July

 We had so much fun this summer.  I don't know if it was just because I was SO morning sick last summer or what, but this summer rocked!  The kids were, for the most part (besides and occasional Houston meltdown) pretty good, and we had a lot of fun together.  Hannah still slept like a rock star, even with all the moving around which was Super.

Hannah is getting to be more playful.  She loves to laugh and use her hands to manipulate things now.

So happy all the time!

Uncle SAM!   I've always thought he looks the most like Matt did as a teenager.

We spent a bunch of time on the blacktop.

I love this!

Grandma & Grandpa had such a wonderful garden this year! The weather has been so nice.

It was delicious and beautiful.

These purple bean arches were right out the kitchen window. I loved looking at them all summer long.  I also loved eating delicious real beans all summer long.

We're being Astronauts Mom.

Julia Heath Houston Isla.

A Killdear bird had laid eggs in their driveway. They build a little rock nest on the ground. It had 3 little brown speckled eggs inside. I would have taken a picture of the nest, but the Momma & Daddy birds were too intimidating to me, I chickened out.

The best seat in the house, right in front of the fan.

Heath Bertie Houston.

Owen

So much cousin fun!

Lucy Bertie

The Great Hansen Reunion

 This year we got to take almost 2 weeks to head west for the Hansen reunion.  We had many stops along the way and never stayed in one place for longer that 2 nights in a row, (other than the reunion, that was 3 nights.) The whole trip was probably one of the best, most pleasant trips I have ever been on.  We just had a blast!  Our first stop was in Grand Junction at Aunt Katie's house.  It was about a 15hr drive there.  The kids did SO awesome! 

 Uncle Luke turned 18 the day we were packing up and getting ready to leave, so when we arrived the next day Katie had everything ready! Happy Birthday Uncle Luke! We sure love you, you're pretty awesome!

 Saturday afternoon there was a Bennion reunion for the cousins and Aunts & Uncles of Matt's Mom in SLC.  It was really fun for Matt to see some extended cousins he hadn't since before his mission.  It was really fun for us to play in the bubbles, water, run around, and eat all the tasty treats.



Hannah & Missi

 Morgan

 Hannah was a superstar and did SO wonderfully in the van.  I pumped for her the whole drive out, so when we would stop I could change bums and go to the bathroom myself, and not have to worry about feeding her, which would have probably taken longer than our stops were.   It worked out really well. She slept a lot of the drive, but still slept when we would stop at night, so hey, I'll take it!

 Lucy at the Bennion reunion. That night we stayed at Great Aunt Dianne's, in Jordan, in their camper. It was super nice! A very fun visit and a very comfortable sleep.  Aunt Dianne is pretty awesome!

 The next morning Eddie and Kaitlyn were speaking at their ward in SLC, so we went to church with them, then drove up to Logan and on over to Dayton, ID to stay with Aunt Amanda.  Houston loved her "nest" chair and pretending to be a baby bird.  She also had a sweet hammock!   Katie & Nate, and Eddie & Kaitlyn also stayed the night.  We set up camp and had a pleasant night in the shadows of the mountains.






The next morning we set out to Rexburg.  After a shopping stop at Sams in IF, we arrived and started setting up camp.  It was so fun to see everyone arrive and to get lots of great hugs!

Our wonderful chariot.  This van was seriously the most comfortable vehicle I have ever ridden in.  So easy to sleep in, and my bottom was never tired of sitting.  Seriously the best van ever!  We were so spoiled to get to ride with them!

 The reunion lasted 4 days and 3 nights. I wish it had been longer. 

 George

 Tahnee & Rose

 Finn

 Nina

 Amanda, Darrell, Jimmy, Rebecca, Eddie, Katie, Luke, and Nate working on our AWesome Family Song.

 Benji

 Bertie Hank

 Peter, Houston, Hans Merek Maren

 Almost every night at bedtime Heath would say to me, "Mom today was the best day of my life."

They had so much fun playing in the sand and running with all the cousins.  For all the kids we had they all were so good and got along really well. 




Slack line.

 Sweet little Rosie

 Drew, Phillip's little guy.  He is about 2 weeks older than Hannah and has some awesome hair!  Such a cutie!

 Rhett, so handsome.

 Finn

 Even though we were camping the boys were so good about going to sleep at night. I think they just played themselves exhausted. The last day we were there they both took a little nap, it was super needed and so wonderful. 

 Hatch

 Julia

 Jonah and James

 Memphis

Maren

 Miranda and Catalina (Melanie's girls) were so good with Hannah. They just loved her, and asked to hold her all the time. Little Hannah became quite fond of them.

 We had some wonderful family history workshops in the afternoon two of the days, and on Wednesday the "Elders" did a question and answer panel.  It was so nice to hear their stories of growing up and learn more about Grandma Amanda and Grandpa Arthur. Uncle Peter recorded it so we can listen to it again and again.

 Anne & Samantha, she's about a month younger than Hannah.

 Sarah and Drew

 Wyatt

 The first night Katie organized some minute to win it games.  It was a blast!!

 Heath was so excited to take a turn in front of everyone. He loves to be in the spotlight.

