...and Family Reunion #3

Last weekend we had a little reunion on Chris' dad's side of the family. Well, it was supposed to be but only his Uncle Mark and Aunt Michelle ended up coming. His cousins weren't able to come. All his sibling came (they all live in Twin). And his Aunt Sandy and two of her kids who live with Chris' dad were there as well. 

In the afternoon the kids played on the Slip n' Slide. They loved it.

 We ate lunch and visited. Here is Chris' sister Katie and I. 

There were about 8 dogs there, so they decided to have a race with some of them to see who was the fasted. I thought it was kind of cool, which is saying a lot because we all know how much I like dogs. (not). 

After dinner the girls played Croquet (and I won. Twice).  :)

And the boys played basketball.

Chris took his nieces and nephews on the four wheeler.

And in the evening we all made 'Smores. Here is cute Nala while Chris was building the fire. 

It was fun getting to know Mark and Michelle. They live in Couer d' Alane so I have only met them at our wedding. It is possible that we might be staying with them for the first couple weeks after we move.

I think that is the end of family reunions for us. Chris' mom and stepdad are going camping to the Tetons in a couple weeks, and we really want to go, but probably won't be able because we will be packing. My family (some siblings and Aunts and Uncles) are going camping at Redfish Lake the week after that but we will already be gone. :( But we have had lots of fun with our families this summer!

Today is the first Saturday all summer where we didn't have somewhere to go or somewhere to be, so that is why I am finally catching up on my blog! But I have a big list of other things I need to do, so I better do something more productive now. :)

Family Reunion #2

The second weekend in July Chris' mom's side of the family had a big family reunion because it was his Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary. We went Friday afternoon and hung out by the river and ate.

Here is Courtney and I (Chris' little sister) riding the boat. :)

I roasted a huge, perfect marshmallow.

That night we had an auction. Everyone got to have a number and when they called your number you got to pick something out. They had quilts, kitchen appliances and dishes, books, games, crafts, decorations, etc. Chris' grandpa likes to shop the clearance aisle and then buy 10 of everything. haha. Our numbers never actually got drawn, there was some kind of mix up. But his Aunt Cherie gave us a quilt, and that was really nice.

After the auction Grandma and Grandpa got up and announced that they are now serving as missionaries in the Boise, ID mission. They are over approving housing for the missionaries to live in. I think they have served two other missions. It was a sweet moment and I just love these two so much!

We love Grandma and Grandpa Andersen. Whenever we are bored and need something to do we like to go down to their house and swim in the pool. We always visit with them for awhile. They make all their grandkids feel like you are their favorite.  

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa had an open house for their anniversary at their house, so all the grandkids stayed down by the river while that was going on. They rented this bounce house for the kids, and even though it was raining, they had fun. The rest of us sat under a pavilion for 2 1/2 hours (or more) and waited till we could back to the house.

Before Chris and I went down to the river where everyone was, we did stop by their house to say hi. 

While we were there they took a picture of his mom and all Chris' aunts and uncles with his grandma and grandpa. From youngest to oldest: Kenneth, Carol (Chris' mom), Mary Ann, Cherie, and Larrey D. 

We had dinner after the open house and Grandma and Grandpa came out in these shirts that they bought on their honeymoom 60 years ago. It was so cute. 

After dinner the kids swam in the pool, even though it was raining. :) It is such a pretty view.

The next day we all went to sacrament meeting with Grandma and Grandpa, and I think they really liked that. It was a fun weekend and I had fun getting to know a lot of Chris' family that I had never met before.

Family Reunion #1

The weekend after the 4th, Brock and Kris came here. They were originally planning on blessing their baby in August, but since they were already planning on coming to Burley the next week, we saw them two weeks in a row, which was fine by me. Since Brock was here, all my other sibling came as well and we had a little family reunion. Usually we do something for longer than a couple days, but this is what worked out this year. The day before was when I went to the Ryanhood concert, and that same day Chris left after he got off work to go on a camping/boating trip to Anderson Reservoir near Boise with his friends. I was sad I couldn't join them and sad Chris couldn't be with all my family, but next time I guess. 

Anyway, so I drove to Burley again on Friday. Saturday we got up and went to Nat Soo Pah. It was a fun time and the kids had a blast. All except Halli, she was scared of the water for some reason.

