MacLeod Family Reunion 2011

One of the main reasons we went to Utah was for my family reunion. We went camping at Yuba Lake. We were with my parents, Adam, Aaron, Sean, and Darin and their families.

We actually stayed in a one room cabin with my parents. We had beds, a mini fridge and a/c. The bathrooms and showers were just down the hill. My kind of camping!

Tavis, Brogan, Cole, Declan, Lochlan

We had so much fun being with everyone. It was awesome to see the kids all playing together.

Aaron brought his 4 wheelers and we had fun driving them around the campsites. I decided we need to buy some some day! Easton loves riding, but keeps his ears covered :)

Makayla, Anika, Brynli, Hayden

Grandpa and Easton

We had so much fun swimming, playing in the sand, and lounging! Luckily, they had just brought in a huge load of sand. They were making volleyball courts, but it was perfect to play in.

Annette, Me, Shylo, Declan

Cole loving all the play time!!

We rented wave runners one day and they were awesome! Grammy even took a turn. I love that my parents are both active and get out to have fun with us!

Ryan decided he wants wave runners some day! He had fun taking different people out for rides. It was so cute how Easton loved riding!

Cole was begging for a ride! Ryan took him out and Cole never wanted to come back in.

Adorable little Declan! He's so sweet ;)

A few weeks before this, our bishop took us tubeing on his Jet ski. He took Ryan and Hayden out and went faster than Hayden wanted to. She was traumatized by that experience a little bit, so it took LOTS of convincing to finally get her out. She ended getting more comfortable and really enjoyed it.

Darin, Aaron, Hayden, Lindsey

I love seeing my kids with their aunts, uncles and cousins. It needs to happen more often!!

Brittany and Tailyr took Anika, Caitlin and Megan out on the tube. We could hear the girls screaming from up the hill! Brittany is a wild woman driver ;)

We spent lots of time eating, talking, and just relaxing the days away.

Caitlin was the designated hair braider and we kept her busy.

Brynli, Makayla, Anika, Ryan, Aaron, Logan, Ivy, Brogan

Can't have camping without smores. My kids weren't too interested, but I didn't have a problem eating theirs for them.

Grammy and Grampa served us all delicious breakfast burritos one morning. Yummo!

Uncle Sean and Ryan even took the kids out on a fishing excursion. I love Hayden poking the worms...

These girls were so excited to catch their fish. Lots of screaming, jumping up and down and laughter going on!

I love these little ones. They were playing in the grassy field just running around, telling jokes, laughing and being silly!

Mr. Serious. Tavis would not give me a smile no matter how hard I tried.

It rained one afternoon and a bunch of us crammed into Adam's camper. Aaron and kids entertained us with their rendition of I'm a Little Tea Pot. Good times for sure!

Hanging out on the bunk beds in the cabin. Have I mentioned how great having a cabin was!

Anika caught a cricket and gave it to Hayden and Lochlan. It got away so they made a cricket house in hopes that it would come back. It was quite the masterpiece and included beds, a table and chairs, and all kinds of cricket necessities.

Aaron made shirts with our family crest. We all sported our shirts one day.

We were there 3 nights and loved it! I was sad to leave and wish we could go back right now. It was really great and we look forward to many more of these family times in the future!

Happy 29th! and a Hike

Ryan got home form Brazil on July 27th and we left for Utah the next day. So, we happened to be in Utah for Ryan's 29th Birthday. We got together with his family for a special birthday dinner and Ryan's favorite sour cream lemon pie from Marie Calendars.

This shirt,and another like it, is being passed around the family. It was given to Ryan by Jeff and Cadence. It all started when Ryan found a 3 wolves howling at the moon shirt and thought it would be the perfect gift for Jeff's b-day. So, we sent it to him. Soon after, Camille and Eric found this 2 wolf shirt and sent it to Cadence so she could match Jeff. They never wore them. The chickens ;) Ryan is a confident, comfortable with himself man, and wore the shirt for all of our delight! Ha Ha!! We are now the owners of the shirt. We'll see where it ends up next....

Also, while in Utah we headed up the mountains to enjoy ttheir beauty! While driving into Utah, Cole kept saying "I climb that mountain!" over and over, so we couldn't deprive him the chance to climb a mountain.

We also had fun just visiting and swimming with the Woodland gang. Also, Ryan and I went with Steve and Darlene to see the last Harry Potter! I always enjoy going to the movie theater and liked the movie. So it was a good time. We enjoyed all of the time we had with Ryan's side of the family!

Ouch!

Toward the end of July, Ryan was on a business trip in Brazil. It was a Sunday morning. I had the kids and myself ready for church. I was going to drop the kids off at a friend's house while I went to an early meeting. I had forgotten to brush Cole's teeth. We went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He stood up on the stool, but then slipped. He fell, banged his chin on the counter, and bit clear through his lip! There was blood EVERYWHERE!! I took me a while to get the blood to slow down so I could see where it was even coming from. This picture ws the next day and does not do it justice. It was gross. A major hole in his lip. I called the insta-care to find out if I needed to bring him in. They said no and told me to have him do a salt water gargle. A salt water gargle with a 23 month old? Right, lady.
Over the next few days his lip tripled in size and a huge white sore formed inside his lip. It eventually closed up and the swelling went away. He still has the red scar on the outside of his lip, though. Poor guy!!

Aloha- Days 4 and 5

On Saturday we went to Hanauma Bay. It rained off and on but we still had fun. We relaxed on the beach, snorkeled, saw some awesome bright fish and 2 sea turtles.

Our hotel was right next door to the International Market Place. Later that evening we went shopping and after some negotiating we got a turtle made out of a coconut. I love it!

We spent the rest of the night walking around Waikiki. A hula dance group was performing so we stopped to watch. We checked out shops and the other street performers. It is a fun city to spend a Saturday night in.

Sunday morning we took the bus to Diamond Head. We hiked to the top with mucho effort. It's only .8 miles to the top but man it is tough. The sign says it's a strenuous hike and it's not kidding.

It was worth it, though. The view was spectacular. We were even lucky enough to catch a double rainbow!! As much crap as that poor "double rainbow guy" got, he was right, they are pretty awesome.

After our hike we headed back to the hotel, showered, and headed to the airport. It was so sad to leave. We really fell in love with Hawaii. We missed the kids though and were ready to get back to them. Next time we go, and we will be going again, we're taking the kids. I was surprised at how many young children were on vacation there, but really there is so much for kids to enjoy. We didn't make it to Pearl Harbor like we wanted to, so that's on the list for next time, too.

**As a side note, do not buy food at the Honolulu airport. It's so expensive. We paid $9 for a Burger King Value Meal, and that was the cheapest thing. Yikes!