The last day Matt ran some relay races.  I had been helping to prepare lunch inside and went to tell Matt we were ready whenever they were finished.  They were just getting ready to start the 50m dash so I ran to the starting line to race. I had been wearing crocks and didn't think to take them off. I had the lead and felt good,  but part way thought found myself hitting the ground. I rolled, got back up and finished second to last.  Man I feel like I'm getting old.

 Jimmy Mary Esau Hank Finn Katie Jim

 Nate Jimmy Rose Tahnee

 Hank

 Houston Memphis Heath

 Uncle Eddie had made some sweet PVC bows so we all took turns shooting. It was super fun!

 Heath kept asking about going back to the bowinarrow class.

 Heath and his best buddy cousins, Julia and Bertie.
(Julia's birthday is Oct '08, Bertie Aug'09, Heath Jan '10)

 Jim Eddie Kait Heath Bertie & Matt

 Houston found a little Rowan to make smile!

The last night everyone went out to the sand dunes for some fun, but we decided to stay back because Heath had an upset stomach.   It turned out to be a great thing though, because most of Matt's Aunts and Uncles stayed behind too, so we got to have a fun chat with them all on our own. : )

 Houston swiped the camera and got some fun pics of Heath and Howard.

 Almost midnight snack....

 These are all the babies that were present.   So much cuteness going on!

 Esau and Rose

 Hannah & Rowan

 Drew & Nina

And Samantha (and Megan)

 Andrea, She's pretty much a rock star.

 Matt's Bro's minus Johnny who is serving his mission in CA.  Eddie Matt Sammy Peter Jimmy Luke

Darrell & Anne (no5)
Rebecca& Ben, Benji, Ana, Gwendolyn, Renata, Julia, Isla, Nina
Amanda
Mary& Jim, Sariah, Porter, Hank, Wyatt, Memphis, Boone, Esau
Peter& Amy, Lily, Maren, Bertha, Owen, Lucy (and baby girl in Nov)
Matt& Cegan, Heath, Houston, Hannah
Katie& Nate, James, George, Rhett, Finn
Jimmy& Tahnee, Morgan, Rose
Eddie& Kaitlyn, Rowan
Johnny (not pictured)
Luke
Sam

 Nels & Kathy (We were so sad they couldn't be with us. Uncle Nels had broken his hip badly just days prior, so we missed them dearly.) (no 1)
Tiffany& Scott, Allison, Megan, Tanner, Jessica
Michelle& Gary, Madison, Victoria, Adam
Tonya& Kenny, Desiree, Melia, David, Eliott, Sarianne, Peter, Hans
Melanie& Brad, Miranda, Catalina, Christian, Curtis, Merek

 Mark& Trudy (no 2)
Kimberly& Kelli, Alexis, Laurissa, Kristina, Mclnnis, Cheyenne, Jordan
Heather& Michael
Sarasue& Kris, Alex, Ben, Austin, Lauren, Jacob, Emma
Julie, Gabriela, Alicia, Ethan, Eli
JohnMark& Johana, Ariana, Samantha
Jillyn& Winston, Hatch, Howard, Brock

 Dianne& Ed (no 6)
Weston& Sara, Andrew, Eden, Jonah, Leah
Phillip& Linda, Max, Drew
Andrea
Kirsti& Spencer
Erica& Wes

The secret to the smiling faces!

 Chere & David (no 4)  (Poor Aunt Chere flew all the way to SLC, but felt so sick she wasn't able to make it to Rexburg to the reunion.  We saw her afterwords at Aunt Dianne's house. It was so wonderful to hug her again!)
Steven& Melody, Josh, Amber, Jared, Emily, Matthew, Michael
Scott& Jennifer, Jentry, Presley, Madison, Mitchell, Susan
Jennie& Jeremy, Klydie, Peter, Ammon
Kathy& Brigham,  Jessie, Elsie, Jemima, Ebden
Rebecca& Todd, Rachel, Savannah, Christina, Daniel
Rob& Carlie, Timothy, Spencer, Katelyn
Jacob& Sarah, Joshua, Anna, Margaret
Ben& Brittany, Kimberly, BenDavid, Daniel,
Liz
Jonathan

 Matt's sisters-  Amanda, Rebecca, Katie, Mary.  I seriously have the best sister in laws ever!

 Us.  : )

 Sam Eddie Rebecca Matt Darrell Amanda Anne Jimmy Mary Katie Peter and Luke.  (Johnny in CA)

Verne & Christie (no 3)
Shelley& Dave, Sam, Jacob, Anna, Tori, Marker
David& Anne, Mitchell, Tess, Luke, Samantha
Russell, Lexi, Kenny
Megan (who was hiding somewhere?)

 Rowan and Hannah

 Waiting to hit the road after the funnest week of the last 3 years.

 Just as we left Rexburg we ran out of gas.  oops.  We happened to roll right in front of this well drilling shop.  Matt ran across the freeway to seek some help. 

A guy happened to be in one of the garages and had a full can of gas, so he drove Matt over to us and gave us some gas.  It was one of the best delays ever. Everything worked out so well. It was seriously no longer than about 5 minutes.

