Some Things NEVER Change

Today went SO much better than last night!! I got to talk to more people, and had a more fun time. I think I reverted a bit though. I was a LOT shyer today than I really am, and then, well....

Believe it or not, no alcohol was involved!

High School Reunion

Tonight I went to my 10 year high school reunion....and it was BORING! Maybe it was the fact that NONE of my group of friends was there....or the fact that the event was poorly planned, but I really wish it had gone better. There is more tomorrow, so I'm hoping for more fun.

Tonight I did catch up with a FEW people...included was my second grade boyfriend. And for those of you who love my memories as much as I do, I present: The Story of the "Net."

When I was in second grade there was a chain link fence at the back of the field. It was broken at one part, and it was discovered that you could easily convert that little part of fence into a net which could easily hold a little kid.

One time I was at the back of the field playing with my friend, Carrie, and Chris and one of his friends came up to us. Somehow...I don't really remember how, Chris and his friend had managed to get me into the net. After I was trapped, Chris began *kissing* me!! I was moving and trying to get out, but NO ONE would help.....NOT EVEN CARRIE!!! She just stood there and laughed!!

Chris was at the reunion tonight and was wearing a ring, I asked him where his wife was, and he said, "I'm not married, I just wear this ring to throw off stupid girls." At that I pretended to be offended and tried to walk away. We had a good conversation.

I saw my friend, Jared, who decided that he was gay. He's balding, so I asked if I could rub his head...and he let me! :)
I had a good conversation with our former Student Body President, Kalana, and her husband. They told us many horror stories of their years in Los Angeles. Their wards were VERY different from the Idaho wards I know!
Then we had a special presentation of those who have died. A quick update on those who are in the military (one of the guys I had A HUGE crush on is in the Navy...he was one I really had hoped would be here....he was a fun guy!) And then they showed a quick nine minuted video of a tape we made in my seventh grade World History class. I was one of the ones showed....and all I said was, "My name is Dawnyel, and I like to read and camp." Simple....but HORRIBLE clothing choices!! The BEST one on the tape was a girl named Andrea, she got up and said, "My name is Andrea, and I'm obnoxious!" Then she proceeded to belch!! I caught up to her and she was HORRIFIED!! But she is pretty much the same as she was in school....laid back and fun loving!
Tomorrow is the family oriented activity. I hope that it goes better for me than tonight! (Maybe I'll have a friend or two to hang out with!)

Squirrelly Ranch and Other Boring Facts From My Weekend

What a fun weekend! On Friday we went to my dad's company's party. We got there a little late since my dad had to fix the bed in the trailer before we could go, but we got there just as they were eating dinner. I remember thinking that last year the food at this place was very yummy, but I think I was just REALLY hungry (or very forgetful)...it wasn't so good! Their chicken tasted like fish (ick!) and the other stuff just made us thirsty! The instant we sat down to eat dinner a little kid of one of my dad's employees came up to Cam, tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he remembered him. That was the last time I really saw the boy the whole time we were there. He was off with those kids the rest of the time!

I ended up eating S'mores (yes, I know they're not good for me, but it was only ONE!) I played card bingo, and won...a candy bar! (The max amount I could win, since I'm a child of a boss!) And colored many pictures. Okay, so I was bored out of my mind, but I did get in some good laughs and an EXCELLENT nap! They really didn't plan many activities like they have in years past, so it was more of a "do-what-you-want" kind of thing.

The funniest thing I saw was this scrawny little squirrel trying to carry a huge pine cone up a tree. It had the pine cone sticking out of it's mouth like a cigar. It was nearly as big as the squirrel was...I was just so shocked to see that visual that I had to stop and watch it for a while. I guess I'm easily amused! (Either that, or I really was bored!)

Part of the weekend was spent in pain. I don't know what I did, but my heel of my left foot was KILLING me! I could barely walk up and down stairs. Today it's been marvelous...not painful at all! YAY! I thought I may have had a bone spur, but I don't really know. I think I may have just pulled something and it took a little bit of time to heal.

