Sand Hollow with the Curtis family

There is nothing like getting together with family and having a little bit of fun. No one really tells you that to much fun can be a bad thing right? We started off the morning like any other morning when we are trying to go somewhere. LATE... Not the way my dad wanted things to go but really with 6 kids 6 and under how do you expect us to all be up and ready to leave by 8 am. We did manage to get everyone loaded up and on the road by 8:30. Not to shabby if you ask me. Geoff had to work so Allison and I rode with my parents out to the lake and Tiffanie, Megan and all the girls rode together in another car. 

When we got out to the lake we put Alli in the car with everyone else and mom and I got on the wave runners and headed down into the water. Dad let us off and headed to the other side to find everyone. Mom and I rode across the lake and it was a lot of fun to get out on the wave runner again. I dont remember them being such a workout before. Guess I am just getting old. We finally found where they were at and pulled up on the beach and got everything set up. Alli was such a trooper. She just hung out and enjoyed being with people.

Everyone played in the water and we tried to get all the little girls to go on a ride on the wave runners but Shelby was the only one that was brave enough to go for a ride. She wanted to go again and again. It reminded me of when I was younger and we would spend hours out riding on the lake. I remember that I could flip around in a mean 360. I didn't dare do it this trip for fear of throwing myself off into the water. 

Pretty much the only picture I got of Alli. She played in the water a bunch and then hung out in the pack and play with Quinn.

Our little beach. Lots of sand toys.

Brooklyn pretending to be Ariel coming out of the water and getting her legs. 

Peyton is our little fish. She would have stayed in the water all day if she could have.

Pretending to drive all over the lake but was terrified when the wave runner turned on.

Beach Babe!

Papa showing everyone how it is done.

Playing mermaids.

I just cant get enough of that smile. I love this girl to pieces!

There is nothing better than playing in the sand all day long.

So we really only stayed for half of the day because everyone was getting tired and the wind had picked up. We decided to load up the cars and head home. Let me tell you though. The sand can get really hot after a few hours of the sun blazing on it. We all got our feet burned trying to load up the cars and get everything back up the hill. Lucky for me I brought the carrier for Alli and she slept through most of the packing. She really is such a good kid and adapts to anything that we are doing.

When we got home Alli and I headed straight back to the house to take a shower and have a nap. I was really worried about her getting swimmers itch because it is active in the lake. We were really lucky and it didn't look like anyone was going to have a problem. Little did I know that the next day I would find out that I got swimmers itch and so did dad and most of Megans kids. I sure am glad that I knew what I could take to help with the itching. Since I had gotten it last year I knew that an allergy pill would help with the itching and I was able to only have about an hour of really miserable time. I think that I am truly blessed that we knew what to do for it this time around.

We sure love hanging out with family and cant wait to do it again in the future.

Pioneer Day!

This year for the 24th of July we had all the sisters in town with all of the girls. It was a lot of fun to spend the weekend with my sisters and their kids. On Pioneer day we headed to my parents stake breakfast at the stake center. We met up with everyone just as they were getting in line so we got there just in time. I was carrying Alli and Geoff had Hooch so it made it tricky to try and put food on our plates, but we made it work. We all headed over to the table to eat. It is quite hard to get kids to eat when they can see all of the bounce houses that they want to go and play in. It is also hard getting a 2 year old to smile for the camera.

See what I mean? These two are such angels but you wouldn't be able to tell by these pictures. I just love their faces. They are like Aunt Cole cant you see that I am being upset right now? Why are you trying to make me smile? These girls make me laugh so much and I don't know what I would do if I could not be a part of their lives. I wish that they lived closer so that we could spend more time together. 

Daddy decided to give this little lady a piece of watermelon. She loved it but also made such a huge mess. She has decided that she loves to eat whatever we are eating and it makes feeding her a struggle most days. 

Finally it was time to go and play. These girls rushed over there so fast and were up in the bounce house before anyone knew what was going on. They had a blast they were jumping all over the place. There was another bounce house that the little kids could play in and Sian and Peyton were over there having a blast. I was hard to get a picture of them that was not blurry because they did not want to stop jumping to let me take their picture. We let them play for a bit but it was starting to get hot. All of the parents were standing in the heat just sweating to death. 

This is my view of Alli most days. She loves to get a hold of anyone's fingers and walk around. It is her new favorite thing and if you try and let go she will throw the biggest temper tantrum. She has figured out how to get her way and we are in for a lot of trouble. She thinks that she needs to always get her way. Its a good thing she is so cute!

