Bear Lake

We finally made it to Bear Lake the weekend before school started. It was a overcast that day and not the warmest but the kids still had a fun time. Don't they look like they are having a great time? Notice how their lips are blue because they are cold from the water. We stopped for pizza at the Grizzly Bear Pizza and got there huge pizza. It feed all 15 of us. I love the look on Crispin's face.

Lava Hot Springs

As usual I am a couple of weeks behind so I am catching up on our last few adventures of summer. Before school started we went to Lava Hot Springs with Justin's parents and Tim. We had a fun trip. We took the kids tubing on the river. It was their first time and they really enjoyed it. We only had on incident where Grandma and Tim fell off their tube in a rapid part of the river and Grandma got banged up. She had cuts and bruises. She was such a good sport about it. But we all felt bad of course it would be Grandma! Justin and Mariah were dare devils and went down this huge rock on a double tube without flipping over so they talked me into going with them again. Here we are on a triple person tube going down. We went to Soda Springs one evening and saw the geyser there. It had to laugh at this picture of Riley. Why are all the crazy pictures of her?

Camping

We went camping this past weekend. We went with Natalie and Cody to his family's property near Strawberry. We had a great time. We rode the 4 wheelers alot. The kids loved them. It was Devin's first time camping. He is now 4 months old. He did great! He slept good (all night the first night and got up once the second night when Emily woke us all up because she needed to go potty). Of course the girls had a great time with their cousin, Dominic. He is practically like a brother to them. They had a great time playing Harry Potter, playing games in the trailer, and looking for animal bones. The highlight for the girls was driving the 4 wheeler. Thanks Natalie and Cody we had a great weekend!

Grandma Stacey

Justin's Grandma Stacey passed away last Sunday. Even though Justin and I have been married for almost 13 years I never got to know her very well. She was diagnosed with cancer soon after we were married. Even though she recovered and lived many years after that it forever changed her. I do have many memories of going to visit her and spending time with the family but I never knew her as the person Justin remembers. She was his grandma that as a child he has many happy memories of. Here are some of the things he has shared with me that he remembers about her. When they would go to her house she always had things for them to do. They never watched TV at her house. They played games or helped her make things (like Christmas candies and popcorn strings). She had a big party at her house on Christmas Eve and had lots of presents for everyone (amazing considering how large the family is). Justin said that she just kept bringing in more and more presents (which now Justin's mom and dad are like that now). She expected them to be nice and mannerly. Justin and his brothers had soap put in there mouths a number of times for something they said. She was the grandma who babysat them and took them places like going to see Saturday's Warrior at Weber State. She made it possible for him to buy his first car by co-signing on the loan. Her funeral was yesterday. We spent the day with the family. It was amazing to see how much the family has grown. She has 38 grandkids who have now given her 64 great grandkids. It was a huge group. As a mother I can appreciate the influence of a grandma and love the time and memories my own kids share with their grandparents. Even though I did not know Grandma Stacey very well I do know Justin's mom. And I can see many of the things that she does with our children are things that Grandma Stacey did with hers. She is always happy to have the grandkids come over. She always has crafts and fun things for them to do there. Christmas is amazing how many presents there are and the thought that goes in to each gift to be exactly what you want. She is the most selfless person I know, always doing things for other people. Justin made the comment that his mom is who she is today because of Grandma Stacey. How much I appreciate that because she is a blessing in our lives! I think the thing that makes a grandma special as I think back to my own grandma is how they make you feel when you are with them. That they always have time for you and love to be with you. That every grandchild secretly thinks that they are grandma's favorite. I hope that someday I can be a great grandma like them.

Fun With Cousins

As you might remember from a previous post Devin just met his uncle Jeramy for the first time a few weeks ago. Erin and the girls just came for a visit last week. My girls were so excited to see them. They love Erin so much and have such a good time with Scout and Eden. Here are some pictures from our time together. My caption for this picture would be "The Three Amigos". All of these darling girls are child number 2 in their family and the most stubborn, strong-willed, and frustrating children I know. I say that with extreme love. Eden, Lily, and Mariah all have similar personalities and I know that Grandpa Martin is very amused by each one of them. Mariah and Eden. They almost look like they could be sisters. Scout with Devin. Eden with Devin (excuse the red eyes but the picture was so cute). Eden loved Devin and really enjoyed holding him. We had a great time seeing you and can't wait until next time.

Trout Farm

Tim's birthday was last week and we went to the trout farm with all the kids and then had a fish fry back at the house. The kids had a fun time. They are happy to go there and catch as many fish as we will pay for. Here are Cooper and Lily checking out the fish. Here is Tim with some of the nieces and nephews. Devin got to catch his first fish. This is what he thought about it!

Meeting Uncle Jeramy

Justin's brother Jeramy and his family moved to Texas around the end of last year. We really miss them. Justin and Jeramy are pretty close and we really enjoy spending time with them. Our girls really miss Erin, Scout, and Eden. Jeramy was here for a quick visit last week and he got to meet Devin for the first time. We really miss you, guys!

Quilting

Emily's bedroom is decorated with ladybugs. I decided I wanted to make her a new quilt to match her room. On Wednesday the kids did not have school (teacher work day). Justin's mom and Natalie helped us tie the quilt. Mariah did a really good job of helping. I couldn't resist posting this cute picture of Riley and Cooper. Even Grandpa helped out. The quilt turned out really cute. It took a little longer than it normally would since we were teaching 3 girls how to tie the quilt. It was fun to be able to do it with the girls. Thank you Grandma and Natalie for your help.

Family dinner

Every month Justin's family has a family dinner. We all take turns hosting. It was our turn for February. We had a good time. Thanks to everyone for coming and bringing all the yummy food. Thank you, Justin, for taking charge of dinner and fixing a delicious dutch oven dinner. I know it was a lot of work for you, but so easy for me especially since you even did all the clean up. Here are some pictures of our evening.