Ward Campout

Jeff and I have a great ward. Our Activities Committee knows how to put together a fun camp out with great food, fun, and entertainment. The end of August is a beautiful time to get outdoors in Utah. Kelly's Grove is far enough away from home.... but not too far-- and its a gorgeous location just up Hobble Creek Canyon. We got there just in time to put our dutch oven dessert together before a yummy BBQ dinner and then the kids enjoyed running around in the trees and the river with their friends. There were also water rocket launches and a water balloon launch. The "big boys" aka- DADS, got in on that action as well.

Quinton followed me around with the camera and was quite the poser. Here he is standing on the bridge, right in the middle of the water balloon launch.

Q insisted I take his picture next to this sign. I guess he wanted to be sure we knew he was there... at Kelly's Grove Church. Pretty cute little smile though.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the dutch oven desserts. Several of us were split up into teams and competed against each other much like Food Networks' Iron Chef. We all had to make a dutch oven dessert with peaches as the main ingredient. My peach cobbler with crumb topping won the award for the tastiest dessert. I was very proud considering my competition and my amateur dutch oven abilities. There are some mean cooks and bakers and dutch oven camp chefs in our ward!

Of course Hobble Creek Canyon is where Jeff's aunt and uncle live (right off hole 16 of the golf course) so Jeff took the boys on a "nature hike" and came back with his uncles 4-wheeler. Corbin and Quinton's friends thought the 4-wheeler was pretty cool and they played on it for quite a while..... which thankfully kept them out of the cold river water!

My 3 boys catching a ride on the 4-wheeler with their good friend Evelyn as their chauffeur.

Even at 10 months it's evident Deagan is ALL BOY. He loved the 4-wheeler and squealed in delight to play on it.

Once it started getting dark we gathered around for some fun games and entertainment. The adults and kids got in on a great "Minute-To-Win-It" game... in which the females dominated. Tasks like picking up sized paper bags off the ground with your teeth and placing them on a table were A LOT harder for the men and boys to do than the women and girls. Interesting.

A lot of the games LOOKED a lot easier than they were. Such as this sucking up an M&M with a straw and placing it on top of a vertical straw. That is tough!

After the games there were Paper Bag skits and songs before camping out. This camp out happened to be the weekend that I hurt my back and thus we didn't end up camping out, much to our boys' dismay and disappointment. Apparently we missed a really great breakfast the next morning, but we didn't mind sleeping in our nice warm beds and getting a full night's sleep.

Especially this little boy. It would have been much too cold camping in a tent next to the creek for Deagan. Maybe next year.

A New Year

Jeff and I are lucky to have such great friends nearby who are in the same stage of life as us, i.e.- married with young children! Ryan and Breanna were gracious to host a house full of kids and crazy adults on New Year's Eve and we're glad they did because it was a fun way to ring in 2010...for us and our kiddos! We enjoyed lots of appetizers, a yummy dinner, and tons of great snacks before venturing outside in the cold to light some fireworks!

A great perk about Utah is that fireworks are usually readily available most any time of the year.Aren't they pretty? Kids loved them... and the dad's enjoyed the piro-technics as well.

After warming up we got all 7 kids in their jammies and lined them up for a photo-op. Pretty cute kids. Can't believe there are that many already!

My boys are usually such hams... especially when they get to hold their little brother.

By 9pm, I think we had all the kids laying down to watch a movie in Hayden's room. Too bad they weren't all asleep by then.... that came an hour or 2 later.

Once the kids were out... the REAL fun began. You never know what will go down when the 6 of us get together.... party hats everyone?

There was plenty of food, drink, Wii games, board games, conversation... and laughter. Always laughter with this bunch!
By midnight it was certainly Out of Control! Since none of us are used to staying up this late, we got a little loopy.... and strange things started happening.Like this...

.... excessive happiness...

... and picture taking...

3 High School girlfriends.... 10 years later. I think the years have been good to us girls!

Did I mention that we laughed...

a lot? Right about midnight Lindsey's youngest tore open the door of the room he'd been sleeping in and started sleep-walking in to the living room...and ran right into the side of the couch. It was one of those late night events that becomes 10x funnier because of your lack of sleep.

If only our kids could have seen us... cause we're really not all that different from them when we play... and it's comical.

It's been years since we've actually stayed up to celebrate the New Year. Thanks to the Thomas' and Bodells for a fun night, and CHEERS to a 2010 that's as full as much fun as New Years Eve!

