Sunday, August 03, 2008

More Ribera Reunion pics









Alayna hitting pinata









Playing games in the lodge









Alayna in river













Marisa by river









Preparing to go fly-fishing

Ribera Reunion pics









Kayla riding horse









Alayna riding horse









Tyler on horse









Swimming in the river









Granpa and Alayna at river

Ribera Reunion- 2008

Ribera Reunion: Logan, Utah 2008

Friday: We arrived Friday night just in time for dinner. Then the kids went out to swim in the pool, slide down the slip-n-slide, and ride the horse.

Saturday: We all went up Blacksmith Fork Canyon for the entire afternoon. Barb(a friend of the family) and Grandpa spent time teaching Tyler how to fly fish. Even though he didn’t catch anything, he loved every minute of it. The kids swam in the river and played on the playground. We had a big picnic and played a round of Apples to Apples. After that Joann (another friend of the family) held a giant bingo game with tons of awesome prizes- it was lots of fun!
Then we headed over to James (my brother) and Brandi’s house-they live at the mouth of the canyon. We had a BBQ dinner and played “Would you rather” and “What if” which turned out to be so funny it made my sides hurt.

Sunday: We attended church at my parents ward and then all came over for Sunday dinner. We played games in the afternoon like scattegories and Outburst. Then we had a family “fireside” where my mom and Dad shared the stories of how they met, got engaged, and their wedding day. (We are here celebrating their 40th anniversary!!) Then we sang everybody’s favorite hymns. After that, we played 1 round of Phase 10 and we lost power. So, we ended up playing Mafia in the dark, which ended up being quite comical.

Monday: We headed up the Logan canyon to a lodge my parents rented for overnight. We had someone come take family pictures of all of us for my parents 40th wedding anniversary. Then we played horseshoes, worked on a puzzle, played kickball, threw the football, and other assorted games.
That night we had a fireside by the campfire and made s’mores. We went inside and had a baby picture contest, a family trivia game, and then stayed up late playing Phase 10 and Mafia, which once again turned out quite hilarious!!

Tuesday: We checked out of the lodge and came home for a restful afternoon. Then we headed to Joe (my other brother) and Diana’s house for dinner and went to see Kung Fu Panda. What an adorable show that was!!

Wednesday: In the afternoon we went to a park that had a zoo and playground. We played with water balloons (or I should say the kids and Aunt Kristi did) Then we went to Jonathan (my brother)and Kristi’s house. The kids stayed for an art lesson from Uncle Jonathan and a movie night with “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. Us “girls” (all sisters, moms, and Marisa) all went to see Mamma Mia which is definitely a chick flick, but I loved Meryl Streep in it. She did a great job! We came back to host a combination baby shower (for Diana who is due next week) and wedding shower (for Kristi who just joined our giant family) So, we played a “guess the baby food game”, opened presents and had a cake (1/2 for baby shower and ½ for wedding shower).

Thursday: We dragged Grandma all over town for 6 hours of school shopping. We also hit Deseret Book, the distribution center, and the mall. A fun, but long day. Then Grandma made an amazing Dutch Oven meal including her yummy cobbler. Then we stayed up late playing Mafia again.

Friday: We drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming and stayed at the Little America Hotel. The kids went swimming in the giant swimming pool.
Saturday: We decided to drive the rest of the way home. The kids were amazingly good for over 12 hours in the car! We are happy to be home and I was ecstatic to sleep in my own bed again!!
*A special thanks to both families for making these past two weeks absolutely fantastic!!!

More Hart Reunion pics









On the deck- overlooking the valley









A picture with a giant potato









Picture with the baby potato









Overlooking Bear Lake

Hart Reunion pics









At hotel in Ogallala, Nebraska









Traveling in the car









At the Reservoir









View from the deck













Jackson, Wyoming

Hart Reunion- 2008

Hart Reunion: Grand Tetons, Summer 2008

Friday: We left early morning and drove 11 hours to Ogallala, Nebraska. The kids were actually well-behaved so we had a good trip. After we arrived, we went to the pools. They had an indoor pool, outdoor pool, and large Jacuzzi. The kids were so thrilled to be out of the car that they actually swam for 2 ½ hours!!!
That evening, when we plugged the next hotels address into mapquest we quickly realized something was wrong. We had accidentally booked a hotel in Green River, Utah instead of Green River, Wyoming!! So, we did some quick searching and were able to get a hotel in Rock Springs- phew!