Tomorrow is Cam's first day of kindergarten. He's excited, but nervous. I just hope that he does well. His aide can't start for another week, so I'm really hoping he'll be fine! *crossing my fingers* Tomorrow is only a trial day. They've set up 2 different hours where they'll evaluate the children, and then in the afternoon they'll consult with other teachers and try to make the classroom more balanced: even numbers of kids who are really prepared (can write their names, read...) with those who are not so prepared (like my Cam!) I'm really, really hoping for morning! *crossing my toes* He is a complete MORNING person. We sometimes joke that we don't know where he came from, since BOTH my hubby and I are night owls. He's one of those kids who's tired when the sun goes down, and awake when it comes up. It didn't even matter that we had covered his windows with aluminum foil to keep the light out...he was up when the sun was. He's ALWAYS been that way, and I'm sure he will continue to be that way...at least until those teen-age years hit! He's always done much better in the mornings, and always been grouchier in the afternoons. So we'll find out his permanent schedule tomorrow afternoon! Here's hoping! *crossing eyes*

I called and scheduled our family portrait for next month. And after talking with the receptionist I found that our gift certificate is really only worth about $75. She told me that if we want that date we have to put half of the price down to secure it...which will be another $75. I'm still excited about it...that's going to be our family's Christmas this year...so it will be worth it! I'm so ready for a new hair cut and a cute family picture! Can you feel the excitement in my life!? :)

My Weekend as a Wheel

This last weekend was filled with all kinds of activities. We spent the majority of the weekend in my husband's hometown and with his family. We dropped off Cam and our over-night stuff at Steve's brother's apartment, and then we were off for the adventure known as "10 year class reunion." After talking with my mom about what goes on at these events I thought I was prepared to be the extra wheel behind my husband, but I think I held my own pretty well.
Friday night they had a dinner and program at a local hotel. It was fun seeing people who recognized Steve and him re-connecting with old friends. We plopped ourselves down at a table to await the night's events. We were talking with two of Steve's pals when a random girl came up to him, pointed and said, "Stephen _____!" We were quite shocked!! This girl was one of those in high school who was popular and quite nice to all she knew, but she never really ever talked to Steve! They ended up talking and having a good time. Then we ate the dinner, and sat back and enjoyed the attempts of the comedian/magician. I think our table was the only one paying any attention to him, and laughing at him. By the end of the program I was thoroughly bored, and begged to get to bed. Steve said there was someone he wanted to talk with who was on his way, so we waited for him. They had a cash bar there, and I watched as the drinkers stumbled off one by one. By the time his friend got there the room just REEKED of beer, and I was ready to leave. We went to his brother's place, and got ready for bed.
Instead of sleeping when we got there I stayed up and talked with his brother for an hour and a half. It's weird...I can talk better with his brother than he can, and Steve can talk better with my brothers than I can. So I got him talking about EVERYTHING that is going on in his life. I gave him my advice, and just hopes that he takes it.

After sleeping really weirdly, we woke up late and hurried off to the school tour. Since they've remodeled most of the building, they thought it would be fun to see what's new! I just know that the history there is AWESOME! And that if I had to go there, I would have gotten lost!! Then after the tour, we went to the park for a barbecue. I mostly stuck with the people I had met the night before, or stuck to watching Cam while he was playing on the toys and in the bounce house. Steve had a good time, but since he wasn't very popular, and quite a loner in school, he didn't know many people, which means, I didn't know very many people.

I was shocked to realize how much fun it could be though, and have since decided to go to my own 10-year reunion next year! I knew more people, and I have a VERY different personality, so I'm hoping that with those positives that I will have fun at my own reunion.

I was shocked that I knew someone he graduated with. She was in the institute choir with me EONS ago. I was happy for that fact!

After the whole thing was over, we met up with Steve's parents and chatted for a couple of hours. It's one of the few times when I've really gotten along with his mom and dad and I had more fun with them than I did almost the whole time at his reunion.

