Utah part 3

After the reunion, we headed down south. St. George was our destination. We made a stop in Cedar City to see Amy. I wanted to see Cassie but I had lost all of my phone numbers and I didn't see her in Smith's. What is a girl to do? So on to Dixie, no not the real Dixie, just Utah's Dixie. We swam, played and enjoyed family. I hadn't seen my Grandma in so long! She hasn't aged a day. It was so nice to see her. I also had never been to the splash park in St. George. That was fun. We played with Robert and his kids and went to Kolob.

Here are some pictures of beautiful Kolob. They would have been better if not for all the smoke in the air.

We went up with Robert and his family. Boston took all the kids for four wheeler rides, we went searching for frogs in the pond, went and saw the spot for Cole and Kim's cabin, went to look at Dad's grave, visited with Aunt Tanya and just enjoyed the beautiful mountain. It was so fun to spend some time with Robert and his kids. They are all so fun. A week later, it was back up to SLC for the Maribah Winsor reunion. All of Utah was on fire! Here are a few pictures of the back of Oak City mountain from the freeway.

We stopped in Provo to see Serena, Chris and Lauren. Serena had a little bbq and I got to meet the rest of Chris' family along with Cameron, Serena's cute little boy. Sage was walking backwards and fell down the window sill. That was kind of funny but kind of sad. I could hear her screaming bloody murder but I couldn't find her. Then I did and she is sitting at the bottom of the window sill. When I pulled her out, her leg was kind of scraped up and she insisted that I get her a band aid. Of course I didn't have one big enough for her whole thigh so we just wrapped a diaper around her thigh and she was happy with that. It looked hilarious but as long as she was happy then I was happy.

Now to the Winsor reunion. That was surprisingly fun. I didn't expect to know more than 4 people there (other than my siblings and Mom) but I was pleasantly surprised at how many people I did remember! I recognized at least half of them and remembered names and the connection of at least a forth of them. It may not sound like much but that is because we hardly ever saw any of them. I was excited to go even though I knew I wouldn't really know anyone because my Dad's family is so nice. They make you feel so welcomed and special. I really love that trait they all seem to have and I try really hard to carry it on for my nieces and nephews especially because I don't get to see them all that often but I want them to know how loved they are. Did I mention how fun they are? They play with the kids and the grown ups were right in with the water fights and everything. It makes me proud to be a Winsor. With the water fight, the kids were getting everyone. If you were near the water spigot, you were going to get wet. But Cole was so mad when the kids would gang up on me. I was getting them too but he would start yelling at them to leave me a lone and everything. It is kind of funny. He is so protective of me and always has been but this was a new high for him. There were at least 8 kids and all but 2 were older than him and he was not backing down. I am glad he has my back.

Well, that is the last of my month long vacation. My kids were ready to get home but I think I could have easily spent another couple of weeks. I had so much fun and it makes me want to move back home. Life is good, my family is good and I am glad to be done blogging about this adventure. Peace out!

Reunion week

The family reunion wasn't suppose to start until Tues. but since most people got there during the weekend, we kind of started Sunday afternoon. Let me back up, on Sat. I picked up Will from the airport and we went to see Lauren and her family. We spent the night there and I totally rocked that dance game on the wii (if Lauren tells you differently, she is lying). He little girls are so cute. It was fun to hang out with them for a while.

Cole, as always, loved hanging out with Uncle Nick. They played the Wii and watched some awesome movie. He can't wait to see him again. Well, none of us can wait to see them again. They are tons of fun. Sun. we headed back to Marc's house and began the family reunion. On Mon. we went on a hike. Getting there was kind of a pain but when we finally started, it was fun. Will, who wasn't originally planning on hiking, decided to come (peer pressure always works whether said or just felt). I was mixed on that because I wanted to do the whole hike and I knew the kids would only do part of it. So I had my mind set on just hiking to the resavoir and then bringing the kids back. When we got there, Cole was going on (I told him to stick with Uncle Robert) and Sage wanted to keep going. Will had decided he was going and McKelle just wanted to be with her Daddy. I was a little nervous about this. I knew I was going to be carrying Sage most of the way (I had already been switching between McKelle and Sage) and I wasn't sure how much water I had left. We all got separated and I ended up with Victoria, Dempsey, James, and Sage. About 45 minutes or so later, (Sage on and off of my shoulders) some people were coming down and they said that we were not even half way up to the waterfalls. I was sick of carrying Sage and we were out of water. I decided that I would take the girls back down the mountain so that Victoria and James could go on up. about 20 yards back, Victoria calls us back and shows us a creek and we let the kids play there for awhile. At that time, Will, McKelle and Bill meet up with us. Will, the kids (except James) and I say we will take the kids down and Bill and Victoria are going to go finish the hike. As we are heading back down, I am kind of nervous because I know I am dehydrated and I am just worried about Cole. We in no way planned this hike with all the kids very well. Mostly in terms of water. About halfway down, York calls Will to tell him where we are and learns that York and Dawn have already taken all the 5 year olds back down the mtn. they were at Bec's house. I didn't even know that Cole left the hike, I thought he was up with Bob. I was very relieved and the rest of the hike was very pleasant.

The end of the hike was beautiful I heard and Ammon saw a couple get engaged up there. That is pretty sweet. I was bummed I didn't get to finish but I am also glad I went back when I did. Tues. was a tennis tournament and softball game. Yes I think the teams were very evenly distributed. It was perfect that Mckell (Bill's daughter) and I were on a team and it was evenly matched with Will who had Dyson on his team. No, in all seriousness, the teams were as fair as you could make them and it was a ton of fun. Grayson and Robert won the tournament with an impressive game. The softball game was also fun and I am glad that I never struck out and I always made it on base. That is always a concern for me. I think my team won but I am not exactly sure. I was proud of Sage for playing and she even got to make it to home plate. Wed. we went up Provo canyon for a day camp. The plan was for everyone who wanted to, to float down the river. I had to take Will back to the airport so I missed that trip. I was kind of bummed because that would have been so much fun. Then when Dawn, myself (and kids), Darien, Jamie and her son went up to the waterfall to play around I was really glad I missed the floating trip, the water was FREEZING! Then when everyone got back, I was sad I missed it because they all had so much fun. Except for Alex who told me that he hated it and he almost died. Alex is so funny to me. I love to talk to him. He really did have some problems on the river though so although a bit dramatic, also a bit justified.

A lot of people left on Thurs. morning so we ended the reunion a day early. I guess it all works out because we started early. Over all, it was a huge success. We all got up really early, stayed up really late, played really hard and were exhausted by the end. I guess when you only get one time a year (if that for some of us) to see everyone, you have to cram in as much as you can. It wears you out but you have a year to recover. As Will says, "hanging out with the Winsor's is like running a marathon." I am just glad we all get a long so well so that it is an enjoyable marathon.

I love this picture. Skyler is so tired that he crashed right on the bench. Here are a few misc. pictures of the reunion.