Daniels Reunion, Bear Lake

We decided to start the Bear Lake trip early by going to lava Hot Springs on the way down. We were able to drive up with grandma and grandpa Daniels and then meet Zac after work.

Eloise and Zoe are becoming better buddies every day. They loved splashing in the splash area together and went down the little slide for at least an hour straight.

Addy could not get enough of the water this time around.  She would try to crawl and would go under water, but she never was scared, she loves water.

Teagan and Taylin had a blast too.  They move so quickly and so often that I never got a picture of them together.  Teagan ended up going on the platform several times.  He still loves the diving boards best.

The girls were out about 5 minutes after we got in the car, swimming pools are a lot of work!

The cabin was amazing this year!  Eloise still talks about when we can go back to the "big house with cousins."  There was plenty of room for the adults and the kids.

The little girls played all day, Polly pockets and CPK dolls were highlights.

Teagan and Taylin were all about the fort in the family room and sneaking endless pops and bags of chips.

Addy was a big fan of all the new space to explore and the candy.

She also loved Taylin, Tay was so sweet with her!

This is the filing fort area where they spent most of their time.

sheena and I both forgot to text the other to bring the matching PJs, but luckily we both had the same idea and it was a huge hit! The little girls love to be matching!

Zac and I made an awesome breakfast with lots of food from our garden. It's awesome to have a husband who isn't afraid to help in the kitchen. Yay for Zac!

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. It was pretty chilly, and it rained quite a bit. We didn't let that stop us though! We tried going out on the boat but with crying kids and really choppy water and rain and thunder and lightning we took  the boat back after about an hour.

After a lot of persuasion, we got the kids to go on a tube. Even going at the slowest speed possible, the choppy water was too much and both were in tears. Whoops!  Hopefully we'll have better weather next year.

Zac and Kurt did go out on the big banana and it was awesome!  They caught air so many times and stayed on for such a long time! It was really fun to watch them, I'm glad they got to go out and have some fun. :-)

Because the weather was so iffy, we ended up spending most of our time playing pinochle inside which was 100% OK with me. We laughed so hard and had such a good time spending time together.

We had fun eating out, walking around town getting random snacks and the boys and big kids went golfing.  Who knows where my camera was for all of that...just look at last year's pictures and imagine everyone a little older.  :)

As corny as it sounds I realized during the weekend that it doesn't matter what you do at a reunion so much as who you're spending time with. The weather would have seemed to be a big problem, but we still had just as much fun playing cards. Hooray for family!

Tomatillos

We realized that the tomatillos were suddenly ready. We picked a huge bucket full and the kids had fun "opening the presents" or peeling off the tomatillo skins.

Adeline loved opening them and then chucking them across the lawn.  I think Eloise thought it was hilarious and Teagan was torn between being frustrated and laughing.

We had about 20 lbs when all was said and done. Wow!

Hopefully this salsa verde turns out to be good on enchiladas and other mexi foods because we made 17 pints! I 

I love to have the kids keeping me company as I harvest and preserve our garden food! They love to help harvest and are pretty good sports about peeling tomatillos and shucking corn, but when it comes to the cooking in the kitchen I guess I'm on my own.  They are learning the value of hard work. We work hard in the garden and we get so much out of it. It's pretty magical!

BYU-I

Zac had the brilliant idea to take the kids on a tour of our old stomping grounds at BYU-I.  We started by driving by the different places that we lived and showing the kids where our family began.  Then we headed to BYU-I for a campus tour.  It was summer break so it was fantastic that the kids could ride scooter/bikes and have free reign.  Unfortunately, most of the buildings were locked up so we couldn't show them where we worked and went to class.

Addy spent most of the day pushing the wagon.  She loved it and was so happy!  The math building was still open so we went in and I was amazed that the display case that I decorated and designed for a project was still there.  I'm not going to lie, I was very proud.  Unfortunately, no picture.

I found it interesting that the highlights for the kids were so simple.  Getting to pick a candy from our favorite vending machines was a hit!  They also loved playing air hockey and pool in the new Manwaring(sp?) center.  It was such a wonderful day!

After BYU-I we took them to Porter Park where we would go to play tennis early in our marriage.  We told them about how we would ride our bikes to school every day to save on gas money and pass by that park.  We were so good that we could ride the whole way to school with no hands.  I even did it when I was really pregnant with Teagan.  I told them about how I would imagine what it would be like to take my kids to Porter Park.  To let them play on the splash pad and go on the merry-go-round.

As it turns out, it was better than I had imagined.  These kids are pretty awesome!

 The grand finale was to stop at Del Taco and get blueberry bavarian cream empanadas.  We used to treat ourselves each to one when we went to the temple or on a date.  It was so fun to share those memories with our kids and actually show them what it was like when we were first married.  It's hard to believe that there was a time without kids.

Ridiculously Good Looking

This man though.  Not only is he super good looking, he's an awesome dad.  Got that baby girl right to sleep in the middle of priesthood.

Fun at Home

These three love to play the piano.  Teagan is really excited to start piano lesson this fall.

Teagan loves to take baths in our jet tub on Sunday mornings.  On this particular day he got a little out of hand with the bubbles.  We couldn't even find him!

Eloise loves to hang around all the older girls in the neighborhood.  The Heath sisters asked if they could give her a makeover (they are 10 and 11).  Eloise was in absolute heaven.

Eloise loves to color and takes paper from the printer and a pen and colors for a long time.  She doesn't like to use crayons or markers though, just pens or pencils.  She is so sweet.

Teagan is growing up too fast.  He is growing right out of his church clothes already and is just too handsome for me.

Three Little Buddies

Seriously though, these kids are way too cute.  Boston drives the girls around in his awesome truck.  I feel like this is some foreshadowing into their future...

Great Grandma Durtschi

We had a glorious day up at Grandma Durtschi's house a few weeks ago.  Julie and I somehow managed to fit all our kids into her van, carseats included!  The kids loved it and had so much fun!

We had a great time visiting while the kids played in her magical yard.  I loved listening to her stories about raising all those kids.  She has such a fun personality, love her!

This is her pond, the big kids loved boating around.  Teagan has been asking to do this for a while now.

After all the reunions these two have become buddies.  Ellie and Ty love to run around together.

The rope climb is alway a big attraction at Grandma's house.  You can earn $5 if you make it to the top.  This time it was just Kate and Teagan that could make it, the younger ones have something to dream for now.  

Thank you Grandma Durtschi for hosting us and our families for the day!  It was wonderful!