Saturday: We drove about 7 hours to Rock Springs. Again, we headed to the pool where we had the pool to ourselves and we swam 2 hours. The hotel we were in had 3 queen beds so everyone was a happy camper.

Sunday: We took an incredibly scenic drive through the “Teton Scenic Byway” and it was gorgeous! We stopped and took some pictures at the Reservoir. We did about 5 ½ hours of driving. We finally arrived in Alta, Wyoming for the Hart reunion. The house we were in had an incredible view of the Grand Tetons. If you looked out the other window you could see the valley. It was really a majestic site. The house had plenty of room, a hot tub with a view of the Tetons, a game room, basketball court, playground, sauna, volleyball net, and a separate annex where we stayed. The weather was beautiful.
We watched a wonderful video the Hart grandparents had put together of videos they had taken since 2002 and had scones for dessert. We also started the filming of the next sequel to Evil Planners.

Monday: This was river-rafting day on the Snake River. Alayna and I didn’t go since Alayna missed the cut-off age by 1 month. It was pouring down rain, but no one seemed to mind since they were all wet anyway. Alayna and I took it easy and played with the new babies.
The afternoon was spent doing American Idol on Playstation II, Guitar Hero, and Karaoke. In the evening, the younger kids went into the hot tub, the older kids played video games, and the adults played Buzz Word (which was pretty entertaining).

Tuesday: We continued to tape many of the scenes for EP. This was the night we were in charge of dinner so we made kid friendly margaritas and walking tacos- always a hit! The kids practiced more American Idol and went in the hot tub. We topped it all off with the game Apples to Apples before bed.

Wednesday: The boys left early for several hours of Paint ball. The rest of us went down to Jackson (a gorgeous scenic drive) to do some window shopping. We found some fun postcards and took pictures. Then we had a picnic lunch at the park while the kids played. That night we had an American Idol contest (using the PS 2 game)

Thursday: We woke up early to go to some waterfalls but then found out they were over an hour and a half away and changed our minds. Instead we had several tournaments throughout the day that everyone participated in: American Idol, washers, ping pong, Wii-tennis, etc.
That evening we celebrated Pioneer day with a cookout (tin foil dinners, some fun pioneer activities (mining for gold, calligraphy, making pioneer yoyos), and made smores and doughboys. It was also neat because Gma and Gpa told some stories about some of our ancestors.

Friday: We took the scenic byway back through the mountains. What we thought would be a quick 3 hour drive turned into 6. There was a lot of construction. We did stop and take a picture of us with a giant potato. We also stopped at Bear Lake for yummy raspberry shakes (kids got chocolate and M&M shakes)

Sunday, July 06, 2008

EFY pics










Sunset on the Mississippi










Magic Act at the Variety Show by the session director and his family. One of his daughters was a counselor and one daughter was attending, the son just tagged along.











One of the boys in our group who lost his foot to a lawn mower when he was 3 years old and walks with a limp. He was one of the coolest guys ever: he complained the least of all of us when we had to walk all that way and he turned out to be an amazing piano player.











The "Chastity Line" in the Hotel hallway that was heavily guarded by counselors to keep the boys off our floor.










Group picture of our company, the "Young" family. Each group got a family name.











The greatest session director ever and his wife.










Brittany, our most chatty roomate.










Peter Priesthood (his name is really John-Michael). He is another story all in himself.










Nicole, my main counselor










Phil, a super-cool counselor that kind of looks like Woody on Toy Story










Mae, another one of our counselors that makes a funny face when you say "You're a diva!". Hehe.










Doug, one of our counselors that looks like Kerby Heybourne and is doing a great impression of Buzz Lightyear on Toy Story.











The awesome Health Counselors (Brennon was a sweet dancer)











On the tour bus











Lunch at Carthage Jail (Order from Left to Right): Allie, Brittani, Kirsten, Estelle (in our ward).











One of the cool counselors












Near Joseph Smith's Grave (Left to right): Allie, Brittani, Estelle, Chrysta)











Amanda, one of my roomates

Utah- Part 4