Fun Family Farm Reunion

This year Geoff's mom decided to hold the first family reunion up at the farm in Pioche Nevada. Our little family made the 2.5 drive up to the farm on Friday evening after Geoff got off work. On the drive up there Hooch and Alli slept most of the way. We hit a crazy wind and rain storm about 30 minutes from the farm. We were following the directions on the GPS and it actually sent us past the farm on a dirt road about 2 miles. We called Geoff's mom and they drove out to the road and flagged us down.
A little back ground history about the farm. It is a hay farm and right now it also has potatoes planted there. Von has leased the farm for the next 5 years so I am sure we will get out there again. The farm was previously run by pligs and they had their own families out there and there are a few school houses where the children were taught. When they left they tried to take everything with them. In one of the warehouses there is a room at the top of the stairs. This room was said to be a hiding place for Warren Jeffs. It had a kitchen and a living area with a bathroom. This room was nicer than any of the rooms in the house that we were staying. It is crazy to think that he had been hiding there and no one knew but his close friends and family. 

When we got there we took a tour of the house and were shown our room. It was pretty cool. The house is set up with a large kitchen and living area. Then down two hallways there are rooms on each side of the hallway. Each room has its own bathroom and large closet. It was really nice to have a place to set up the pack and play for Alli to sleep in and for Hooch to have a place to stay. Hooch and Bane got in a fight and so Hooch ended up spending the rest of the night in the bedroom. Not that he really minded. He had walked so much that he was able to just sleep the rest of the day. 

For dinner we had a BBQ and had hamburgers and hot dogs. They were really good and it was nice to sit around with family and eat and chat. After dinner they set up a projector on the back of the house and watched a movie. I had put Alli to bed and just decided since she was going to be awake early in the morning that we would just call it a night. I sure am glad that we went to bed early because Alli did not have a great night and I didn't let her cry it out for fear of waking up Karen and Braxton who were across the hall from us.

In the morning Geoff got up and went with his Uncle Steve, Aunt Kim, Sheldon, and Neldon and went out to look for arrowheads. They were gone for quite a while. Alli and I were up and deciding on what to have for breakfast when everyone else started waking up. I am sad to say that for the first night and part of the first day my camera was having some issues and all of the pictures that I took were blurry. I did in the end learn that it was user error and I figured out what was wrong with my camera and was able to take some fun pictures. 

On Saturday morning we spent some time out in the yard. We set up the volleyball  net and rode around on some trikes. We were trying to see who could get the farthest up a hill on it before it started to roll backwards. It was a lot of fun. I got on one and rode it around for a bit to get used to the trike because it has these wheels on the back that make it spin out of control. I think that they are called 360 bikes. Not sure on that though. I ended up crashing the dang thing with everyone watching. Talk about embarrassing. 

Setting up the volleyball net.

Two cute little campers.

Braxton and a 360 bike.

Alli and Aunt Karen.

Alli loved hanging out in the grass. She loves to be outside.

We really had a good time playing outside. The weather was perfect and the property is amazing. We went for a little trip down the road to the pond. The water was so cold but Alli loved it. I think that there was only one person who loved the pond more than her... Hooch. He was so excited to get in the water. That dog is so funny sometimes. I wish that I would have had my camera to get pictures of him in the water. He jumped right in and swam over to where the kids were sitting on a raft that they had made. I was nervous because we don't really know how well he can swim since he has not been in the water that much. The kids pulled him up onto the raft and then he pushed them all off. They pulled the raft over to the shallow end of the pond so that I could get in the water with Alli and make sure that he didn't drown at the same time. 

Some of the kids came over and were trying to take the raft back from Hooch and he bit into the raft and pulled it back to the shallow end where he could get back on the raft. We were all laughing so hard. He is such a silly dog. When we were getting ready to leave the pond it was a fight to get Hooch back tot he car. He almost pulled Geoff back into the water. As we were getting everyone dried off someone called out what is that? Did someone poop in the pond? Low and behold there was a giant turn floating in the water. We don't know who pooped but who ever you are you know what you did. So funny yet so gross. We all had a good laugh about it. 

When we got back from the pond, Hooch got sprayed off with the hose and Alli and I hopped in to the shower. We all smelled a bit like pond water. After changing into a new set of clothes we headed out to see what everyone was up to. We ended up just hanging around the rest of the evening. Uncle Steve made dinner and it was amazing. I ate so much food that when everyone went out to watch out back to watch a movie I decided to head to bed with Alli. I was quite tired. Apparently Geoff was also, because within 30 minutes or so he was headed to bed also.

The next morning Alli and I got up and headed out to see what was going on. We ran into Von and he told me that everyone had gone out arrowhead hunting again. Nikki and Blake were the only ones that were still here. Low and behold after an hour or so people started appearing out of their bedrooms. Apparently not very many people went out to search for arrowheads. Nikki had put together a bunch of games to play for minute to win it. We ended up playing a bunch of different games and then we played cards for a bit while we waited for the rest of the crew to get back.