Then on Sunday I realized a little stuffy nose that had started on Friday was now a full-blown icky mess. I was hurting pretty bad, and called in sick for Primary. I was disappointed that I couldn't go, but I was really glad for the recuperation time! I feel much better today, and hope it's just allergies! (The smoke in the air is pretty bad from the fires burning around here!) Because if it's allergies, then I have some allergy medicine that will really help! I'm just really happy that I can breathe through my nose today! YAY for small miracles!

Just a Few Pictures

I figured that while I'm at my parents' house I'd get some of those promised pictures for you all to view. (If any family is currently reading or viewing this...let's exchange pictures....)

This is the closest we could get to the original 12 children as we could under the circumstances. Two were actually unable to make it, so their pictures were put in, so they wouldn't be left out!

I just laughed when this picture was snapped. They decided to take "funny face" pictures and my Aunt Judy decided to pick on younger brother John, by picking his nose. (Okay, so I'm weird!)

This is our version of the WHOLE stinkin' clan! We had every camera take ONE picture of the whole group. I don't think this one turned out too badly. This is why we need to get together to exchange the pictures....some are bound to be better than others...

This is JUST the grandchildren who showed up. There are many who aren't there, but as you can see...I come from a LARGE family! (Makes for fun times!)

This is one of the two shots our family got taken after the group shots were done. Why is my mom's mouth open like that!? OH! That reminds me...if you look closely, you'll notice we're wearing numbers on our shirts. At the last family reunion we came up with a number system for who goes with who. How it works is this: The first number is the original sibling's birth-order number...my mom is number "6", so our first number is 6. Then you take the second number from birth order after that....so my number is 6-1. Cam is 6-1-1...and so on.... My youngest brother is 6-6...he's determined to have 6 children so that his last child will be 6-6-6. What a goof!!

This is the last picture I'll share right now. This is our "nice" picture. My sister and her husband weren't able to make it to this part of the reunion, and my other brother was off doing...something. But I think it turned out nicely!

Like I said before, we had a ball, and I can't wait to get together with these people again! (If you want to see more pictures, you can look at my flickr account. I've used up most of my monthly allotment just uploading a FEW of the pictures!)

I apologize for the pixelly pictures...Dang that Blogger!! The clearer pictures are on my flickr account. Growl!

Love That Family, Definitely Gonna Miss Them!

I'm back! Did you miss me!? I can't quite say that I really missed Blogger, but I did miss my friends!

This last week was so much fun, I wish it wasn't over! I love, love, LOVE my family! We have such fun times that I wish they were always here!! My aunt and uncle from Arizona came, along with my aunt and uncle from Minnesota, and my uncle from California, then my uncles from Utah came, and my aunt from Washington. Along with these travelers, we had the local aunts and uncles to join in the fun. I was sad that my aunt and uncle from North Carolina couldn't come, but with the price of gas, it would be a HUGE expense for them. But I know they were there in spirit!

On Monday, we had a huge dinner/meeting at my mom's house. We were debating about going camping for the week because both of my grandparents aren't doing well. My grandpa sprained his foot. I'm not exactly sure what all he did to it, but it was causing him all sorts of pain, to the point where we were wheeling him around in a wheel-chair. Then on Monday morning my grandma was complaining to my mom that she was way dizzy and didn't feel well. My mom told her to go to the doctor, and they told her that her blood pressure was all over the place and that she needed to stop worrying. (Now I know where I get my worry-ness from!) In the end we decided that going camping and getting the extra 28 people away from her house where she feels obligated to serve all of them constantly, would help the situation. Then that night was filled with games, laughter, and full bellies!

Tuesday was pretty normal for me, but that night we went to my grandparents' house for a weenie roast and re-acquaintance with the families. The laughter continued, and we all ended up laughing and having fun until 11:30 that night. (There were oodles of pictures taken, but unfortunately our camera is dead...I'm going to have to swipe some of the pictures from my mom, or my WONDERFUL aunts and uncles!!)

