August

Funt-Nunner! We finally made our long-promised trip on the Frontrunner. We rode up to Woods Cross where three of the kids stayed the night at Lance's sister's house. Everybody was super excited.



We sat on the top of one of the two-story cars.







I had three extra kids with me, so I was glad I had my mother-in-law along with me.



Right after this picture, a UTA worker came by and told them to keep their feet off the seats. Oops. They all had a great time on the train. Gabe slept most of the ride so it worked out really well.




A few days later I had a bunch of boys playing at my house. I had to laugh when I realized how well they all coordinated. Tyler, Andrew and Colin seem to wear the same color shirt a lot.



My little nephew arrived to join his eager sisters and brother.




Isn't his little face adorable!



Mia was thrilled to have another baby around!



 I'm not sure who took this picture of Tyler, but it makes me laugh. I cropped it so it wasn't quite so inappropriate!



My brother and his family stopped in Utah for a couple of weeks on his way across the country. While they were here, we got to have their oldest stay at our house. Brady was so excited to have someone to hang out with. All of my other kids loved having him here as well. They still ask when he's coming back.


 

It's practically a miracle that I got two pictures in a row of him. 

 

Gabe turned 11 months!   It's hard to believe he's almost 1.  He has eight teeth and his molars are working their way through.  He's not walking at all yet and I'm fine with that.  The only problem is his knees and feet get super dry and his excema flares up.  When he's outside he ends up pretty filthy as well. 

 

He's just a bundle of happy. 

 

Lance had to get the dirt bikes out so everyone could have a few rides. 

 

Too bad I didn't take any pictures of the actual dirt bikes.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

 

Mia and Tyler practiced their posing while Wyatt perfected his hiding.

 

I got him this time though.  My camera was too slow to catch his smile.

 

Chloe finished her summer dance.  She loved it.  It was a great program.  Their instructor taught them dance basics and I didn't have to buy a dance costume she would only wear once.  For their dance they did I see the Light from Tangled.  Chloe did a great job and knew what she was supposed to be doing most of the time.  She also had a friend in the class so we carpooled.  That was extra nice.

 

If you look really closely at Isaac's finger, you can see a small insect on it.  It's a bee.  It was really bizarre.  It wasn't flying away and it wasn't stinging him.  It just crawled over his finger until I made him put it outside.

 

We had a nice storm roll through.  They all wanted to play in the rain, but there was some serious thunder and lightning so I wouldn't let them.

 

Isaac's wearing Lance's Mickey Mouse hat he had when he was little.

 

It's become tradition to have the spray whipped cream when Wyatt comes over.  So for dessert for one of family dinners, the kids had a lot of fun. 

 

Chloe found a kindred spirit.  They're both perfectly happy watching tv.

 

One day, the kids decided to have some bike races. 

 

Jed even got autographs from the racers.

 

And Nathan had the best seat.

 

It was fun to have them so close for a couple of weeks.  We all really enjoyed being able to see them so much and actually spend time with them.  When we were growing up we only had about 8 cousins that we ever saw.  Of those, we were really only friends with 2 of them.  It's so nice that my kids get to have so many more cousins and that they're so much better friends.

Star Wars Baby Shower and Awtrey Family Reunion 2103

My sister-in-law decided (and by "decided" I mean "was surprised") to have a baby after a five year gap.  Since she'd given away most of her baby gear, it was time for a shower.  She and her family loves Star Wars so I settled on a Star Wars theme and had a little fun searching Pinterest for some good ideas and free printables.

 

 

Add some good food and lots of family and friends and we had ourselves a shower.

 

 

 

I had lots of help setting up thank goodness.

 

For the above artwork, I was inspired by the room below which led me to this etsy site which sells the prints (for a lot more than I was willing to pay).  I looked at them for a while, then realized I could create them myself in Paint. 

 

 

I started out just making the ones shown above.  Once I got it all figured out, I had to keep going and make six more.  If you can't name all 12, you're not a true Star Wars fan!

                                                                         

                                                                                         

                                                      

Later that day we had our annual Awtrey Family Reunion Picnic.  The girls who were at my house before the picnic found some colorful hair pant so I let them have at it.  They washed it out before the picnic.  I think they were scared their parents would not be happy.  I'm by far the coolest aunt. 

 

 

This year we invited some friends who we knew when we lived in Washington.  It was so fun to see them.  I was busy chatting with them so I gave Chloe my camera to document the day.  She was able to capture some unforgettable moments.

 

 

 

 

At least she got one of herself smiling.

 

 

This year we almost had everyone here.  There's only 5 grandkids missing.

Here's all of us who were there plus our friends who came.  (I don't know why I look so odd.  I was holding Gabe so I was trying to hide behind Daniel.  That doesn't explain the weird look on my face though.)  They have six kids.  One of them is a daughter who's a year younger than I am.  I asked them how old their daughter was when they moved to Washington.  They said she was probably about 12.  I was kind of floored when I realized I have a son who's 12 and I have six kids.  It's kind of mind boggling. 





 

Here's all of us except Paul.  We tried to get Adam to cozy up to David, but he said he was leaving a spot for Paul since he wasn't able to be there.  I think he just thought he looked taller standing farther away. 

 



I need someone to do some photoshopping for me to swap a few heads, then it would be a pretty good picture.