When everyone was back we cleaned up our rooms and packed up the car and then had breakfast. After breakfast we helped to clean up some of the house and then played Uno with a bunch of the adults before we got on the road to head home.

Spending time with family can be overwhelming sometimes. But in the end we had a blast and I cant wait until next year so that we can do it again. I am so grateful that Kathie and Nikki put in so much hard work for us to all have a good time. They really succeeded and set the bar high for next year.

Allison 9 months

I cant believe that my baby is already 9 months old. Where did the time go?  I swear that she just got here and now she is approaching her first birthday. I just cant believe it. We love this little lady so much and are so blessed to have her in our lives. I don't know what we did before we had her. And yet there are days when I would trade her in to have a day to myself. Okay maybe not trade her in, but you can catch my drift. 

Alli is trying really hard to walk. She will pull up on everything and if she sees anyone around that will take her fingers and walk with her she is so happy. However, she throws a mean temper tantrum when you let go of her fingers. I have gotten her to take a step or two on her own but for now her main form of transportation is crawling. And boy can she get around that way.

One of her new favorite things to do is open all of the cupboards in the kitchen and bathrooms. She loves to open the cupboard and then let it slam shut. She will look up at you to see if you are watching and if you are she will laugh like it is the funniest thing ever. She is such a stinker. Lucky for us she doesn't really pull anything out of them yet. But I guess it is time to start baby proofing the house. It wont be long before she is getting into everything. 

When she gets really tired she will just laugh and laugh at everything. She doesn't get really fussy just really giggly. I love it. Alli and I have had a great summer together. I am not looking forward to school starting back up again. We have spent a lot of time playing and reading books together. I think that one of her favorite things is when we get together with some friends and head to the splash pad. This little lady loves the water. She would stay out in the sun and water all day long if I would let her. I am glad that she loves the water as much as I do. I just don't know what I would do if she was scared of the water.

Hanging out with her Panda.

Sitting isn't really an option anymore.

This is how pictures usually turn out. Alli running away.

 We cant believe how fast our little peanut is growing and we cant wait to see what the future hold for us. We love you little Alli-Cat!

Baby J as an Eagles Fan!

Hootch and Football!

Brown-Knowles Family Reunion

For the 4th of July we headed up to the Salt Lake area to attend the Brown-Knowles reunion. It was so fun to get together with all of my family. There were some that we have not seen in quite a few years. We all really had a great time catching up and just hanging out. Geoff and I got a hotel room so that I could be comfortable and not have to sleep on a couch at someones house. It would have been really hard considering I was not really sleeping well through the night by this point in my pregnancy. I am sure glad that we made that decision because we ended up spending a lot of time there. We took a nap one afternoon that was amazing! We also got to have some pool time with the Curtis family.

This is the whole group. It is crazy to think that we are not even all here. There are so many of us and we just keep growing as people get married and have kids. It is so exciting to get to see where we are going and I cant wait to see how each and every one of us develop and grow!

The Curtis family that was able to attend. We were sad that Megan and her family was unable to make it. With them having just moved to Wisconsin they were unable to make the trip back to Utah so soon. We really missed them and the excitement that her 3 girls bring.

Where it all started! My mom and her siblings! Plus Grandma and Grandpa!

Shelby is such an adorable girl! I just love her to pieces! When we were saying goodbye she was already in her seat in the car and she asked me if I would put my belly in the car for her to hug Allison! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Of course I did just as she asked! Who could tell her no!

It was a lot of fun hanging out waiting for the fireworks. We sure did take up a lot of space with all of us there. We had a few sparklers for the kids to do but we forgot a lighter. So I walked around asking people if they could light things for us. I am sure that some of my family was embarrassed by my actions but I am not afraid and the looks on Shelby and Addison's faces was totally worth it.

We spent the day walking around that cemetery looking at old church member graves. It was a lot of fun but it was really hot and I ended up in the car about half way through. It is really hard to get out in the heat and walk around at 7 months pregnant. 

Shelby posing next to a grave that had her name on it. She was so excited that she had found one that had her name on it. She insisted that she get her picture taken with it.

I have such an amazing family and I am so glad that we got to spend the weekend with them. It is always a lot of fun to get together. I wish that we could do it more often but we are all busy and living in different states now so it is really hard to make it work for everyone. I cant wait for the next one!

Camping at Beaver Dam

 I am a huge fan of camping. I bet you didn't know that about me because I don't go that often. That is because my amazing husband is not a fan. He thinks that camping should involve a hotel and a hot tub. That is his idea of ruffing it. But lucky for me, he loves me and will put up with my crazy ideas to go camping.

