The Bahamas

We took a dream vacation this spring... seriously it was amaaaaazing.  My Uncle Bob and Aunt Michelle own a (gorgeous) beach house in the Bahamas and invited my whole family to go.  Everyone came but Mel and Brad (bummer).  No kids other than baby Ririe.  It was the best all-adult, fun and relaxing trip ever!  Seriously it was so much fun hanging out with my siblings and adult cousins every day - deep sea fishing, playing volleyball, beach bumming, looking for shells, and sight seeing. Every night we stayed up playing games, eating candy, and laughing! What a great way to recharge your batteries - spending a nice long chunk of time with your favorite people on a paradise island. My uncle and aunt have been going to the Bahamas every year for more than 20 years so they new exactly the best spots for fishing, the best beaches, the best restaurants, the best reefs to snorkel, the best places to find sand dollars versus conch shells... they even knew of an amazing fresh water "blue hole" in the middle of nowhere.  It was the best vacation ever. It made me really want to do another trip like this with my family. And until the little ones get older, it was really nice to just have the adults together. We got to bond and have time to really enjoy each other without all the interruptions that children create! It was such a special trip for me to get my family together and spend that precious time together again.  It's been too long and with everyone spread out across the country we don't get chances like this often.  I took so many pictures that it was impossible to post all the good ones. But here are a few...

Mom and Dad with dinner! Seriously that fresh Mahi Mahi is divine.

Amy and I at the most pristine beach ever - white powder sand and crystal blue water.

My sis Mindy and her beautiful family (part of it!)

E and I with the biggest live starfish I've ever seen!

Eric and I at a beautiful beach!

Eric, me, Mindy (Ririe), Jed

The whole gang after hunting for conch shells

The wildlife was gorgeous. These parrots are only found on this island

We spent a lot of time playing beach volleyball - so FUN!

my sexy man

What's left of Mindy's baracuda that we saw get eaten by a shark right before gaffing it!!!

Matt and Amy - the most photogenic couple ever.

Griff and Mindy with Ririe in there somewhere. Yum Mindy!

Our Mahi Mahi - it was a joint effort bringing that big guy in!

Eric, Uncle Bob, Dad, Mom, Ririe, Aunt Michelle @ an island bbq with live music, dancing, and LIMBO!

Learning to play Caribbean instruments!

Erin and crazy Jed. Those are land crabs that were scuttling around everywhere.

Mom and Dad looking pretty dang good!

Eric on the rope swing at the Blue Hole

Eric and Jed catching some waves

Amy, Erin, Mindy, me on the patio overlooking the ocean. We ate all our meals out here - beautiful views.

FHE at Silver Lake

We decided to spend one FHE going up the canyon to our one of our favorite spots, Silver Lake. The autumn foliage was just gorgeous and it felt wonderful to be up in our mountains, just soaking in the beauty of nature. Utah is so beautiful!

Cousin sleepover

We had a sleepover one night with Bridger and Cannon. They slept on the floor in Gabe's room - they thought it was pretty cool! In the morning they were outside playing and they found a garter snake... awesome!!! Those 2 brothers are so cute. They both act so grown up and "cool", I'm sure because they are surrounded by grown up cool brothers!!  It's just so funny to see how different they are from Gabe and Wesley who are both the oldest in their families, and therefore still very much little boys. :)

long lost sisters to visit

Well ok, so they aren't really "lost" but they live so darn far away that it feels like it sometimes.  Erin and Melanie came to Utah with their families for a visit and it was a blast to have my family all together!  I just adore each of my siblings.  Honestly, I have no idea why I deserved to be in the family I was born into but I'm thankful for it every day.  My 3 sisters and my brother, and all the spouses, are such incredible people.  Fun and interesting, honorable and strong, faithful and mature, I just love them all so much.  It is genuinely a big party having everyone together.  A crazy, sometimes stressful party, especially with all 18 kids in one house! But I can't imagine life without each of them.  I think we all take family for granted. Especially those of us that have strong, big, supportive families.  But when I think of how a huge number of people either don't have family (or anyone that cares about them), or they are not close with their families, it hits me how special this group of people are to me and how blessed I am.  So anyway, here are some pictures of my favorite people in the world!

Strawberry Days Rodeo - so fun!!

It was just the 3 of us that night - fun to spend time with our biggest boy!

In every pic at least one of them had their mouth full... this is as good as it gets!

Dad, me, Melanie, Erin

Ririe, Mom, Coleman

The sandbox was a hit!

All of the gorgeous, strong women in my family. Love these ladies!!

Finding Nemo...and other neat fish!

Last Christmas we got a family aquarium pass and it has been so much fun! Luckily our cousins had the same idea so we often meet up to go together.  Some favorites are the rope bridge (a little scary but all the more fun!), the shark tunnel, and touching the sting rays. It has been such a fun adventure learning about the creatures of the oceans together!

Gabe leading the bunch with Jack, Wesley, and Logan behind

Our only girl, so cute, with Gage/Iron Man behind



Ririe's baby blessing

It's time for a little catch up.  I love this blog but I'm falling behind. Since I don't want to skip anything special, I gotta go back in order and record all the wonderful little things that have happened in our lives.  First of all, my beautiful baby niece's baby blessing.  Ririe Ruth is just a treasure! We LOVE having another girl around here... Nyah and the adults, anyway. I don't know that all the little boys are that opinionated on the subject.  Anyway, that precious baby looked like a perfect little doll on her special day.  Griff's grandmother hand crocheted a lovely gown for her to wear - it is breathtaking.  It was such a treat to be there with Mindy and Griff on such an occasion for their sweet family.

remodeling: Before and After pics

When we moved in, Eric and I knew we wanted to get most of the flooring replaced but it took us a while to decide on exactly what we should replace it with! We finally decided on a beautiful hickory hardwood floor.  In August we had the tile and carpet torn out and our new wood floor installed, yippee!! Around the same time we got the house repainted.  The previous paint colors were utter torture to live with... a greenish, yellow taupe - yikes.  The new beige/light gray with bright white trim and ceilings was perfect and so welcome of a change.   With the new floor and paint, Eric and I felt like our house had been transformed into a new house!  Here are some before and after pictures.

Family room BEFORE (note brown mantel)

Family room AFTER-view toward stairs (with white mantel)

Family room AFTER-view toward windows

Kitchen BEFORE (note island)

Kitchen AFTER (with island framed and painted)

Entryway BEFORE (with beginnings of French doors into the office being framed - used to be an open archway)

Entryway/Dining room BEFORE

Entryway AFTER (with tile inlay design)

This last picture shows up the stairs toward Gabe and Nyah's rooms - the new paint looks so nice! I forgot to take an after photo of the French doors leading into the office. They look great - picture to come.

One day when I was checking on Ian during his nap, I couldn't resist taking a picture of his BLACK feet from the remodeling! I was so happy when it was all finished and the house was clean and put back together.

First Day of School

Gabe is now a tall and handsome 2nd grader (with new shoes soon after this picture was taken) ... precocious Nyah is in pre-K, her last year of preschool... and Ian is still at home with me but wanted his picture taken too!