Reunion

Two weeks ago I was lucky to have a small reunion/playdate with 2 of my former college roommates/best friends! My freshman year at Ricks College was AWESOME and most of the reason was because of my amazing roommates. Of the 5 of us, there are now 3 living in Utah so we decided to get together with our 6 kiddos and get re-acquainted. We've all kept in touch pretty good and our kids are about the same ages so it was fun to see how the almost 9 years have changed us.... here are our 6 offspring:
(L to R: Permann boys, Bryant girls, Moss boys)

These are Natalie's cute boys Ethan and Jayden:

Tiffanie's darling girls Chloe and Ella:

My silly boys Corbin and Quinton:

Corbin managed to take a decent picture of the 3 mommies (since there were no other adults around). I think he did a pretty good job getting it straight and centered! This is me, Tiffanie, and Natalie. It was so much fun to get together and we need to do it more often and perhaps include the husbands without the kids? We missed Mary and Kacey but they'll turn up sometime! :)

*Side note: This reunion was arranged also in part because Natalie (far right) just got certified as a Doula and is going to be MY Doula for my ensuing birth in the next week or so and so we had to meet to make a plan. She's going to help so much and has already calmed my nerves and made me feel confident to do it as natural as possible. She's an angel! Also, Tiffanie is going to be watching my nephew for me while I adjust to life with 3 kids. I'm so lucky to have such good friends as part of my support system.

Another Reason to LOVE Utah

Garden fresh produce from the earth!

The day we got back from Bear Lake we spent some time in our backyard getting to know our neighbors' new Golden Retriever puppies.... and harvesting some more raspberries and peaches from our yard. Our neighbors gifted us with some tomatoes, egg plants, and bell peppers as well. So yummy! Along with the zucchini and cucumbers I get each week at church from the "sister's surplus" table at the back of Relief Society, we have quite the crisper of yummy food these days-- all for free!
To add to the excitement.... just today Corbin and I picked and shelled a huge bowl full of almonds from our front yard trees. Did you know almonds grow inside a fuzzy fruit and are part of the peach family? They are known as nuts, but are actually a drupe/fruit and not a nut. Who knew? This is what they look like on the tree....
...then, when you peel off the fruit the almond is inside a hard outer shell, which you crack to reveal the actual raw almond.We're spoiled to have so much yummy, fresh food. Utah has been good to us in that regard.

REUNIONS!

We've had the pleasure of re-uniting with many family and friends over the last week.
First off was some of my girlfriends from high school. It's been 9 years since Bre, Lindsey, and I graduated high school and started our own adventures and between the 3 of us there are 6 kids and 1 on the way! Over the last 9 years we've all had different jobs, schooling, and travel experiences, but somehow this year we're all located in Utah...finally! So, Breanna Thomas, Lindsey Bodell, and I took advantage and got together at Bre's for a night of food, fun, and conversation. The kids enjoyed the reunion as well!

Corbin loved playing with Hayden's t-ball in their backyard.

Quinton enjoyed cleaning up dessert crumbs (chocolate cake, not dirt... I know I'm a good mom, I let him do this for the picture and then stopped him)....

...and trying to climb the slide backwards all night.

Our husbands (Ryan and Jeff, missed you Aaron!) entertained the kids/played off and on while Bre, Linds, and I reminisced about old times, caught up on life, spoke of motherhood, and laughed about what we used to do before we had husbands and kids. (For some pretty scary pictures of our younger days and a walk down memory lane, see Bre's blog)

It's so fun to have such good friends that you can just pick right up where you left off. Here we are now with all our kiddos in tow.

Can't wait to see what 9 more years will bring.

A few days later Jeff and I attended the Peterson Family Reunion, his Grandma Moss' side. It was at a nice park in Mapleton and we again enjoyed great food and conversation, but we didn't take too many pictures because it was pretty rainy, windy, and cold the entire time. Needless to say, the boys found their niches and enjoyed the park despite the weather.
Quinton found a ball.

Jeff and Corbin found hula hoops. This was Corbin's first lesson in shaking his hips.

After a few attempts, Corbin gave up and resorted to watching another girl his age and his dad do it instead. Nice moves Jeffrey!

On Sunday evening we were lucky to meet up with Mandy, Dusty, and Kimball as they rolled through town on their way to AZ for Dusty's sister's wedding. It's been months since we've seen them and Corbin and Kimball always pick up right where they leave off too. Kimball waited on Uncle Tom's front steps for us to pull up and was clapping when we arrived. The boys gave hugs and then found their way to the backyard and RAN....and RAN.... and RAN. Not sure if they were playing chase or just running (and falling) for fun. Think they were both pretty delirious, but it was pretty cute and funny to watch.

They sure worked up a thirst and then helped each other getting drinks. Cousins are so much fun!

Can't wait to see some more AZ cousins and family starting tomorrow for a wedding and the annual Larson Cousin's Camp. So, stay tuned for some great from fun from AZ and Cali in the next week! Hopefully when we get back we'll be tan, rested, and have the keys to our new house in Provo!
(keep your fingers crossed!)