Idaho T.A.T.E.R.S (Together AT Emily's Reunion, Silly)

This year, our family reunion was in...you guessed it...Idaho.  I think those of my family living in Idaho have a monopoly when it come to planning family reunions, and one of these years I'm going to convince everyone to vacation somewhere else!!  I'm thinking someplace on the beach, and much closer to my home!  

This vacation was a busy one.  I think if I could change it, it would be longer and without so much planning and more lazing about.  But it was fun.  I admit, I truly enjoy being with my siblings.  And I love that everyone gets along so well.  It makes it a nice getaway.

So here are just a few [bazillion] pictures from my trip.  I wanted to include so many more, but this post would end up with chapters and possibly an index attached to it.  So I will just have to sum up.

Camping out with Grandma.

The kids LOVE it!

My mom is super tough, and so patient with all those snotty kids!

 Just a few games to begin the evening:

My little sister usually helps out with those:

Maryn having a blast!

 Huddling to plan the next move:

After lots of games, it's nice to settle on the hammock with a cousin!

We also spent a few days up in Island Park, at the cabin.  I usually just send the kids out, remind them not to get run over by a four wheeler or get eaten by a bear, and hope they come back for the next meal.

Maryn's ready for the next ride:

Emma and Maryn...these two, born just a few weeks apart, were made for each other!

The boys (Ayden, Johnny and Hudson)

 Ryan showing us how to ride the motorcycle:

 Jill just needs a pair of leather pants!

Mom vs. Machine:

Having a little bit of fun with bubbles:

Between preparing meals and playing lots of games, we also had a championship ring toss.  I was determined to be the winner, and that everyone refer to me as "The Lord of the Rings," but my 13 year old nephew ended up beating me in the final round.  He's lucky I'm a good sport about taking silver!

One Sunday evening, we all gathered out at Jenni's house.  Mom insisted that we get lots of family pictures, and we all grumbled.  But I guess you can't blame her.  Time goes by quickly, and it's nice to have pictures because everyone changes so much!

The head of this crazy clan:

Jenni and Steve's family (minus Brad...who was still out on his mission)

Jill and Kevin's family:

Ryan and his boys:

 Erica and Corbet:

Our little clan:

Plus some individual shots of the girls....

Marybeth and Mike's family:

EVERYONE!! (except Brad)

          

Getting that picture was a miracle.  I'm pretty sure that everyone was looking, and mostly smiling.

 Me and my brother.  Sometimes it's nice to have someone you can be a complete dork around...and everyone's ok with it.