Early the next morning, we all packed up and went camping just an hour and half from home! I SO love living where I do...close enough for a quick drive that will take me away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life to the beauty of the wild outdoors! We found that our camp-site was fairly vacant, set up, and promptly vegged!! My cousins from Arizona LOVE fishing, so they were out on the lake trying their luck. My cousins from California had brought a jet-ski and were out on the lake skiing. My dad was TRYING to get his boat to work properly so that he could give boat rides. And most of the rest of us were sitting around camp playing games or resting! It was HEAVEN!! Pretty soon, my dad got his 4-wheeler off of his truck and the rides began. I ended up taking one of my cousins on a ride around the area, and we had a ball! She was laughing harder than she had in a LONG time! After our bumpy ride, we went back to camp laughing and very relaxed!!

The next day many families wanted to go for a day trip to Yellowstone National Park. Don't get me wrong, Yellowstone is GORGEOUS...but once you've seen it, it's pretty much the same ol' stuff! My grandma was getting worse with her dizziness, so she had to stay, and several of us decided to keep her company. That was actually more of heaven than the day before, for the simple fact that my husband and Cam were with the group going to Yellowstone, and I was at camp...no worries, and completely free to do what I wanted!! Ahhhhh....Loved yesterday!! I ended up going on multiple 4-wheeler rides, just enjoying the beauty that surrounded me. I even got adventurous, and went up a pretty steep hill, only to realize after getting up it, that I had to get back down. SCARY!! I made it with no scrapes or cuts and felt good about it. Unfortunately I did bruise. I didn't notice it until today when we were getting ready to leave, and I couldn't figure out where it had come from, then I remembered my bouncy, bumpy rides....ah, the thrill of discovery!!

That night a small storm blew in, but it was NICE! Like I've said before, I love rain, and it's not an official camping trip without a rainstorm!!

Then this morning we all packed up and left. It was so fun. I didn't want it to end. I didn't want my family to leave, and I wanted to be free to do those things forever!! But things end, and change, but hopefully, I'll remember these fun times, and will remember the fun times when things get rough! Hopefully, pictures will follow soon!

It's Finished...Can I Nap Now?

The one reunion is over with. And I am wiped out!

We started by gathering things last night, and making sure we had everything. I didn't end up leaving my parents' house until 11:30. Needless to say, Cam was whining to be taken home, because he was tired. (He RARELY does that...so you know that he was needing to sleep!) I got home and ended up getting worked up into a tizzy and called my husband at work like 2,000 times. He came home and we "discussed" the situation until 3:30! When all was worked out, we slept until 8:00. (I'm tired...did I mention that!?)

We got to the park for the reunion at 9:00 and started setting things up. Once we got it settled, people began arriving. We liked how they had the families "divided" last year. Each family wore a certain color. (We were given black....in the summer???...ICK! But we decided as a family to make it black and white camouflage...fits with our family more!) So we assigned the same colors this year. Some showed up in the right colors, but others did not, but it didn't matter. What we did find though, was that each family kept to their own groups. I did get to chat once in a while with other family members, but not very much...because I was with the group who was in charge.

My uncle did an AMAZING job keeping the little kids occupied, while the big ones (the adults) played their own games. I don't think I saw Cam more than 5 times the whole day. He was thoroughly entertained! They had set up wading pools, had water balloons, and had a water slide thingy set up, and Cam was wet from the INSTANT that water was in those pools. The boy came to me while we were playing card-bingo shivering with blue lips. I asked him if he wanted a towel to dry off with, and he said, "No! (chatter chatter chatter)" I wrapped him up in the towel anyway!

We had fun. I even won a game of bingo...I ended up with some really cool flashlights that don't need batteries or lightbulbs! Then we had the auction. My poor tile pictures went for a pittance! I guess I really shouldn't feel bad, but sometimes people just don't realize the work it takes to make them. I'm still kicking myself for letting a copy of my great-grandparents' wedding license get away from me, but what can you do? Anyway, we raised a lot of moolah for next year, and the big item of the day was the quilt! The can with raffle tickets for the quilt was STUFFED to the brim! They opened up the can to pull out the winner, and TONS of tickets fell out. Steve was helping to pick up the tickets and the first one he pulled out of the pile on the ground was MINE! (It should have counted....) But someone else got the quilt...even after my mom put in $75 worth of tickets. The winner stood up and SQUEALED! I think she was glad she had won! It's so pretty!

