Fun with Family

My brother and his family moved to Minnesota for a year of fellowship and now are only three hours away. That is the closest that we've been to family for five years and we are loving it! We have been able to get together at least once a month since they moved here. Their kids are exactly the same age as our boys (within a month or two) and play so well together. We love having them so close!

The last time we got together we went to a park that was close to their home. Russ and my brother went fishing, so my sister-in-law and I took the kids for a hike. It wasn't an easy trail either. It was up these rock stairs that had huge tree roots sticking out of them. It was not an easy climb, but we made it to the top and back down without any injuries! When we got to the top there was a group there and one guy looked through is binoculars and said, "There are a few guys fishing down there." I said, "I hope it's our husbands!!" He said, "Is that how this park works? The women take the kids and the men get to go fishing? I like this park!" We got a little chuckle and rolled our eyes a little because that's about how it works. My sister-in-law and I were able to go to a movie later that night, but it was a late show and was after the kids were bathed and in bed!

We're so thrilled to have them so close and have trips planned every month until after the new year. Maybe someday we will live close to family permanently...

Here we are at the top of the hike - what cute kids!


The boys at the bottom of the hike - rugged, huh!


All the boys (minus Garrett) in the canoe

August at a Glance...

We decided to throw caution to the wind and head to Yellowstone for the Guymon Family Reunion. Russ happened to have the week off from school, so we decided to go for it. I picked Russ up from school on Friday around noon and we drove straight through -- 19 hours in the car, with only stopping for bathroom breaks, for drive-through McDonald's and for gas. We thought the boys would sleep in the car and they would be well rested when we arrived -- were we ever wrong! The boys maybe got four hours of sleep total and Russ and I only had a few winks. We made it to Yellowstone at 7:00 AM on Saturday. We had breakfast and jumped into the "Big Yellow Bus" and headed to see the sights. The boys about freaked when we put them back into their car seats and drove around for a few hours! Needless to say we all slept really well that night and were much more pleasant in the morning!! It was a great trip and we were so glad that we made it. Thanks Steve and Karen for the planning, the food, and the fun things for the kids to do -- it was fabulous!!

My dirty (and cold) boys - who knew it would be 40 degrees at night! Notice the head lamp on Cole that Grandma Guymon had for all of the grandkids - a huge hit!


Cute camping family - just don't get too close - we didn't shower for four days!!


The Big Yellow Bus -- I kept singing to myself, "Did you ever take a ride in a yellow submarine..." It was fun to have everyone in one vehicle, even if Cole did get a little car sick (and lost his cookies - poor guy!).


Garrett (and all the cousins) got a kick out of chasing the ground squirrels. Garrett would sign squirrel, squeal, and then go chasing after it. Who needs buffaloes, elk, and bears when you have ground squirrels?!


Cole and Russ at Old Faithful


After Yellowstone, the boys and I went back to Logan while Russ, Bryan (his brother), and Steven (his dad) made a quick fishing trip on the Snake. I stayed at my mom's house until Russ got back and then we moved to his parent's house. It was fun to be able to stay both places.

The boys with Uncle Derek -- they couldn't get enough of him!


Russ took the boys up the canyon on day to give me a little time to myself (I got three hours and he had three days -- how does that work?!). When the boys got home they were half naked, had not napped, and had not had lunch. But, they had a great time. Russ found a little stream and let the boys play in it -- he took off Cole's shirt and Garrett pants while they played, so they would at least have something dry to go home in. Here are the happy (and tired and hungry) boys.


After we got home from Utah/Yellowstone, Russ' mom, Karen, came to stay with us for a few days. We had a great time. We visited Kalona and went to all of the little shops, had ice cream at Dane's Dairy, hit the Farmer's Market, and went to the Iowa State Fair. Karen also taught me to make her delicious cinnamon rolls and helped me make bead watches -- thanks, Karen! It was so much fun to have you here!

The Iowa State Fair -- I am a geeky 4-Her, but I can't help it!!


The boys looking at the livestock


The boys with Grandma


It was a busy month, but we loved every minute of it!