Just Coreys

~~~The COREYS~~~

This year my dad turned the big 7-0!  What an old man!!!  We spent the day out at the park and had a little party to celebrate.  That's a lot of candles!!

That's a lot of party hats!!

What a fun vacation, and lots of fun memories.  I'm so grateful to have a good family who love me.  I'm glad they are who they are, and feel pretty lucky that we have the sealing blessings of the temple to keep us together as a family for eternity.
Summer 2013...San Antonio?????

Celebrating in True Texas Fashion

Last month, our little Maryn celebrated her seventh birthday.  Yes, it does seem a little crazy that I have a seven year old.  Where DOES time go??

As per tradition, Maryn chose her favorite meal for dinner (Chicken-Broccoli casserole), and got to eat it on the Happy Birthday dinner ware:

After dinner, the real party started!

Heavy, heavy hangover, thy poor head!  Whatcha gonna do with it??

A pretty purple horse from her sisters:

And from her mom 'n dad....Cowgirl boots and hat, as requested:

 As I was walking through Target not long before her birthday, I happened upon the cutest quilt and sheet set for her room.  Horses, horses, horses.  

I think she likes.

 Blowing out candles on the birthday cake.  

After cake, I took her out to do a little photo shoot in her new western-wear.  I pretty much love the boots and hat on her.  I think it's the first thing I have ever bought her (besides Mater and McQueen when she was a toddler) that she has truly loved and enjoyed.

A few pictures:

Meanwhile, Ailee was finding a good use for the birthday wrappings.

Silly girl.

More pictures of my Cowgirl.

*I think this next one is my favorite*

The hat and boots have followed us many places.  Target, the grocery store, the mall, and my personal favorite, the Doctor's office.  She loves to wear them, and I love that she does.

Happy 7th Birthday to my little Squirt.

A Cut Above the Rest

As you can see, I'm a little behind on the old blog-a-roo.  It's just summertime.  Life is busy.

Last month we went on a hair cutting binge.  First, little Cora got her (much needed) first hair cut.    

All strapped in--check.  Treats--check.  Ready to cut--check

Thankfully her hair is thin and wavy.  It makes for easy cutting by a non-professional like me, and leaves lots of room for errors.  

All done with a mouth full of pretzels!  Much better!

Maryn was the brave one this time.  For several months, we've been talking about donating her hair to Locks For Love.  Maryn has beautiful, thick hair, and there isn't any better way to share this sweet blessing with others.  One day we were deciding what to do with our day.  I had a few errands to run, and on the spur of the moment, Maryn wanted to go in to a local Great Clips to see if her hair was long enough to donate.  Honestly, I think this was a great time to do it.  It was the beginning of summertime, and I was worried what all the sun and pool water would do to those beautiful locks.

One last picture:

 Getting ready!!

The big cut!

All done with a new 'do!

All day long she couldn't keep her hands out of her hair.  I was worried that she would be shocked at the difference, but she has LOVED it, and I'm so glad!

If you noticed in the picture above, our free hair cut was a little crooked.  Luckily, my friend, Brittney, cuts/fixes hair.  She was good enough to let us come over.  She gave Maryn's new 'do a cut A-line and evened it out.

From the back:

While we were at my friend's house fixing Maryn's hair, Ailee got a hair cut, too.  It's just too bad that she's the middle child--no pictures for her.  Poor thing.  She's as cute as ever, though!

Our Day in the Sun

Last weekend, we decided to meet up with some friends at the beach.  So we loaded up the car with kids and swimsuits, and headed to North Padre Island.  It wasn't nearly as far as I thought it would be to find this:

The hotel we way over payed for stayed at on North Padre was right on the beach, so we spent Friday afternoon just hanging out on the beach, running from waves, and collecting shells.

I tried to get a picture of all three girls, but apparently they are insanely photosensitive.  It's very freakishly vampiresque.

These were Cora's very first steps into oceanic waters.

She hated the ocean.  

Which is too bad, because I feel that this is the first of many trips.

I just had to get a shot of those fat, sandy feet.

I can't tell you how many times we've gone places where strangers have cried out, "Oh!  Look how tiny those feet are!"  Seriously, she has the smallest, yet possibly the fattest feet, ever!  Size two, people.  She's 19 months old, and is still in a size two shoe.  Actually, I think these flip flops were classified as 6-12 months by Old Navy.  

I had a little fun with some sand art, and made good use of some shells.

While we waded through the water, our flip flops hung out on the beach.  I thought it was a cute picture with them all lined up.

The next morning, we met our friends out at North Padre National Seashore.  The water was warm and shallow, and the waves weren't too big.  Perfect for the kids.  Maryn spent most of the day walking out into the water, then letting the waves push back onto the beach.

Ailee loved her new pink bucket.  It was something we had picked up at the dollar store, so naturally it was broken within about an hour.  One less thing to take home, right??

She also loved digging in a big hole the older kids had made and covering herself with sandy mud.  Thank goodness we had a giant bath to wash her off in!

Even though she wasn't fond of the push and pull of the waves, Cora did enjoy the beach.  She liked walking through the sand, tasting the sand, and getting covered in sand.

Seriously, the cutest babe at the beach!

Maybe we will have a future life guard on our hands!

It was a fun, beautiful day for us.  I am so glad we discovered the beach was so close (about 2 and 1/2 hours for those who need a trip to the beach!) and I hope we get to go again, soon!