Man vs. Nature

Birthday week continues! 

This time Bampa's birthday boating party! 

...which happened to fall on an EXTREMELY WINDY day. 

There were a couple of tight moments corralling wave runners, but this crowd can not be deterred! ...even if it means no lit candle on the donut cake.

Here are Pops and Little Chief before the waves got too wild.

It was a good thing that Uncle Dave was there to man the boat!

There was lots of fun on the boat

...and nothing makes you feel more safe and secure than snuggling with a REAL life guard 

We crammed and slammed as many kids as we could into the boat for good times.

Here's our little "show boat"!

And tons of fun on the water!

There was also plenty of fun on the beach

...and it is nice to collapse into Grandma's arms for a beachside snuggle.

Happy Birthday to Me (again)!

Man, I love my birthday. 

Utah has to be the BEST place to celebrate it! 

Grandma Sheri had a sleepover  with all of our kiddos plus cousin Izzypop on my birthday eve. Seriously, the best birthday present ever. The gift of sleep. Pops and I woke up with the world before us. Our original plan of spending the morning at the Salt Lake Temple was foiled (closed for cleaning), our back up plan of checking out the Oquirrh Mountain temple was also foiled (forgotten recommend), so plan #3 was a day of shopping!

Even without them we couldn't forget them. The kids made out like bandits on the shopping spree and we missed them as well so we stopped by to drop off "Angry Bird" birthday cup cakes.

The kids were having a blast swimming, eating candy and playing Whack-a-Mole.

And Tad was a major fan of his new cap. Don't you love his *angry* face?

Grandma was a trooper, she kept the kids so we could go to the 

*RED IGUANA*

 for dinner with Julie and Myke. 

What a great Birthday!

This Is The Right Place!

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sandi treated us to fun day at This Is the Place State Park.

Since we are all Wild West fans, we had the time of our lives! You may think that pony rides were the best part for Abizella, but it is doing laundry by hand that she can't stop talking about. 

She is well on her way to getting a scrub board and wash basin for her birthday!

But of course, we all love the pony rides. 

Here is the beautiful cousin Izzypop in her matching dress that grandma bought the girls...

Superkid is a saddleman

Little Chief and his counterpart Skeeter were major fans of the animals.

We couldn't get enough petting in... well until LC got snapped by a goose, that is!

Tadpole is a kid of simple pleasures, a rope and board swing will suffice!

And then we got down to work, had to pan for gold so that we could by some CANDY!

We were pretty pooped and parched after all of our exertions. Pops had the BEST idea ever, lunch at LETHERBY'S! I wish I had pics, but my camera battery was pooped too!

Thank-you Grandma and Grandpa for the Super fun day!

Let's Get The Party Started!

Let Birthday Week 2012 Roll!

Being in Utah for my birthday brings back ALL the memories.

 I was determined to spend the time just like the good old days. 

We kicked off the festivities with a trip to Millcreek Canyon to play in the "crick".

Hop some rocks...

Take in the splendor of nature...

and ford a stream...

For the first time in 11 years I celebrated like I was born to party. I was *nearly* born on Bampa's 30th birthday. My mom insisted that I have my own birthday and had my birth induced a day earlier. But we all know now that it is way better share the birthday fun. I've missed celebrating with Bampa. 

Plus Bampa and I agree, only a berry pie will do on the big day!

Keep the party rolling!

Wedding Crashers

When Linda told me that Catherine's wedding was June 23rd in Utah, I flipped out and totally invited ourselves to the party. I don't even care if it is rude. I had to be there. This little lady was in my primary class when we first moved into the ward 11 years ago. And being as Linda is related to both Pops and I (don't you love it?) we felt that we had a family pass to the wedding anyway. 

I am SO sad that the Ericksons have moved far far away to Utah, but I am so happy I got to see them again! Here are the other gorgeous E ladies, Emma, Lindsay (fresh home from her mission) and Linda.

What a beautiful wedding! Thanks for letting us crash!

Happy #91 Grandma B!

We were *THRILLED* to spend Grandma's birthday with her!

And the rest of the family too! 

Here is Grandma with Uncle Jim, Grandpa Bob, Aunt Carol and Uncle Gary (her kiddos)

And here is the family with their spouses (Aunt Margaret, Uncle Jim, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Sandi, Grandma B, Aunt Carol, Uncle Larry, Uncle Gary, Aunt Karol)

And *most* of the cousins with their kiddos. 

Can you believe 11 grandkids that include 2 sets of identical twins?!

We also got to hang with our our favorite East-Coast-moved-West cousins!!! 

Thanks for making the trip guys!

And the ESCAPE... Abz sneaks off for another sleep over! 

Seriously, the best party. 

It was so wonderful to be with everyone!

Kabin Kids

One of the best places in Utah is the family cabin... which is more of a lodge. 

Good thing it is spacious because this family isn't getting any smaller! 

We met my nephew Mike's new family for the first time on this retreat.

Here are Mike's wife Heather and her daughter Olivia and son Nick. We love them all, but we are super excited about having an 8 year old boy in the mix. He is pouting a bit here because the original plan did not include him sleeping over. Happily, in the end he got to stay and play!

The girls really had to stick together. Not too many of them in this family! 

Thank-you 'Lil Miss for helping Abz hold her own in a world of boys and making her feel special!

You can't come to the cabin without taking a spin on the 4-wheeler!

The Little guys were IMPRESSED!

The Big people are into drinking Coke and chilling.

 This place is Party Central!