All in all we had a good day! Now, I wait for my mother's family reunion. I'm not in charge of that one, so I can relax now! YAY!!

Pretzel Salad and Quilts

I don't know why, but I'm feeling like my WHOLE week was gone in a flash! I can't believe it's the weekend already. Maybe it's because I've been recovering from a previous vacation, but I guess that's just how things go sometimes! We have my big JPH reunion tomorrow, and I thought I was all prepared for it, until I realized that I had to take a dish for the pot luck lunch. ACK!! Talk about running to the store fast quick for a good stand-by!! (Actually, it's what I'm famous for now...I usually get in trouble with my brothers if I DON'T bring it!) And since I have very little to share with all of you today, I'm going to share my recipe with you.

Dawnyel's FAMOUS Pretzel Salad
first layer:
2 cups crushed pretzels
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup melted butter (don't substitute margarine...it doesn't work the same!)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook first layer in 13x9 inch pan for 7 minutes. Let cool.
second layer:
1 cup sugar
1 regular container whipped topping
8 oz. pkg of softened cream cheese
Whip these three ingredients together until smooth, then layer over COOLED crust. Make sure this layer covers the pretzels completely, or they will get soggy!
third layer:
1 large box raspberrry jello
2 cups boiling water
10 oz. (or larger) frozen raspberries
1 large can crushed pineapple (with juice)
Dissolve jello in boiling water, then add fruit. Pour over whipped topping layer, and put in fridge to set up for at least 2 hours.

It's simple and easy...my kind of cooking!! :) If it wasn't easy, I wouldn't do it!

One more thing....I'm showing off this amazing quilt that I helped SLIGHTLY with. (I cut many a jeans to help out the cause, but that's about it!) My mom and grandma Sue did the bulk of the work. I think it's GORGEOUS, and I hope that the person who wins it in the raffle tomorrow truly appreciates all of the hard work that was put into it!

What? No Pictures!?

The day before we left for our weekend in Utah, my husband pulled our camera out of its handy carrying case and discovered that it did NOT work anymore! Argh! Luckily we have a warranty (somewhere...) and we'll be getting it fixed soon...we hope! :) So because we didn't have a camera, you're going to have to rely on my words to paint you an amazing picture in your heads!
The day we left was hot and not a lot of fun. We had planned on leaving town by 1:00 so that we would get to Utah with PLENTY of time to check into the hotel, eat a delicious dinner, and leisurely make our way to the Conference Center to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Tribute to the Pioneers concert. Unfortunately, we almost never make it out of town at the time we plan, but we were close this time...leaving at 2:00! I mean, only an hour later than we normally wanted!!
We decided to drive down with my parents and brothers, but this caused a bit of a problem. My husband is 6'3'' tall and we had to fold him up into a wad to stuff him into the back seat of my parents' suburban. The poor guy had several cramps because of this shoving and squeezing, but he's fine now...I think. We thought we were doing pretty well in our travels until we got STUCK in the road construction. Ugh! I hate sitting in the middle of a non-moving line of cars, trucks, minivans, and semis all waiting to move. After realizing that instead of getting to Salt Lake by 5:00, like we would have if there hadn't been a wait for the construction, we called my grandpa and his wife to tell them to get dinner without us, because we were stuck and most likely would have to find a quick fast food place to eat at along the way. My mom gave my dad the directions to the hotel and low and behold...there was a Wendy's RIGHT next to the hotel. We went to the drive thru and ordered our meals, when the drive thru lady told us the total, it didn't sound right at all. We have since learned that 1: Wendy's makes yummo food, and 2: they're quick, but 3: they almost always screw up any order they get.
We finally got the food figured out, and went to the hotel. I had made reservations weeks ago, and put different people in the rooms and thought all was well, I was wrong. My parents went into the hotel, leaving us out in the car to try and get out. (Not a fun thing...) Once we got in, they couldn't find our other room reservation anywhere. My dad was getting grumpy (his usual trip mood...) and I said, "The room was reserved under Steve's name." My dad wanted to know why I didn't tell them earlier, I sighed, and hurried to the room so we could quickly change out of our sweaty, icky clothes into our clean church duds. I had planned on wearing the same shirt for the whole day, not worrying about changing it for the concert, but I had slobbered Frosty all over my boobs...normal procedure for me when eating any yummy meal. If it's not good....then my shirt is clean. So I grabbed another shirt, and we all hurried and tried to catch the next Trax to the Conference Center. Let me just say right now, that I LOVE public transportation!! YAY! We were crammed into this train like sardines in a can. Not only was it crowded, but it was WAY hot! Anyway, we got to the stop and hurried to the concert. I highly recommend that if you plan on doing a lot of walking on a trip, break in your NEW shoes before you leave!! I ended up blistering up both feet, and was kind of miserable the whole weekend because of it. We got into the building and found our seats....we were like 10 rows back from the stage! HOW COOL IS THAT!? We sat down and waited for the concert to begin. While we were sitting there I watched as several apostles walked in and found their seats. I was so close it was awesome! I watched as Dallin H. Oaks and Joseph B. Wirthlin came in. Their presence just amazed me. I was in awe like some star struck teenager. I found myself whispering to my parents, "Hey, look!! It's Dallin H. Oaks....Look!! Wirthlin! It's Joseph B. Wirthlin!!"

