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.

Fire Pit Night #2

We need some stock in marshmallows.

Spence and Shelley were great entertainers for the kids!

Guess what his dad does for a living?
Today started out rainy and crappy so Jer and I got a lot of inside projects done. Storage room shelves that I have been waiting on forever have finally been assembled and my #10 cans have been organized. That's a good feeling, I tell ya what. UFC was on early this month so Jer and Mac watched those. My parents came over and hung out and did some Alberto's for dinner. We decided to bust out the fire pit again. The weather turned out fabulous so it was a great night for some s'mores. We had a fun crowd and the kids were crazy! We have such fun friends and great family. Lovin' this summer stuff--again, I wish the temperature was a little warmer!

Another one bites the dust . . .

Brooklynn lost another tooth today. She had wanted to do it by herself but it just wouldn't come out. She finally let Jeremy do it tonight at like 11:00 so that she could put it under her pillow for the kizzle that the tooth fairy will bring. How's this girl gonna bite?!

Wildcat in the house

Jer's new toy showed up yesterday. It's pretty cool and we're excited to take it out sometime soon. Can't believe Jeremy did it.

The latest backyard addition

Getting the fire good and ready for some 'mallows.

Roasting away.

Yum!

Heading out to watch the Summer Games fireworks.

Tonight was just one of those summer nights that are just awesome! Jeremy went and bought a fire pit (I guess he had a mad hankering for some s'mores.) We ate lots of roasted marshmallows and s'mores and just had a great time visiting while the kids ran wild--they're a little hopped up on sugar! When it got dark, we loaded up in the truck and went to watch the fireworks. It was a great fireworks show and the kids loved it. Well, for a minute anyway! Bubba and Lex asked when it was time to go home. So fun. If it would just get a little warmer. . .

Nasty

This was the pic he texted me. Just doesn't look right!

So my brother was playing basketball last week and tweaked his ankle just a bit--or a lot! It was so nasty! Just had to put it on here. Sort of looks like Fred Flinstone's foot, eh?

End of swim lessons

Doing the 'Spiderman'. They had to hang on the wall and go from side to side.

Miss Booty shorts! Love these!
The many faces of Missy B. She is a hoot.

Doing her wall kicks. She was pretty embarrassed that her mom AND dad came on the last day. Hilarious.

Jumping! She did it so good!

Today was the last day for the girls' swimming lessons. It was a quick nine day session but I was really pleased with all that they learned to do. They had a lot of fun. Brooklynn is excited to have some mad skills :) to practice when we finally hit a pool ever. I'm so proud of them!

Finally!

All the boxes spread out. Seven in all!

About half way through. Decided this was the spot to put it.

I hope it works out ok!

The finished product!

Testing it out. It passed the test!

We have been on the hunt for a swing set for a couple of months now. I have really been pushing it so that my kids would be able to enjoy it all summer long. We finally decided to just drive to St. George yesterday and buy one no matter what. We stopped at Wal-Mart to see if their selection was any better than the one here. They had a floor one that we could've had if we wanted to take it apart. No Thank You! So we went to Costco to see what they had. When we walked in I knew that they had the one I wanted! I love it. Jeremy knew he was in for an adventure putting it together. Luckily he has a handy-dandy sidekick! Trav was a great help. They started it last night and got most of the base done and then did everything else today. Pretty much worked non-stop. I am so thankful! I love it, love it, love it! The kids were so excited to play on it when it was done even though it was freezing cold. Hopefully they'll have lots of fun on it this summer and many more summers to come (cause we won't be buying another one!) ;) Thanks Jeremy and Trav!

It's SUMMERTIME!

Gotta have some dippin' dots . . .

At the PTA movie. It's so nice--only $1 with a pass and there are tons of kids so it doesn't matter that mine don't think sitting in their seats is a necessity at the theatre.

Getting ready to jump in. This is her first year of lessons and so far she likes them.
She is very eager to swim.

Miss Brea wouldn't look at me. She has really enjoyed going swimming even if she doesn't quite cooperate like the other kids! Can't blame her I guess-hard to swim when ya don't like water in your mouth. :)

Summer is in full swing around here. I have been so busy with my new job as 'activities director.' It's a fun job but boy are my clients high maintenance! :) I've just been trying really hard to think of things to do to keep my kids busy and wear them out at the same time! This week we went to the cheap PTA movie (Kung Fu Panda--a fave!), the library, the park, and then the girls started their swimming lessons. Oh, and don't forget almost daily shaved ice runs. So far it's been a lot of fun. I've pretty much given up on having any free time to myself or having a clean house for the summer. My kids aren't the best at entertaining themselves! I have enjoyed having them home (for the most part!) and am very entertained by their silliness. They are fun kids! Oh so busy, but fun. I've just learned that if I need a break, I just need to call a sitter! We have found a great one who has come over quite a bit lately to help me keep my sanity! :) Anyone else doing fun things? Share some ideas--we'd love some new ones.