a trip with my girl

Nyah and I got to go on our first girls trip in April! We hitched a ride with Mom and Dad to Canada for my cousin Connor's wedding and my grandpa's 90th birthday.  It was so special having all that one on one time with my sweet daughter.  The most interesting thing happened too... for the 4 days we were gone, she didn't cry, whine, or throw a single tantrum!! It was heaven to just be able to enjoy her darling and spunky personality without all the usual accompanying drama, ha!  It's amazing what some exclusive attention will do for a 4 year old!  The wedding was beautiful and it was such a treat for me to spend some time with my Canadian relatives. It's been too long since I have been able to make the trip up there.  Connor and his pretty bride are a lovely couple. I'm so happy for them!  And it was wonderful to see Grandpa and Grandma again. They both turned 90 this spring - what troopers! I love them both so much.

Road trip with my Nyah!

Uncle Jim, Nyah, Aunt Cindy

The birthday boy!

Paige, Ciana, me, Nyah

Dad treated Nyah to an icecream cone on our drive home - I think she liked it!

The whole gang at Grandpa's bday celebration.

The wedding dinner was beautiful and so fun!

My cousin Cole and his adorable Harper

Mom and Dad

Nyah with her second cousins - what darling kids!!

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!!