After a while of sitting in our seats, my mom and brothers decided to visit the bathroom before the concert started. We kept our eyes peeled for who would come out next. After my mom came back, my husband and other brother decided to take their turns. Just as they left our row, the room became still and people came to their feet. I knew from a previous experience that actions like that meant that the prophet was entering the room. I stood and watched as President Hinckley walked into the room. He was just 10 rows away from me! Following him was Thomas S. Monson, and wheeled in behind him was James E. Faust. The three of them came in and found their seats and motioned for the rest of us to sit. My husband hurried back to our seats and told me that he was upset that he missed him walking in, but wasn't going to miss him leaving. Soon after they came in the concert began, and it was wonderful and so spiritual! I bawled a couple of times!

When the concert was over, I felt a closer connection to the pioneers who made my life here in the West possible. Soon after the end of the concert we stood as President Hinckley and his councilors left. I watched as people around us waved to him and saw the smile on his face as he hurried out. Then we waited and were rewarded with seeing MORE apostles!! Boyd K. Packer, Russell M. Nelsen, and Deiter F. Uctdorf. It was a fun time!
After the concert we caught up with my sister and her husband and decided to get something cool to eat and talk at the hotel. We ended up at McDonalds, which was right next to the hotel...eating yummo shakes and then heading back to the hotel for bed.

When we made the reservations we planned on having my brother Doug sleep in the same room as us. We all got ready for bed, and climbed in for what we thought would be a good night's sleep. The first thing wrong with that picture was my brother watched tv until 11:30. And since the tv was on, Cam wanted to stay awake to watch. I had to make Doug turn it off, and we all tried to sleep. I heard snoring by midnight. (Which woke me up for a while.) Then at 3:30 my husband's mouth was hurting him, so he got up to take some ibuprofin, after that I was awake. I decided that since we were going to do a session in the Salt Lake Temple at 6:00, we needed to be awake by 4:30. We both got out of bed and hurried to get dressed, then we were off to catch the Trax, again. This time, the train wasn't full at all...we actually got to sit and enjoy our short ride!

We then hurried to the temple and went to do a session. It was so cool there! I was admiring the woodwork and artistry the whole time! I can't believe that pioneers did all of that with the little resources that they had. WOW! After our session, which was small, cozy, and very spiritual, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. We hurriedly ate and then we cleaned and repacked and hurried to Lagoon.

Lagoon was so busy! Cars were EVERYWHERE! Following a parking attendant, we parked the car, and went to enter the park. The first ride we headed to was Colossus. I knew Cam wouldn't be able to go on the ride, so I took him for a quick ride on the carousel. I had taken some Dramamine before, but apparently it wasn't early enough. I went with Cam and he picked the swirly seat that spins as the carousel spins. ICK! I almost threw up. Luckily I kept it under control, we went and found my family had just gotten off the Colossus, and was getting ready to go again. This time I got to ride with them. The metal from the walkway was hot and very miserable to the touch, but the ride was AMAZING! I love that ride...I could go on it over and over!! For the rest of the day we tried to keep cool. From what I heard it was over 100 degrees! The line to get into Lagoon-a-beach was so long we didn't want to wait, so we ended up going to the fountain that they have at the front of the park and walking through that! It was heaven!!