Katie, Eddie, and Jimmy and their families went camping, while Tahnee, Morgan and Rose went with us (Me Matt Heath Houston Hannah Luke Sam Anne and Darrell) to Uncle Mark's house in Alpine. 

On the drive Matt and I started feeling that bug Heath had had. 

We met Mary and her family and Peter and his family at Uncle Mark & Aunt Trudy's.  They put us all up, and let us get some laundry done. Gabi & Alicia let Matt, myself and the boys stay in their room. It was sure nice to sleep in a real bed in a warm room. (it got quite cold in rexburg at times) Poor Matt got quite sick that night and threw up a bunch.  : (     Aunt Trudy was such a wonderful host and made us all a delicious breakfast complete with a smoothie!

That morning we packed up and set off to Fairview Canyon to Uncle Mark's cabin.

 He has built it all on his own and It's just beautiful!   There was a master bedroom downstairs, 6 rooms with bunk beds upstairs, and 2 lofts upstairs for all the little kids. Perfect!

 The view was just breathtakingly beautiful!

 Mom, a flower for you.

 MAry Morgan Anne Luke Wyatt Bertie Maren

Uncle Mark had 3 4wheelers. There was a fun loop of switchbacks that climbed a mountain went across the top and came down the other side. The views were amazing and it was so much fun.  We saw a bunch of deer while we were riding around. 

 A view of the cabin from the top.

 MAren & AMy

Sariah

 Memphis Wyatt Bertie

 Aunt Trudy was so kind and took such good care of all of us.  She brought up and prepared so much food for all of us.  Such a wonderful woman.

 Lucy & Peter

 Houston loves holding his baby. 

 The whole time we were in Utah Heath was asking to climb a mountain. So one day we decided to climb the mountain right in front of the cabin.

 Matt Hannah Jimmy Morgan

Jimmy Katie and Eddie's camping/climbing trip turned out to be a flop. They all got flat tires and were worried about getting to chruch Sunday for Rose's blessing so Jimmy and Eddie bailed and joined us in Fairview. 

 Eddie & Houston

 Houston Morgan Jimmy on the Mountain

 Saturday morning Darrell Anne Amanda Jim Mary and I went to a session at the Matni Temple.  My Grandma, Verna Forsyth's grandparents, August Swen Neilson, and Mathilda Petronilla Johnson, were married there in Dec of 1888. My Great-Great-Grandparents. It was so neat to be where they had been.  The temple was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful!  It was the first time I'd been into the Manti Temple.  It was completed and dedicated in 1888, so everything inside had been hand crafted with the most delicate care. They just don't build like they did then.  I don't know for sure, I need to research up a bit more, but there is a very good chance August had helped to build that temple.
On the drive back to the Cabin we stopped in Spring City to visit Anne's brother, Uncle Joe.   Spring City is the place my Great-Grandpa, August Julius,  and his sister were born in 1889 and 1893.

 Houston & Owen

 We stayed Sunday night at Uncle Mark's and Aunt Trudy's home again, and they were such wonderful hosts again.  Sunday morning we packed up and drove to SLC for little Rose's baby blessing.




After the blessing we all went out to a pavilion and had a yummy lunch of Hawaiian haystacks. (Thanks Aunt Amanda!)

 Houston George Julia

Little Rosie.  She is just darling! 

 Morgan Jimmy Rose Tahnee

 Houston Heath Bertie

 Lucy

 Morgan

 Ben, Uncle Mark, Isla, Amy, Lucy, Uncle Ed, Aunt Trudy, Anne

 Nate, Finn, James

 Matt Hannah Weston

Andrew and Rose.  He is truly a sweet kid.  

 Afternoon nap with Daddy.

 Hannah Jane

 Julia

Benji Heath Julia

 Hannah & Houston.  He always goes up to her like that and says, "Hey... Baby babe baby be be!"

 Darrell, Aunt Trudy, Uncle Mark

After the blessing we drove down to Peyson to visit the Burrells.  Vondra and Lance had been my other parents while we were growing up, and it was SO wonderful to see them and hug them again! It 's been a LONG time.

I had a horse named Sheriff growing up and he lives with Vondra now.  We went out to see him and the boys jumped up for a little ride. 

 They were SO happy!

I was pretty happy too.  There is a weird special bond between a horse and rider. I have fond memories of flying into home after rounding the barrels, pole bending, trail riding through Willard, and racing as fast as we could through open fields. I loved going fast.  That feeling of the ground disappearing below you and the wind slapping you in the face. He was a little Arab, but he was sure Fast! I hadn't seen Share since I was about 17-18. So it's been about 10 years! Sheesh, I'm old.

Those boys were SO happy!

 Grams Vondra had so many fun toys, and animals, the boys loved spending time at their house.

 That evening we drove back to Grand Junction to Katie's for a couple days.

Grandpa Daddy and Uncle Nate spend the day figuring for Nate&Katie's new house they are going to be building there.
Katie Grandma the Kiddo's and I played and laughed at their house all day. : )

 Houston

Finn

 Houston

 Luke is such a fun Uncle!  Georgie....

We were there Sunday night, and Monday night. Tuesday morning we got up and hit the road for home. 


So much fun!