One of the nights Halli was playing with phone and she kept walking back and forth through the living room talking on the phone. She said she was talking to her dad, and she was hilarious. She kept saying "Really!" and "I know!" It was pretty funny. Sunday we all went to church with my mom. Here is Taylee in her pretty dress (her and Halli wore the dresses they wore at my wedding). 

It was fun to be with all my brothers and sisters. I love them!

Howdy Wyoming

The weekend before the 4th (yes I know this out of order, woops), my mom, Kyler, and my nephew Ian made the trek to Riverton, Wyoming. My brother Brock was blessing my nephew Cooper that weekend. We took Ian to play with Taylee. We missed out when my sister Tysi and brother Kelby took their families to Wyoming over Spring Break because I was in SL, so I really wanted to go. Chris stayed home because we had been gone so much he wanted to stay home and get some stuff done. My dad and Shana went for the weekend, too.

Brock bought a 3-wheeler awhile ago because he remember how much fun we used to have on the one had when I was little. We all took turns riding, even my mom. :)

Saturday we went to a place called Sinks Canyon. The first pic below is where the water "sinks" and disappears underground. The second pic is where it reappears about a mile up the road, called "the Rise."The water was so clear there and there were fish that you could feed. It was pretty cool.  

Here we are playing at the Sinks.

Brock and Kris live right on a pond and so one evening Kyler, my mom, Porter and I went out on the paddleboat. 

Sunday was Cooper's blessing. We went to church and came home and ate dinner and then we were "on the road again." (like the song)

We thought it was pretty funny when we passed a sign that said "Kinnear, Population 44."

What was even funnier were the two guys sitting outside the really old gas station when we pulled up. It reminded me of the movie Baptists at our BBQ. haha

It was fun to visit Brock, Kristina, Taylee, Porter and Cooper. It was a short trip, but we had lots of fun.

Ryanhood!!!

I know I have blogged about Ryanhood before, but I have to again. They are so fun to see. Two guys, Ryan Green and Cameron Hood play guitar and sing. They are not really well known, but have opened for Kelly Clarkson and a few other singers. They are funny and very entertaining. They have performed at ISU several times and I love watching them. They came again July 5. I took my cousin Jamie when they were here a couple years ago, so she wanted to go again. We also took our cousin Sydney, who had never seen them before. 

Here we are before the concert started, so excited!

During the concert they were playing a song and Cameron (the one on the right) forgot the words at the very end. Ryan then told a story about how Cameron got a concussion the week before and was asking the same questions over and over. We all looked at each other because that sounded really familiar. We all gave Cameron a round of applause for making it to almost the last song without forgetting anything. 

Another main reason I wanted to go was to see my two roommates, Amy and Mackenzie. We have had some fun times together. We all took a road trip to California right before my senior year of college and went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, the beach, and the Price is Right! I really wanted to see them again before we move.

Amy found this picture of us on the Idaho State Journal's website. Yup, we're cool.

Cameron complimented my matching pink shoes. :) 

We were last in line to take a picture and have them sign our CD's, and I told them I traveled all this way to see then and they didn't even play my favorite song, "Allright." So they said they would play it for us. I was so excited! If you want to hear the song, go here. This is them, up close and personal, playing for just me, Jamie, Sydney, Amy, and Mackenzie.

Ryan also let Amy play his mandolin. She was so excited.

Well, we had tons of fun. It was another late night, and I had to work the next day, but it was worth it. :)

A Very Eventful 4th

So I know the 4th of July was almost a month ago, but I still wanted to post about it. July has been so busy and crazy for us, I have not had time!

Well, anyway, I finally got time to make a couple cute 4th of July decorations just in time for the holiday. I think they turned out really good!

On Tuesday the 3rd, Chris and I drove to Burley right after work. We stopped and picked up my mom and then headed up the mountain. We met my brother Kyler and his fiance (yes, more about that later), my Aunt Lora and Uncle Blaine, cousins Shayne and Jamie, Aunt Bev and Uncle Brian and cousin Zack there. When we unloaed the cars I carried 3 camping chairs and hotdog sticks all at once, and Chris and my mom thought they were pretty funny by getting a picture.

