Island Park with Hadley Family

Chris and I got the itch to go somewhere over the kids Fall break.  We found a great deal on a cabin in Island Park to rent.  We went to Sunday dinner one day and asked who wanted to join us!!  We got a few takers!  We had our family, Clint and Heidi's family, Chris and Jenni's family, G&G, and Grandma Wyatt.  We spent 3 nights in the cabin and had a great time.  It was a little cold but we still spent plenty of time sightseeing in Yellowstone, riding the 4 wheeler and playing games in the cabin.  We also ate some yummy food.  Everyone took a turn fixing a meal and we were well fed.  My favorite was Uncle Clint's homemade french fries!  Yum!  

Grandpa brought his 4 wheeler and it was the favorite for the kids.  Emilee and Sara thought they owned the roads on this thing! Anytime we were at the cabin, the 4 wheeler was in high demand. I think Grandpa might have had as much if not more fun than the kids.  He loves to give rides and the kids will definitely take him up on his offer!

So fun!  Super glad we pulled it together last minute and went!  Can't pass up opportunities to play and have fun together!

Chris' Birthday!

Dad turned 44!  When I asked him what he wanted for his Birthday dinner he told me that it didn't really matter what else we had, but he wanted Kim Reeder's breadsticks.  I called her and got her recipe and we gave it our best shot!  Unfortuntely, they were not as good as hers.  He got some money...which he always has fun dreaming about the millions of ways he can spend it!  We tease him about this just a little bit!

Hope that you had a wonderful Birthday and know how much we all LOVE you!

Conference Bowl!

Our FIRST ever "Conference Bowl".  In our 5th Sunday lesson the week before General Conference the Bishop had 3 different families talk about how we can get our families better prepared to watch General Conference.  There were some awesome ideas.  One of the couples told about how they celebrate Conference just like they would the Superbowl!  Dad instantly fell in love with the idea.  We decided we would make this a tradition, and the first "Conference Bowl" was born at the Southwick house!  We had a slumber party in the basement the night before and then made lots of yummy food to eat between Conference sessions.  The kids also had a packet to take notes on each of the talks.  I think it turned out really fun and hopefully helped us feel like Confernce weekend is an important event in our lives.  I think we will keep this tradition!  

The nicest letter ever!!

I found this letter in a pile of Brinley's homework.  It was super sweet and just what any Mother loves to hear.  I wanted it in a safe place where it would be printed and kept.  So I decided to put it in the blog!  Here it is...

Dear Mom,

Mom I love you very much.  I love you because you are very nice.  I feel safe when you are near me.  I am glad you make me dinner, lunch, breakfast and do a lot of other stuff for me.  You are the best Mom ever.  I want to come home from school and walk in the door and hug you so tight.  Thank you for all that you have done for me.  You play uno with me and lots of other games and I love it.  You are an Awesome Mom!  I wrote this letter for you to read.  I love everything you've done for me.  Thank you.

Love, Brinley

I am sure I am going to need to read this at a later time when she is a teenager and doesn't think I am such a great Mom anymore!

Cousins at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Oh the leaves at Grandpa and Grandma's house!  The kids never seem to outgrow them.  They are a hit each and every year!  We have the best cousins!  And we are so lucky to get to spend almost every Sunday with them.  Grandma makes us all dinner, which is a big job for her, but it gets us all together and it has made us a family that loves each other.  These kids have so much fun together!

Em and her crazy friends!

Em has great friends!  We love them.  They climbed up to the "B" on the side of the mountain and lit it on the night of the Homecoming game.  Looks like they had a ton of fun!  Em is always up for a party of any kind, think she might take after her Mother!

Grandma Wyatt's 90th Birthday!

Grandma Wyatt celebrated her 90th Birthday!  We had a big party in Brodie and Alison's back yard.  We ate, played a jeopardy game about Grandma's life and watched pictures of her childhood on an outdoor projector.  She has a big family!  There were a lot of us there.  It was fun to see cousins that I have not seen for awhile.

Grandma has lived a great life and is a wonderful person.  She is a great example of service and devotion to her family.  I have so many memories of playing at her house, seeing her in the bleachers at my many sporting events, and spending time with her and Grandpa.  We hope she had a great Birthday and feels very loved!

Grandpa and Grandma Southwick's 50th Wedding Anniversary

Wow!  50 years.  Happy Anniversary to two of the best people we know!  Grandpa and Grandma Southwick celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year, so their kids and grandkids threw them a party.  While most of us were together for the Southwick family reunion in the summer, we decided to spend the last day having a party for Grandpa and Grandma Southwick.  Grandpa thought it would be fun to have it in his new nicely redone yard.  We invited their friends, decorated the yard and had some food and cake.  They loved it and we loved celebrating with them! 

The best part though, was the surprise present that we gave to them.  Debbie and Hillary worked for months to help a lady in their area complete a beautiful quilt for them.  It had their wedding picture as well as a current picture of them together.  I also had each of their children's family pictures on it, as well as each family's favorite quote or scripture.  It was so fun to watch them open it and see how surprised they were.  Debbie and John and their families could not be there, so we skyped them in on the present opening.  They loved it so much that Grandpa figured out a way to hang it on the side of the house so that all of the guests who came could look at it.

Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma!  Thanks for being such a great example and wonderful parents and grandparents.  You have a great posterity!