A Nice Day

We try to spend as many free summer days as we can at ECR, but it's never enough.

I took my bike and rode solo up to Snowbasin.  It is quite a climb, but it was so nice because it was cloudy and not so hot. It started to rain just as I reached the lodge.  I took some time to enjoy the rain and some rare time to myself.  But then it rained all the way back down to Mountain Green.

I made it!

 When I got back the kids were fishing in the pond.  I helped Will's friend Maddux catch his first fish.

 My boys think it's so funny that I know how to set up fishing lines, bait the hook, catch a fish, let it go, or gut it :)

 

And of course, the usual 4 wheeling and motorcycling.

It's so great that we can bring friends up here and they can just be kids in the outdoors. Explore and do whatever they want and just be kids.

What a nice day!

Spring Break at East Canyon Retreat

Sambo on his new bike.  The boys were getting some "big air" on the jump :)  Of course, loading 10 kids on the 4-wheeler is always a favorite!  And Millie spent hours on the motorcycle and 4-wheeler.  So fun.

 Last month we got to take 5 whole days off from school for Spring break!

It started the day after Easter, so we were already up at the cabin.  The plan was to spend a couple of days up there while BS worked, then we were going to go down St. George or maybe even Lake Powell (and stay on the slip). 

Well, after 2 days the kids didn't want to go anywhere - they wanted to stay put right there at the cabin!  Two days later I asked them what they wanted to do and they STILL wanted to stay at the cabin.  We offered to take the kids to town to do some fun activities but they took a pass.

Among other things, we rode motorcycles and 4-wheelers, caught lots of fish, flew kites, played games, jumped on the tramp, went exploring, went panning for gold, watched movies, played the Wii, practiced baseball in the field, and had fun with cousins!  For me, it was fabulous because I could spend all week with my Mom and Sister while the kids played all day.  Even Millie was as content as could be - not worrying about what her friends were doing.  BS came up Wednesday night and spent the rest of the week as well. 

One day, the boys went skiing with their friends the Oakley boys while the girls went shopping at City Creek.  Seriously, the week couldn't have been better.  It was easy and it was fun and it was relaxing.  Just what we needed.  We usually go out of town for Spring break but this year, going to the cabin was the right move for us.  Heck, the cabin is a vacation!  I am convinced this place has been the best thing for our family, both growing up and now.

The weather cooperated for the most part.  A couple of rainy days.  But finally, a perfect sunny and breezy day.
 Flying kites was a blast!

Catching lots of fish!  Mostly Rainbows, but we did catch 1 Brown trout.  Cousin Cole caught the biggest...it was GIANT!  Chops just sat for hours on the banks and watched the fish swimming around.

I managed to get a bike ride in.  This is in the morning at East Canyon.  I have missed this.

 Will was determined, once again, to find some gold.  He brought his pan and pick.  BS took the kids up the creek a bit and they searched...but no gold.  Better luck next time!

Having SNOW much fun!

This is a picture of the old cabin, nestled in the pines, the day after Christmas.  It is just across the field from the new cabin, Grandpa and Grandma's place.  This place is true happiness.  It is where an abundance of my best childhood memories were made.  I am so happy to be able to experience the same memories with my children and share in the same activities that brought so much joy.  Sledding and snowmobiling are some of these.  Check it out:

Christmas Morning

As mentioned previously, we spent Christmas at the cabin.  And Santa found us there!  

It was so awesome. Amazing. Perfect. Fun!

For Christmas, Quincy wanted pretty much all stuffed animals.  Animals of every kind. 

Will persisted in asking for money, again.  Except he also wanted normal "boy" things this year, as opposed to what he wanted last year {money machine, time machine, a maid, a massage chair}.

Sambo asked for the least amount of things, mostly boy stuff and a motocross bike.

Millie was different this year - asked for mostly clothes, shoes, and "girly" teenage stuff like jewelry and pedicures.

Santa did not disappoint!  These kids were on the nice list for sure!

Take a look:

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Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was fantastic.  The entire holiday weekend was fantastic.

Wednesday night we went to G-ma and G-pa Clark's house, dropped off the kids, and met the other adult couples for a night at the movies.  We watched "Red Dawn."  BS coordinated this plan because growing up he has been a huge fan of the original version.  He was so excited when he first heard about the remake.  The movie was really good but had one those endings where it just ended, leaving you wanting to know what's next.  It was nice being with so many of my in-law brothers and sisters!  And of course my Father & Mother-in-law.  I love them all so much and feel very grateful that they are part of our lives.  How lucky am I to be married to a man who is the oldest of 8 incredible siblings, and each of them is married to incredible spouses.  How many people can say they love and care about each and every one of their In-laws?  We really missed those of you who weren't with us :(

We spent the night at Grandma's and had a very relaxing holiday.  Well, relaxing to a point.  I spent a good chunk of the day looking through ads and comparing Black Friday sale prices to Amazon.com prices.  In the end, we were super successful on Amazon.  Christmas shopping is almost complete!

