4th of July weekend of fun!

This weekend we get a bit of a jump start on the 4th by spending Friday at the lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the water was amazingly warm! Luckily this time everything ran smoothly and we even remembered our canopy for the beach so we were set! It was a lot of fun.

We finally learned that Brea likes the water! She did so much better this trip than any other's cause she could cool off in the lake. And the canopy helped a ton too!

Awesome Brooke, Foster, and Brea

We took the boat out and all jumped off and swam around. It was a blast! I even jumped off a ginormous cliff! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

My boys.

This was Mary's first time to come on the boat. Doesn't she look like she belongs at sea? ;)

The 4th of July started out right with a fun parade down Main Street. Brooklynn and Bubba had fun getting candy with Lexus and Payton. Brea didn't like the sun so we stayed back in the shade of the van. It was a great parade!

Later in the afternoon, we had both of our families and a few friends over for a bbq and to play on the water slide. I was worried the water slide thing wouldn't be happening because it rained for most of the afternoon. But by about 5, the sun came out. The kids were excited to get the slide out for the first time this season. It was so funny to watch them all hurry up the ladder and cruise down the slide--knocking down whoever might be in their path! Their were a few crying episodes but no real damage!

(I'm really hoping this collage lets ya click on it for a bigger view--the faces are hilarious!)

For the main fireworks of the night, Brooke's family had a bunch of people over at their hangar. This worked out so great since the fireworks were set off like right by us at the airport! It was so fun. They had a dj playing Patriotic songs and even rootbeer and snacks. It was amazing. They are a generous, cool family!

This holiday is one of my fave of the whole year. I am so thankful to live in America! I am so blessed with family and friends and I love spending these holidays with them. Can't wait until next year!

Ludlow Family Reunion 2009

The typical tourist picture! I love this sign!

All of the adults in front of our cabin.

The cousins.
(Minus Brea--she was being a stinker!)

This year Jer's family met up in Yellowstone for our reunion. We all met up in Salt Lake on Wednesday and spent the night in hotels to sort of break up the trip. We hit up the yummy Red Iguana and I'm sure that place will never be the same after dealing with all of us! :) On Thursday, we did our grocery shopping in Pocatello and then we were off to Island Park. We all pitched in and rented an AMAZING cabin that was just perfect for our ginormous group (7 of the 9 siblings were there and 12 grandkids!) It worked out great! The kids had a ball running around and being together 24/7. It is so fun to see them all together. We did a ton of stuff while we were there. Here are just a few of the things we did:

--Went to a historic cabin (that was closed) and walked around. The scenery was beautiful but the mosquitos were horrendous! I have never seen that many ever in my whole life! It was yucky. Needless to say, the next stop was the convenience store to buy some bug repellent!

--Drove through Yellowstone park. Saw elk, buffalo, and some antelope. Watched Old Faithful do it's thing.

--Rafted down the river. This was so fun! We all crammed on two rafts and paddled along. It was beautiful scenery and perfect weather. At the end, we saw a moose! Jeremy's trip was complete after seeing that!

--Hit up West Yellowstone the town. Did some shopping, watched an IMAX movie about Alaska.

The kids did alright at the movies. My Ipod came in handy here for Brea!

--Went to Bear World in Rexburg on our way home. The kids loved this place! And I'm not sure which they liked more--the bears or the dinky little rides they had there!

A weird white elk.

Brooklynn's DS

When we sold Brooklynn's dogs we told her she could keep $150 of the money we sold them for. We thought it was only fair since we only ripped her heart out, ya know?! Well, she's been sitting on it for awhile but decided she wanted to buy a Nintendo DS after seeing lots of her friends playing on them. She picked out the pink one and a baby-sitting game to go with it. She was so excited to get it! And I have to say, it was a lifesaver on our trip to Yellowstone! Now she is just saving up for more games. Guess she'll have to be pulling some more teeth!

2nd trip out on the Party Barge

We took the boat out again last Monday so my dad could come. The weather was beautiful but the machines wouldn't cooperate (as you can tell my the pic of the jet skis getting towed!) And towards the end of the day, the boats throttle started acting up. It was still a lot of fun even though things weren't smooth at all. We roasted some hot dogs on the beach, the boys did some fishing, and we just enjoyed the awesome sunshine. Gotta love hitting the lake with great company.

My Techno-Savvy brother!

My brother, Trav, is the best! We were wanting to put some videos on my Ipod for our trips coming up and he totally delivered! He loaded lots of the kids faves on my Ipod and even a few extras on my phone! Now hopefully Brea will be a little more cooperative while we're traveling . . .Hopefully, anyway! Thanks, Trav. You're the best!

The Maiden Voyage

Captain Lud

The chilly trip!

Spence and Shelley brought their jet skis. Those are a great thing to have with a pontoon boat since the boat is more of a slow ride. I've never ridden one before so I'm looking forward to a warmer day on the lake and then I'll try it!

The beach. Gotta love that red sand.

Last year my dad and Jeremy bought a used pontoon boat together. They have worked on it a ton and got it in great shape. It's not the nicest boat ever but it serves it's purpose! We have been trying to find a time to all get together and take it out but it just hasn't happened. Spencer finally lit the fire and helped plan the trip to the lake today. My dad couldn't make it but Jeremy, his dad, and two brothers and my brother, Spence and Shelley, and me and my mom and the kids all decided to go. The boys were tinkering on the boat and making sure it ran so us ladies hit up Costco first to give the fellas some time to get the kinks worked out before we showed up! Smart aren't we? When we pulled in to Sand Hollow, they were all at the dock just waiting for us to climb in. I have to say, I think we just found our new hobby! It was a blast! It was really windy so the water was very choppy so the boat kept hitting the waves and splashing all over. On a super hot day, that wouldn't be so bad! But today was sort of cloudy so it was a bit chilly! My kids loved it. A part of me was worried the whole time that the boat was going to fall apart and we were going to have to swim to shore but it was totally safe. My momma worry level gets a bit out of control sometimes! We found an empty spot on the beach and docked the boat and just chilled. Bubba loved playing in the sand. It was just a nice relaxing day at the lake. I'm a little embarrased to admit that this was my first time to that lake but it definitely won't be the last!

Mini X-er

The other morning during my and Jer's workout, Brea decided to wake up and join us. She kept telling us she wanted to work out too! So we got her the smallest weights we had and let her join in. It was definitely a nice change from the regular workout! She was so fun.