Since I had only slept for 4 hours the night before I was grouchy and needed a nap. So around 4:30 in the afternoon, I found a shady spot by the log flume and napped for an hour. It didn't matter that people riding the log flume were screaming or that the people in the pavilion next to me were playing Bingo (really loudly) I slept! I rolled in the dirt and got gross. And since I had been in the shade and was still damp from my romp through the fountain, I was freezing! (How crazy is that in 100 degree plus weather!?)

We went on a few more rides, and then we headed out. We went to the Cracker Barrel for dinner (yummy!) and then we followed my sister and her husband to their house in Logan. We arrived at their house at 11:00, exhausted and ready to crash! My sister and I set up their tent in the backyard, and then we quickly set up the beds and slept.

The next morning started very hot! The heat woke me up and got me going. We all had to share my sister's ONE bathroom, and found that we didn't get as clean as we'd thought! We hurried and went to her church, and tried VERY hard not to sleep during sacrament meeting! I ended up going to Primary with Cam (until he stopped crying) and then I joined my mom for Relief Society. I haven't been to actual Relief Society for YEARS!! It was nice, but I missed Primary! What can I say, I'm where I'm supposed to be!!

Then we went back to my sister's sauna...uh, I mean, her apartment. We ate dinner, snoozed a bit, cleaned up, packed, and then we left for home.

It was a crazy, busy weekend, but it was a fun time! I'm just glad to be back home where the HIGH temperature is in the lower 90's! Ahh.....the cool air!!

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

I am really excited. The next few weeks we're actually doing things that are SUMMER related! YAY!

On Friday we're going on a "family" reunion to Utah. It's actually a new thing we started last year for my siblings and parents. We're going to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's concert on Friday and then we're spending the next day at Lagoon! We're doing some last minute planning and then we're off to have fun! Steve and I are HOPING to squeeze in a session at the Salt Lake Temple EARLY on Saturday. We're planning on like a 6 AM session. Neither one of us have ever been in that temple, so we're both really excited! I even did a session at my own temple today, just to have a recent experience to compare! (Actually, I REALLY needed to go and was VERY blessed for going!)

We're supposed to stay at my sister's apartment Saturday night and join her at her ward on Sunday. My sister lives in a basement apartment, and it's TEENY! So my small family (Steve, Cam and me) will be camping out in her backyard in a tent. I'm hoping that it will be WAY cooler outside than it will be in her apartment.

Then next weekend, we've got a larger family reunion planned for Saturday. I was supposed to babysit on that day, but they've worked it out so I won't have to! It's going to be outside and should be lots of fun. We're making a rag quilt that has family info on it and it's just STARTING to come together! It'll be pretty when we're done. I'm going to have to take many pictures of it to show it off to all of you! (Since I don't think we'll win it in the raffle!)

Then the NEXT week we're going camping for my mom's sibling's reunion. She's one of twelve kids, so there should be TONS of people there! I'm really excited to see everyone again!

Then our final summer activity will be my husband's 10 year high school reunion! (Geez...has it been 10 years already?!) He's so excited for it, but I'm not really looking forward to it. I'm not even sure if I want to go to my OWN high school reunion next year. (The only people I want to see are my fellow Neptunians!) We'll see how it goes! :)

So what do you do in the summertime that makes it feel like you're doing something productive? Let me know! Maybe we'll steal your idea and try it next year!

P.S. Blogger, WHY do you hate me?!

