accent is starting to creep back...dang it!

the purple horse shirt

When we were in Vernal visiting, I decided to take my kids to the rodeo. They had never been and I thought they would enjoy it. We went to the trading post and picked them up hats and t-shirts. Paige picked this number for 2 reasons: 1) it's her favorite color and 2) it had pretty horses on it. Once I bought it for her, I could not get her to take it off she liked it so much. It's so ugly it's cute!!

Braden picked one with a dinosaur on it.

My brother Wes has been dating a girl named Ricci. Her kids Hunter and Gavin are in the pics with the kids. It was fun getting to know them better.