Here we are at the big feast.  Speaking of...the food was SOOO YUMMY!  We all pitched in and everything was delicious.

No Thanksgiving Day at Grandpa Judy's would be complete without her Horn of Plenty.  A tradition we all look forward to because she stuffs a cornucopia with all things junk food!

We slept-over one more night and in the morning we kept debating if we should do any shopping.  We decided to limit shopping to just going to the brand new outlets 5 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE!  They opened the prior weekend and we hadn't had a chance to check them out.  It was packed and there were deals to be had in great stores, but in under an hour we had spent enough money - so we went home to regroup, repack, and head up to our other G-ma and G-pa's place...the cabin!

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, exploring, crafting, napping, cooking, playing, 4-wheeling, motorcycling, fishing, target shooting, bridge building.

The weather was gorgeous.

Here is Millie target shooting.  BS is very proud of her aiming/shooting abilities.  She totally beat the boys in a contest!

We took a pretty long ride on a new trail.  So fun but very muddy! 

I told you it was muddy!  Millie and Will took the brunt of it.

Grandpa is always working on a project.  This weekend it was placing a temporary bridge across the river so we can explore the other side.  Quincy can't pass up an opportunity to ride on the tractor with Grandpa...even if she is wearing her jammies.  Here, they are pulling a giant tree trunk to place across the river.

 Oops Grandpa got stuck in the river - Will to the rescue!

 We spent some time making survival bracelets with parachute cord.  Here is Millie hanging out with Tyler, a cute boy who happens to belong to a great family that owns a share in the old cabin next door. What a great kid!

Even Chops got a new collar!  Didn't the kids do an awesome job?

Our family loves games.  The cabin is a great place to play lots of games because of all the down time.  Uno is one of our faves.  Even Quincy can play all on her own, and she kept winning fair and square!

Sambo and Grandpa looking online to discuss Treehouse plans:

I, myself even had some time to work on a project I have been wanting to complete.  I need to take a pic of the finished project, I love it!!!

 Now for Christmas...

Thanksgiving

Silly Grandpa thought it was really funny to make this pumpkin a real "Tom Turkey!"
In this pic it's hard to see, but look where the stem is :)

Thanksgiving was fantastic - not only the day, but the entire weekend.  We headed up to the cabin Wednesday evening and met up with everybody.  Nate's girls had just landed from Minnesota and we were so thrilled to see them and spend the holiday with them.  G-pa & G-ma had the place so cozy and decked out...it was very welcoming.  And they had finished the 2 new Murphy beds so everyone had a nice bed to sleep in.  Of course the kids were wired and it took forever before they finally went to sleep.  The women stayed up making as many preparations as possible for the feast the next day.

Thursday morning the kids were anxious to go outside.  Unfortunately there wasn't enough snow to go snowmobiling and sledding, but they had fun rolling in it and making a darling snowman family:  

Millie, Sambo, Ellie, Quin, Caitlyn, Will, Alix, Cambree

 While the grown-ups cut, sliced, diced, sautee'd, roasted, mashed, stirred, chopped, mixed, whipped, poured, and set tables - the kids stayed busy playing Pilgrim Memory game, Turkey Bingo, and Pin the Feather on the Turkey.

Can you spot BS?  Yep he's in the background taking a nap amongst all of the chaos!

Looks like he woke up to be the Bingo caller

Caitlyn and Millie helped me with the kid's drinks and the favors.  These are little Black Cherry Shasta soda cans.

"Goodies to Gobble"
Gummie Bears and Sixlets for the kidlets

Chocolate covered Cinnamon Bears and Orange Sticks for the Adults

They did a great job with the place settings too!

Will's precious Turkey Leg!  He belongs at Disneyland with that thing!


The kids table.  Uncle Denny and Aunt Marcia joined us with their clan for dinner. 

  After the feast and some lounging around, we all walked to the other cabin for DESSERT!  Aunt Marcia and her crew had a fabulous spread of pies, cakes, and ice creams!  YUM.  It was great to be all together at the cabin again!

At 10:30 that night, BS and I set out for Black Friday shopping.  Somehow Caitlyn, Mills, and Ellie talked us into letting them come with us.  Mostly the girls would walk around the store for a bit then get back in the car and listen to music while they waited for us in the massive check-out lines.  They did get some cat naps in between stores.  We went to Walmart and the Outlets in Park City, then down Parley's canyon to Walmart and Target in Fort Union, then to Fashion Place Mall and Toys R Us in Murray.  We got home at 5:00 am!  But boy did we save $$$$!  Here they are at Toys R Us at 4 am:

 Friday was Uncle Kirk's birthday so we went to Fat Cats in Ogden for some bowling!  There was a balloon guy there that made some cool stuff.   Fun times!