Earlier this summer I had discussed going on a camping trip with my father in law and my sister in law Nikki. We had decided that we really wanted to try and go over Fathers day weekend. But when checking schedules it just didn't work out that way. So we decided to go the following weekend. Low and behold I came down with a severe case of tonsillitis the same week. I was miserable. Geoff and I had talked about not going if I was not feeling up to it. I really wanted to go but was not really feeling that great when Friday morning rolled around.

Geoff decided that we were not going to go based on how I was feeling. He let his dad know that we were going to have to pass this time and that we would go the next time. Hal being typical Hal decided that if we were not going to go that he was going to cancel the whole trip even though other people were planning on going. I really hate when stuff like this happens because I feel like you put in all the time and effort to get everyone to say that they are going to go and to get everything ready and then because one person cancels the whole trip has to be cancelled.

That did not fly with me. So we called Hal back and told him that we were going to come. When Geoff got off work we got in the car and headed up the mountain. It was a lot longer drive then I had anticipated but it was beautiful. Hooch loved the car ride. But then again he really loves anything that has to do with the car and food! This dog of ours is such a hoot!

When we got up there everyone got settled in on setting up camp and getting dinner ready. Because I had not been able to eat much over the last few days due to not feeling well, I was really looking forward to having some food. But guess what? I still could not really eat. It hurt me to swallow food and then when I could get something down into my stomach it would cause me to have a severe pain in my chest. After talking with a doctor we found out that it was a wound in my esophagus caused by the infection. Needless to say I did not get to enjoy the food I was looking forward to.

Geoff and his peach cobbler. It turned out okay but if he would have done it my way I think it would have been better. He does not agree with me on it though!

Hooch really loved lying in the dirt. He also loved all the human food he was able to have. I am dead set against him having to much of it but it seems that he knows how to get it when I am not watching close enough. I am pretty sure that he got a few things off of Kiera's plate when she was not watching it close enough.

Hal enjoying one of his favorite past times! Eating! Notice Hooch in the background scoping out for food. He was over by the food table waiting for stuff to fall on the ground.

Karen and Braxton made the drive up to spend sometime with us in the evening. They were not able to stay the night but it was fun to hang out with them and chat for a few hours.

Neldon and Randy. Sorry Randy this is the only picture I got of you. I think that you were walking around trying to get Blake to sleep when I pulled the camera out. I will have to do better next time.



Kiera and her "Cheese" face. She was so adorable. I love this picture of her and Nikki. I think that it turned out so good.



Kiera and Hooch off on an adventure!

I didn't get my camera out at all the rest of the trip. Things pretty much went down hill for me after dinner. I was not feeling well and really wanted to go home but didn't want to make the 2 hour trip. I decided to try and get some sleep. Do you know how hard it is to sleep on a cot when you are pregnant? Lets just say that sleeping on your back is the most uncomfortable thing in the world and there was no way to get comfortable on my side. Needless to say I did not sleep much throughout the night. I wish that I would have gotten a picture of Geoff and Hooch. Geoff was on the ground in his sleeping bag and he had it unzipped so that the air could come in. Hooch went over and laid down with him and slept right next to him all night. I bet that Hooch was in heaven because he does not sleep with us at home. He stayed there all night. I didn't even have to worry about him getting up and going anywhere. In the morning I was still not feeling great but wanted to try and make the best of the trip. 

Randy was making bacon and eggs. One of my favorites and I tried to eat some hoping that it would make me feel better. Hal suggested that I drink some milk to try and help make me feel better. I decided that was the worst decision I made the whole trip. I ended up losing what I had managed to get down in a bush not far from the campground. I hate throwing up in general. It is so much worse when you are somewhere that you have to make a split second decision on where you are going to aim. TMI? This is for my records... You are just privileged enough to get to read it. Needless to say I was done and ready to go home. I told Geoff to pack up the car and that we were leaving.

Hal wanted us to go and hike up the river to a waterfall and I am sure that it was beautiful but I could not do it. I just wanted to get home and to get a shower and get into my bed where I could hopefully sleep off the rest of my illness. I am really glad that we went because the memories that we make are always fun to have. But I know that next time I will not be going camping while I am not feeling well.

Quinn Hope Graff

On May 2nd, 2013 my sister Megan gave birth to her third baby girl! Quinn Hope Graff is just adorable and she is such a chunk. We sure do love this little angel!

 Brooklyn is such a great big sister and she loves to smother Quinn and Peyton!

I just love this little lady! Megan you make beautiful babies and I cant wait to see how they grow up! Quinn was blessed on June 16th, 2013. We were able to attend the blessing and it was so fun to get together with all of the family. I being the slacker that I am did not get my camera out to take any pictures.