Being Family H

Last night we had a fairly big family dinner at my mom's house. Normally, our family home evenings are spent there. We usually have dinner and then someone gives us a lesson. It's fun, and keeps us on top of the goal to have family home evening once a week. Anyway, last night we got together most of my H side of the family. We had a fairly good turn out for this family dinner..considering a few live too far away, and the others who DO live around here were working. Four out of Eight isn't bad!
This is the side of the family I TRULY belong to. We're stubborn, ornery, and we often stick our feet in our mouths often. Kinda fun, kinda hard to be! In this family, even if you are second cousins twice removed...or some other far removed family member, you are just "cousins." I sometimes get into trouble if I don't say hi to these people out in regular day-to-day life.

Our part of the family is in charge of a larger family reunion this year (the JPH reunion). Usually, my mom is in charge of most things, simply because she's the one who will take charge when no one else wants to. That's just the kind of person she is...if no one else is doing it, then she'll step up. (I think I've started to take after her in this regard...) So the JPH reunion is ALWAYS held the last Saturday in July. We have set the tradition that it's the Saturday closest to JPH's birthday. It NEVER changes...and EVERYONE knows this. EVERYONE!! Well, we've been hearing complaints from other "cousins" that they haven't gotten a letter about it, so they're going to make other plans for that weekend. I guess if they do, then it's their loss. My grandpa was kinda upset over this information and decided that we needed to get that letter out. He immediately went to my mom.
My mom has gotten tired of being the "go-to-woman" in the family, so she suggested that we have a family dinner/planning meeting. Unfortunately, since she IS the only motivated person on this side of the family, a few of my aunts don't really like her that well...therefore, they don't like US, her children. If she were to call a meeting, they wouldn't come, but if grandpa would do it, they would! Because of this, he went and called this family meeting/fish fry! I think it was also a way to con them into coming...Us: "Hey!! Free food!!" Them:"Man, we're going there...they have free food!!"
So about the time we NORMALLY have family home evening, the relatives began showing up. My mom and I had been working on the food for most of the afternoon, before Cam and I had crashed for a DESPERATELY needed nap. When I got up, my mom was outside in her backyard cooking some hamburgers for those who DON'T like fish (that would include me!) And I was in the house trying to bring all of the previously prepared food outside. I never realized how far it was from my mom's back door, to her picnic shelter! (Yes, my parents have a picnic shelter in their backyard...it really comes in handy!) So while my brothers were sitting around being lazy bums...I walked back and forth from my mom's house to the shelter like 20 times.

One of my brothers, Shad, was there with his new girlfriend and her parents. He was standing around trying to introduce me to his girlfriend, all the while completely ignoring the fact that I was busy. I started thinking, 'I'm sorry, but I've got OTHER things to do, especially if you want to eat!' My brothers, Braiden and Doug, were just watching my mom cook the hamburgers. My OTHER brother Daren was helping my mom cook the burgers. He was the ONLY one with a legitimate excuse! I was getting the stuff out, when I realized that I needed the hot dog sticks from the trailer, so I asked Doug to get them. His reaction was annoying!! He asked me if I knew where they were. I told him they were in the trailer. Then, as he was walking away he said, "Then you go get them." I was so mad...but I sucked it up and went to get the hot dog sticks.

The dinner went FAST!! Very little food was left when that brood got done with it! Then, when we had all settled down after dinner the adults circled the folding chairs and began the meeting.

We actually got a LOT accomplished! We delegated everything out, and even added a NEW event to this reunion....we're going to have a dunking booth! The first person my uncle volunteered to go into the booth was my dad! They're going to charge $1 for three throws. Any money raised for this reunion goes to the next year's fund, so we have raffles, an auction (with donated items from each family), and some paying games.

Every year for this reunion I donate a tile picture. My dad has made about a hundred boards, my mom buys the stuff for them, and I make them. They usually sell pretty well...if we find the RIGHT picture to make. I need to start this project soon...it takes me a few hours to put together, but it takes at least a day to dry and set up. This family is not so much the religious type, as they are the hunting type. So normally I make an animal picture and then I make a "girly" picture. I'd better get my rear in gear! It's going to be here before I know it.

All in all it was a fun time. I got to see cousins I haven't seen for at least a year and got to laugh at an uncle who is close enough in age to me that he's almost like a big brother. We had fun. I just hope that this happiness will continue as we have this reunion!