We made tinfoil dinners and put them on the fire to cook, and then got ready to go ride our bikes. We love to ride our mountain bikes down from the very top of Mt. Harrison (where the lookout tower is) all the way to where you turn to go up Pomerelle. I think it's about 7 miles, but it's all downhill and you hardly ever have to pedal. This is Kyler and Steph before we left, all still happy and healthy. :)

We all hopped in my Uncle Blaine's truck with out bikes and he dropped us off at the top, and then followed us down. After we had not been going for very long, Kyler had to stop to trade bikes because his had a flat tire. There was an extra one in the truck that he used. Pretty soon it was just us girls (me, Steph, and Jamie), and Chris. Kyler and Shayne like to go off on some dirt trails, where we always stay on the paved road. We finally go to the bottom (which was way fun, btw), and I was so proud of myself for making it all the way. I had almost decided to stop when we got to our campsite, but decided to keep going. When Blaine got out of the truck to help us load our bikes, he told us that Kyler and Shayne had wrecked, but he didn't know how bad. When we were almost back to our campsite, my mom called me and asked if we were almost back to the campsite and I said yes. She said that there were a couple boys there that needed a blessing. So then we knew it was worse, but still had no idea. When we got there we saw Kyler laying on the ground on some blankets and Shayne in a chair with Lora and Bev holding paper towels to his head. There was blood soaking through. Shayne was very confused and kept asking the same questions over again. Kyler had hurt his shoulder and was nauseated from the pain. 

I guess what happened is this: Kyler's bike that he had was not working very well and he couldn't go very fast. Shayne tried to help his along and take his handlebars to give him a push, but they ended up colliding and they both went flying. Poor Kyler saw Shayne and thought he was going to die. He said it was the most horrible thing he'd ever seen in his life. Shayne was passed out and Kyler finally got him to wake up and got him to the side of the road. About 30 seconds later a truck drove by and Kyler flagged them down. There were two guys and one stayed with Shayne and one took Kyler back to the camp, which they weren't too far from, thank goodness. My mom said that she saw Kyler get out the truck and heard him saying "Help! Help! We have to go get Shayne. He's hurt really bad." Everyone was kind of confused and Brian said he thought Kyler was joking. My mom went over there and told Kyler they would go get Shayne, and then she turned around and he was laying on the ground. He was so sick he thought he was going to throw up. Then my mom realized Kyler was hurt too, so she had Lora (Shayne's mom) and Brian follow the guy with the truck back and get Shayne.

When we got there Blaine gave Shayne a blessing, and Bryan, Chris and Zach helped. Then Chris gave Kyler a blessing and the others helped. After that we packed up everything as fast we could. My mom and Steph left with Kyler and Lora and Blaine left with Shayne. The rest of us ate our dinner very fast and packed up and left. We met them at the Emergency Room. 

Kyler ended up have a separated shoulder and Shayne had a bad concussion with a little bleeding on his brain. He stayed overnight in the hospital and went home the next morning. 

This is a pic of them next to each other in the ER. Shayne could not remember what he said 2 minutes ago, so he kept saying "Kyler, we're roomies again!" Over and over. 

Kyler: Left side, strong side! haha. Name that movie.

Shayne didn't need stitches in his head, but had some pretty bad skinned areas on his head. The dr said he must have slid 20 feet for that to happen. He also hurt his thumb pretty bad and they both had road rash all over. They are both fine now but it was pretty scary. I think they will remember to wear helmets next time! We all will!

The next day we didn't do much since Kyler and Shayne were hurt. We slept in, and layed around and watched movies. Chris and I left for a couple hours to go see his friend Garrett, who is cousins with my friend Lana's husband. So were saw Lana too and that was fun. 

Here is cute Luke eating a snow cone. He is so cute! (And he can say my name now). :)

We all relaxed and hung out in the backyard for awhile and then went to watch the fireworks in Burley. They were pretty good, I was impressed. Although, nothing tops the fireworks at Disneyland. We got home super late and had to work the next day, but it was still fun.

One Year Ago...

One year ago yesterday Chris and I got engaged. I can't believe it has already been a whole year already! I love Chris so much and am so lucky to have found him. He makes me laugh numerous times a day, he is patient, compassionate, and a great example to me in so many ways (not to mention good looking)! I don't know how I would have made it through the last few months without him. I love you Chris!!