Utah Week 3: Barraclough Family Reunion

Friday afternoon we drove to Boise for the Barraclough Family Reunion!  These are few and far between so we were excited to get to see everyone.  Two of my dad's three living siblings were there, all their kids, and their kids kids!  It was super fun to catch up with my cousins and let the kids enjoy being outside all day.  They rented a bouncy house and had a slip n slide so my boys were in heaven!  Here are some pics from the day...

Dana and I took Abbi and Liv to Boise while my parents had all the boys in their car (I'm pretty sure I got the better end of that deal!)...

Josh in the bouncy house...

 Jack and Tyce loved the bouncy house water slide...

Lindsay, Dana, our cousins Monica, Michelle, Anna, and Tyce and me...

 My grown up niece Abbi and Jason and Luke eating lunch...

 The whole Barraclough clan...

 My dad and his brother Marty and sister Maralynda (who we have always known as Buckwheat)...

Highlights of the day for me were seeing my Aunt Buckwheat, catching up with my cousins, and eating my Grandma Barraclough's lemon bars that my aunt made.  As soon as I took a bite I was overwhelmed with a flood of feelings and memories of my Grandma and how much I miss her calling me honeybunch and making me lemon bars.  She was such a special woman and I miss her so much, we all do. 

It was a great day and the kids came home exhausted!  The next day we headed out to McCall for the week!!!  That post to come soon!!!

Utah Week 2

We've been really enjoying our time in Neola with Morrills, here are a few pics of our week here...

Riding the 4-wheeler...

  

The boys, especially Josh, LOVE their dog "Okie" but they call her "Yokie."  Josh spends so much time throwing the ball to her and playing with her, it's so cute...

 They get to sleep in the trailer this week and they LOVE it!

 Jackson and Grandma riding JJ...

 Josh and Grandma...

 Tyce and Grandma...

 Making a map for their treasure hunt they made up...

 All the cousins together at last!  Kai, Luke, Kate, Tyce, Cole, Josh, and Jackson...

Kate, Tyce, and Kai eating dinner...

Neola is pretty much a little boy's dream place with so much to do outside they are just in heaven.  I love watching them play with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents and of course it makes me sad that it's always so temporary. 

Well tomorrow we're off to Boise and McCall for a week and then we're back here for one more week before we go home.  More fun to come!  :)

Grandma's Camp 2013

This year was the first annual Grandma's Camp!  Michelle had the fantastic idea to take all grand kids that are 3 and older and potty trained up to the cabin for two days.  She sent them invitations a couple weeks ago and my boys have been looking forward to it ever since.  On the invitation it said "no parents allowed" and Tyce just thought that was the coolest thing ever and not a day would go by where he wouldn't remind me that I was NOT invited to grandma's camp.  She had Grandma's Camp 2013 t-shirts made for each kid which they all thought was pretty neat.  Here they are before they left... Cole, Jackson, Tyce, Kate, Josh, and Grandma...

 

 

Together they made rules for camp...

 And a schedule...

 Thumbs up about the rules...

 They each got a new water bottle to take on the hike and they decorated them....

 They loved playing in the river...

Check out these cuties!  I love that they were able to spend some time with their cousins.  Michelle said the older three (Jack, Josh, and Cole) really had fun together and the younger two (Tyce and Kate) really had fun together.  Apparently Tyce asked Kate if she wanted to be a princess and he would be her knight and shining armor.  He then asked "what can I do for you?"  Kate asked him to protect her so he came back telling her that he "killed the dwagon but it blew fire all over me."  Haha too cute... 

 

Jackson got a headache and felt a little feverish but once the Tylenol kicked in he was happy as can be again...

  Josh and Cole watching the fire...

I think Tyce enjoyed his smore (note the marshmallow connecting him to the table)...

 Apparently my OCD son Tyce lined up all the shoes, hahaha mommy is so proud!

Bedtime...

 Breakfast and crafts...

 "Who wants to go on a hike?"  They all raised their hands super excited!  They also got new cinch bags for the hike...

 Taking a break for lunch....

The rest of us came up the next night to join them for a dutch oven dinner so we grabbed an "after" picture.  Michelle, despite being exhausted, still looked great!

I am so grateful for Michelle and the thought, time, effort, and energy she put into making this happen.  Five kids ages 3, 3, 5, 7, and 7 by yourself for two days is not an easy task!  My boys could not stop talking about the fun they had and they made lasting memories.  They're already talking about Grandma's Camp 2014 but it's going to be hard to top this year!  

Utah Week 1

We got up about 4am for our flight to Utah.  The boys woke up excited and happy despite the early hour, thank heavens!  When Parker dropped us off at the airport Jackson started bawling about missing his daddy, it broke my heart...he sure loves his daddy. 

Tyce was so cute on the plane, he insisted on sitting by himself (without me and his brothers).  When the guy next to him asked where he was from he said "Corbett Circle!" (that's the street we live on).  Hahaha so cute.  The  boys were seriously perfect angels on the plane.  We had a tight layover and they ran with their heavy backpacks right next to me and we made it in perfect time.  They are such good air travelers! 

 When we landed in SLC my parents, Lindsay, and Luke were there to greet us.  The boys haven't seen Luke in quite a while but they were all still so excited to see eachother...

 That night we celebrated my mom's birthday...

My parents recently moved into a community called Daybreak in South Jordan and it's awesome!  Super fun parks, lakes, trails, sandy areas, and grassy areas. 

 Lunch date at In N Out with me and Grandpa...

 I loved snuggling Lukey to sleep...

 The cousins eating breakfast at grandma's...

We went to 7 Peaks Waterpark and they had a blast, Jackson went down the most daring slide in the whole park! 

Riding in the wagon around Daybreak...

Roasting marshmallows...

Josh made a double decker one and devoured it...

 Jackson with his messy marshmallow face...

 They played croquet...

More fun in the sand...

 Making popcorn at Auntie Lindsay's house...

Playing football with Uncle Jason...

My parents took them to Lowe's Extreme Airsports one day while I had brunch with my sister.  They liked it so much they wanted to go back the next day...

Watching a movie in Auntie Lindsay's bed...

Sleepover at Auntie Lindsay's...

It was a super fun week with my family.  The boys had so much fun with their cousins!  The first morning we were there Tyce said: "Gramma I was the first one awake!" 
                 Gramma: "Why were you the first one awake?"
                 Tyce: "Because my eyes were open!  I tried to wake up Josh and Mason.  First I tried farting    and that didn't work.  Then I turned the lights on, and it worked!"  Hahaha so cute.

Now we are in Neola with Morrills until Friday then we head to Boise and McCall for a week of fun in the sun!  More posts to come!