Happy Family Reunion!

Even though it didn't start out as a family reunion, with Will's baptism, Landon and Addison's blessings, and Ben flying in, we had ourselves a good ol' fashioned gathering.  We had a lot of fun, swimming, eating, and all around running into everyone (you should have seen our sleeping arrangements).  I'm going to post more pictures, but here's the family one.  I'm only sad that Becca, Noah and Kathy weren't able to be here.

Almost everyone's here!

Jenny and Adam arrived last night with Zach, Ryan, Jessica, Bryce, and Wesley.  Adam and Ashley with Kevin and Katie came over, too. We had homemade chili (me) and it was a mad house, but fun until the adults were ready to drop!  Here's a couple of photos I snapped of some of the cousins.  Notice how Wesley is holding onto Mandy's arm :)



                        Landon, Wesley, and Kevin and the TRUCKS.

Zach hamming it with Kevin, Wesley, and Landon.

This picture is sort of a joke (don't tell great-grandma).  The dress Jenny, Erin, and I are holding up is one mom wanted to give to me, and I said it wasn't my style (very gently, mind you), but when Jenny and Adam arrived, she got to Jenny's soft heart and now Jenny gets to wear it! 

    Mandy with Wesley and Kevin.

It's getting HOT !

Well, our temperature hit 106 today, and I think that's just about my limit.  Unfortunately, tomorrow's not going to be much better, or the rest of the week for that matter.  I'm sure Ben will love it, but it really saps my strength.  Jeremy and Mariah came over this evening, and Jeremy got roped into a hot game of Monopoly with Jacob.  Jeremy's sidekick was Lauryn ( she got to roll the dice, good thing she wasn't the banker).  Jer's a good sport, and when they left, Bill took over, and found out Jeremy and Lauryn weren't doing so well :) As I am blogging this, I can hear Bill yelling, "Oh, you little bugger!" I guess I don't need to ask who's winning.

Here's Jeremy's partner in crime!

Come On Kitty!

Sometimes they just don't listen.  Lauryn was trying to get the neighbor's cat to go where she (Lauryn) wanted him to go, but I think the cat had other ideas.  Lauryn and family have a dog (Juneau), but she desperately wants a kitty.  I wonder how long the kitty would last???

Ughh, get over here, kitty.

Nice kitty.

Back in St. George, again

Well, Erin and I, and the kids made it back from Texas in less than two days. Let me tell you, it was one fast ride.  The kids were great.  Just imagine a 9 year old, 4 year old, and 7 month old baby traveling that long.  I'm glad to be back home, and finally got my stitches out of my head.  Don't ask, everything was fine.  It's a bit hot here right now, but not humid, so that's good.  It's time to get back to couponing.  I know I missed out on some great deals, but you can't win 'em all.  Here's a few pictures of our journey.

Lauryn and Jacob in the back seat.  I think Lauryn just woke up.

                                                        This is Landon.  He's a real charmer.

We stopped at the Petrified Forest State Park, but didn't go in.  The only thing petrified is the tree stump behind Jacob and Lauryn.

We went to the splash pad on Tabernacle today.  Yeah, 102!
Next week Jenny, Adam and kids will arrive.  Ben's coming in on the plane.  Tyler/Summer & Kids, Adam/Ashley & kids, Jeremy/Mariah, Logan/Vicki & baby will be here, also, for Will's baptism.  We're going to have a house full, but what a blast!  More pics to come.

Finally, Some Food

I had a procedure this afternoon, and one that I would most definitely recommend to anyone...NOT.  I had to stop eating 48 hours prior to the procedure, and starting last night around 6:00, began drinking 4 liters of a salty water drink.  I was able to add some Crystal Light (pink lemonade) to it.  This cleaned me out big time, but the flavoring didn't really help when I had to drink that much.  I got up this morning to finish the last 2 liters.  Can I just add, that the doctor found me "clean as a whistle"? I wasn't going to blog about this event, but now since I am free to eat, what the heck, why not?
Now tomorrow, I get to have a hole cut in my head (like I don't already have enough holes in my body).  I have a small spot of basil cell carcinoma, and since I had one removed around 5 years ago, I get to return for more, yay!  I just had my hair done yesterday, and I know they're going to make a mess of it.
I know what it's like to read (or not) about someone's medical problems, so I'm going to stop right now and go outside and watch the birds feed on their new seed bell.  They are really hungry little guys. Bill just mowed the lawn, and it looks fantastic.  I wish we could do something with our over-grown backyard; I guess we'll have to save that for another year.

Portland was great (and wet), and I'm so grateful to be back home.  I still have to post some of my pictures; here's a few,  just to prove that's where I actually was:

This is Noah with Jack.

This is Noah, getting ready to bat, at one of his little league games.  This was one of the rare non-rainy days.

This is me with my brothers and mom, in Portland.  Gordon, second from the right, on the couch has Parkinson's Disease.

Finally, a picture of the Sandy River in Troutdale, Oregon, as seen through the trees. I stopped on the roadside, on my drive to see Ben one day.

Say hi to Jack!

Here's  bird's eye view of Becca's dog, Jack.  He's got a lot of energy, strength, energy, teeth, and of course, energy.  He's an American Bulldog, and is about a year old.  Imagine relaxing on her couch, then gazing into those set of eyes?  He's pretty harmless, unless you consider the chunk of carpet he took out at the top of Becca's stairs.  She's got a neat new home, but Jack just needed to sink his teeth into it.  She bought him a couple of those dog chews that eliminates a dog's need to chew on anything in your home, like furniture and carpet. I will post his pic when I get home and download them onto our computer.