Continuing the Summer

I feel a compulsive need to catch up what I didn't cover and so, to break up the summer news, I am doing a three part blog. I started with the last one. These are mostly our reunions and then I'll add the end of the summer. We tried to get a lot of time with family before we left. I guess trying to save it up, since we won't see them much the next three years and after that who knows! The kids, especially Gracey, were pretty upset about leaving family, but with Spencer having the chance to go to Law School and greatly improve our future, it's a sacrifice we'll all have to make. I am so grateful for the time we have lived close to family. Now, my kids are very close and have good relationships with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, and great grandparents. It's just too bad we didn't have any cousins close by! We sure do love our family!

Here's Becca, helping Grandpa mow the lawn. All the kids had a chance and they had a lot of fun!

We went to the Idaho Falls Temple and the visitor's center with Grandma and Grandpa Redd and a few aunts and uncles that are still at home. It was a neat opportunity for them to learn about temples and the visitor's center has a lot of neat things. We will miss being so close to a temple!

We went to the Redd reunion at the Steadman's Farm. They have a huge waterslide made out of heavy rubber tubing laid out flat and a whole bunch of tubes to slide down. The kids had a blast. They also have a trampoline, zip-line, candy cannon, sandbox, swings, and lots of other fun things to keep the kids busy. It was fun for me to see all my cousins that I haven't seen and talk to everyone!

The kids with Aunt Joni. She is such a great aunt!

The kids on the tube having fun!

Aunt Anna and adorable Aaron

(Now that's alliteration for you!)

Becca and Gracey win crowns for a prize after the fish pond activity. Aren't they cute! That evening we had a special birthday party for Great Grandpa Redd (My Grandpa) in Pocatello. He turned 80 this year. He is a wonderful man! And we all love him.

Here comes July! This is on my birthday. I will not divulge how old I am! My sister Emma and I showed up wearing the same shirt. No we didn't plan it! Becca couldn't resist getting in the picture... all that attention you know. She's modeling Grandma's sunglasses!

Emma made me an apple pie for my birthday. MMM! That girl can make good pies! Pie beats cake any day.

Then, a few days after my birthday, we took off for Salt Lake to go to our Smyth family reunion. We first went to the "This is the Place" historical village. It was a lot of fun for the cousins to be together. We're sad we're farther away now and for Jenni having moved to Florida!

The trolley was fun. Aaron got a kick out of it!

There were a lot of fun things to see and do. It has really changed since I was there last. I think the kids had a fun time, even though it was hot. I think they got plenty of water in their systems though, because I swear we had about a hundred potty breaks!

They had a mini train that went around the pond. The kids went on it twice. They thought it was cool. Dad went too to hold Aaron.

Then, after staying in Salt Lake overnight, we went to the Smyth cabin in Weber Canyon. Nathan (on the left) and Tommy (on the right) were inseperable. They had a lot of fun together. I really wished we lived closer. The kids have so much fun with their cousins.

We had a lot of hikes. I think the kids went on twice as many as I did. This is one of my favorite hikes there. It really is beautiful. There are so many wildflowers.

Here's the whole family inside the cabin. Except I'm not in it! Oh, too bad! (I really don't mind, I'm not very photogenic)

Here's a line up of cousins, though not all of them. I thought it was cute!
Well, that's enough for now!