Happy Halloween!!

Last night we had a Halloween party at Nana's house.  We piggybacked on the neighborhood spook alley activity and really enjoyed it.  We had hot soups and chili with rolls and a few treats too.  It was fun to get the kids together and see all the costumes for this year.  The spook alley was really well done and the fresh homemade donuts were divine!

Hee Haw Farms

For FHE this week we bought passes to Hee Haw farms with some of our other extended family!  We were watching the weather and saw that Monday was the best day of the week for going even if it was super windy and sort of cold!  There was a lot of fun things to do there at the farm.  There were goats, pigs, and chickens in the petting farm.  There was a large slide and a hay playground.  There was also a corn maze and a pumpkin patch.  

 The animals in the petting farm were very excited to be fed.  They would climb on you and make sure that they got some feed.  They weren't shy that's for sure!

One of the activities was a pig chase.  The kids were organized by age and they would try to catch a pig.  The little kids didn't want to do it, but Austin and Ethan got in for the 14-18 year old group.  They were told that they had to catch a pig, cradle and sing to a pig, kiss the pig and then kiss their mother in order to win a prize.  Austin was all over it and quickly caught a pig and did all the required steps including kissing me!  It was really funny!

After the pig chase everyone got brave and started to catch the pigs that were in the petting zoo.  I got pictures of several of the cousins holding the pigs.  They would squeel and squirm all over, but the kids still held on to those pigs!

 There was also a fun animal train ride that would go around the farm.  Many of us, including me, took turns riding in the different animals.  It was definitely a little chilly and very windy, but it turned out to be a fun night!

Homecoming 2012

Six days after turning 16, Austin was on his way to Homecoming for his first date.  He went with a huge group (13 couples) on a fun dinner/dance/movie date.  He had a beautiful date Brooke and really enjoyed his evening.  Thanks to one of the dad's being a photographer they ended up with some really nice photos.  I'm still trying to get my hands on the group shot, but here's Austin with his date.

They had a great time and Austin is looking forward to more dances and more dates!!

First Day 2012

I was able to snap pictures of McKinley and Evan on their first day of school this year.  McKinley is starting 3rd grade and Evan is in 6th.  They were super excited about school and seeing their friends again.

 

Austin and Ethan had early morning seminary and I didn't take any pictures of them.  I will have to make sure I get a photo of them one of these mornings!

Loon Lake Cabin

As a final trip before school started we went to a rental lake house near Duschene Utah for a week long relaxing vacation.  We were able to invite many family members to come visit throughout the week and it made for a very memorable time.  The property was unique with 7 small man made lakes stocked with canoes and rowboats, complete with lifejackets, to enjoy.  It was really nice that we could let the kids take out a canoe or rowboat and not worry that they were too far away from the dock.  Vicky and the girls were up the first day to enjoy the warm sunny day and smores before they had to head back for the start of school.

 The kids were able to canoe around, race each other, and some were brave enough to do some swimming when the sun was out...the water was pretty cold, but very refreshing on the hot days.

 Mid-week we took off for a day trip to Vernal and Dinosaur National Monument.  We enjoyed a museum in Vernal and then headed out to the Quarry to see the massive display of fossils that have been preserved there in the hillside.  I had never seen anything like it before.  Apparently, that area was the edge of a riverbank and so many bones were washed down river during flooding and deposited on the banks.  Those banks are what are now excavated with thousands of bones and fossils there.  They have built a building around three sides of the hill and exposed the hillside to where you can see the bones there... It was really amazing to see.

Grandpa Dick was able to spend this day out and about with us.  He enjoyed the drive and the shuttle up to the quarry where he pointed out a hug bone in the hillside.

We also explored the area around the cabin.  We hiked around to each of the 7 lakes and explored the other rental properties there.  Nana joined us on one of our hikes and was part mountain goat with us as we went offtrail and up the rocks!

 Since we were so close to Roosevelt, the Davenports came over on Friday afternoon to play with us.  It was warm out that day and so the lake was appealing.  We rowed over to a swimming spot and did some jumping in!  Then Jeremy and the kids tried in vain to catch some frogs.  We finished up with dinner and smores and really enjoyed the evening with them!

 And I got to row Nana about in the canoe before she left to go home.  We paddled around and watched everyone enjoy the lake.  It was a lot of fun!

McKinley's baptism day and celebration

 While we were at Bear Lake we were able to have the baptism of McKinley and her cousin Landon in the lake.  What a special event it was!  Around dusk we all gathered on the sands of the lake for a short program and then waded into the water where McKinley was baptized by her father and Landon by his brother Zach.  It was an awesome night and there was a great Spirit there with all of us.  It is a night that will not be forgotten.  We are so proud of McKinley for making the choice to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized!

 

The following Sunday we were back from vacation and were able to celebrate with our bigger families.  We gathered for a desert bar at the Cederlofs and shared the even with extended family and friends.  It was a great weekend, topping off the wonderful events for Landon and McKinley.

 

Bear Lake 2012

 Bear Lake is one of the best parts of summer and we look forward to it every year.  This year was no exception!  It is always a ton of work to get ready and get up there, but it's so worth it.  This year we had almost every member of the family there for about 12 hours, and most were there for the full time.  It's getting hard with everyone's schedules, but we continue to make it a priority and get time off from work and activities!

 Bear Lake is always about the beach, the campfire, the visiting, and the food and activities!  We eat so well at Bear Lake.  We look forward to dutch oven chicken and cobblers, scones, smores, and just great food and snacks all day!

This year we were able to make bleach shirts with a lot of the kids.  We had made them back at the girls retreat, but this time we were pro's and the kids were able to make some too.  There was a lot of creativity and they all turned out to good.  The only snafu was Zach's plan to spell out I love Salt Lake Utah, which turn into "I heart SLUT!"  Oops...hehe.

 A lot of the kids are getting bigger now, with a few more waverunner drivers and a lot more help, but we still have our little ones who just love getting dirty and eating junk for the trip!!

I think we were successful with not getting too many sunburns this year and the weather was amazing!  It wasn't cold at night and the best part was there were no mosquitos for some reason...no complaints there!

Unfortunately we did experience our first ER proceedure done on the picnic table.  Poor Taylor had a bike wreck and split open his chin.  Luckily we had Dr Carman (aka Dad) and a PA and operating room tech and a steady cop with a flashlight who all took care of the situation and all was well.

Bear Lake is such a precious childhood memory for all these cousins and one of my fondest memories from the past 17 years as well!  We love Bear Lake!