Hinton Reunion - Day 2 - Bear Lake

Friday - July 4th - The main plan for the day was to go to Bear Lake. Wake up, make breakfast, get ready, and head out whenever everybody was ready. Just very chill and "go with the flow" type of day.

Seeing as it was a major holiday, a couple of us decided to head up to the lake early to get us a spot and have camp set up before everyone else arrived. So Chad, Kaitlyn, and I were on the road before 8 am to get to Bear Lake. By the time we got there, there were already a few people there, but we managed to find a empty picnic table in an ideal spot. We were on a small sand bank/island that had a shallow pool of water in front of it, then a big bank separating the rest of the lake. It was perfect for the kids.

It made it easy to tell the kids that they couldn't go past the bank of sand without an adult. This was our little spot. We had lounge chairs, shade canopies, camping chairs, the picnic table, floaties, etc.

The kids had fun playing with sand toys...

 and this fun raft.

 We made reservations for paddle boats at noon so we had an early lunch. 

 Then we had some fun with the paddle boats. They were a bit slow and hard to steer, but I think everyone had fun with them.

 Will especially loved going along for rides and was happy to go out with whomever would take him.

 Adell was crying a bit at first, but eventually she was happy to ride along also.

 While the kids were having fun being taken on the boats by aunts and uncles, parents were enjoying some rare free moments.

At one point we had a pretty physical game of 500 (Jackpot) happening. It involved a lot of shoving, splashing, and any dirty tricks to prevent someone else from getting the ball.

We rented the paddle boats for 2 hours, and once those were returned, we were all pretty worn out and about ready to call it a day.  So we packed up all of our stuff, grabbed a famous raspberry shake on our way out, and headed back to Logan. 

 Once we got back to Logan, there were lots of naps, showers, and preparing for dinner. 

 After we ate dinner we gathered outside to enjoy some of our own fireworks before we put the kids to bed.

 The kids loved being able to go put the firecrackers out in the road. Adell was disappointed when we wouldn't let her light her own.

 Will kept saying, "It's my turn! My turn!" 

  All of the kids would gather around grandpa, waiting to see who he was going to give the firecracker to.

Newborn Paisley got to see her first fireworks...maybe. I'm not sure if she was awake or not.

  After a long day spent in the sun, everyone was pretty tired and ready to call it a day. We had some dessert, and fizzled out to bed resting before the next day of fun.

Hinton Reunion - Day 1 - The Arrival

With Lance's family so spread out and everyone's schedules being so different, we don't get together as often as we would like to. We used to count on Christmas for everyone being together, but now even that doesn't always happen. So we planned a Hinton reunion over the 4th of July weekend. Instead of our usual ping-pong or croquet tournament, we decided to try something new and have a little more of an itinerary with planned activities throughout the weekend.

Everyone was set to arrive in Logan on Thursday. Because Lance has Thursdays off, we figured we may as well head up first thing in the morning to spend a little more time up there. Plus there were a few things that we wanted to do in Logan, such as getting an oil change where we bought our car, ring inspected, etc.

We got to Logan about 10a and spent most of the day just preparing for everyone else to arrive. I got to go shopping with Sharon and help pick out all of the treats and goodies that we would be having all week.

Lately every time I pull my phone out to take a picture, this is the face that Blake makes.

Then slowly everyone started trickling in. Scott and Lance left early afternoon to go to the airport to get Melissa. Bryan and his family arrived before dinner. Then they left the three girls while they went out on a date. 

The kids were all excited to see each other and have someone to play with. At one point I walked into the toy room and found Blake had lined up all of the balls on the treadmill and was grabbing them one by one to throw down the belt.

Then Will and Adell decided it was hilarous to throw all of the balls at me, so we spend a good chunk of time playing that game.

Adell would throw the ball and then laugh so hard she could barely keep her balance.



Once they tired of pelting me with the ball, they each found some baby dolls, wrapped them up in blankets, and played house.

Then eventually Amber and her family arrived with Julie. 

Once everyone arrived, we had dessert, hung out, then prepared to go watch the Logan city fireworks. They always do their big show on July 3rd so that families can spend the 4th doing their own fireworks or other things.

A few people stayed at the house, so we put the babies to sleep and the rest of us headed up the hill to enjoy the show.

After the fireworks were over, we headed home and finished our preparations for the next day at Bear Lake. It was about 11pm and there were 8 adults gathered in the kitchen, all doing separate things. Some were cutting fruit to pack in the cooler. Julie was pre-cooking her bacon so she didn't have to get up early. I was making a pasta salad so it could cool all night. We found it amusing to have the kitchen so full of activity so late at night.

Eventually we got everything ready that we wanted and headed to bed, prepared for a busy day.

Congratulations Mom and Claude!

A couple of months ago, my mom met a man named Claude Grant...and a few weeks ago they were married in the St. George temple.

It was really fun to watch this all unfold. From the very first date, I could tell there was something special about Claude. My mom called me all giddy like and she hasn't been the same ever since. I didn't have to see her to tell that she had a constant smile on her face.

After a very short time, they decided they wanted to be married. My mom submitted the papers to have her sealing to my father cancelled and set a tentative date for a wedding. After a few minor setbacks, the cancellation came through and the wedding was on.

We spent the weekend in Cedar City surrounded by family. My niece, Mckenzie, had high school graduation the night before the wedding, so some of us went to that. Her and I went shopping the day before and found that amazing dress for her to wear. Isn't she stunning?

I am so proud of her for everything she has accomplished. She is heading out to Nebraska in the fall for college to play softball on scholarship. 

Thursday night after the graduation, my sisters and my mom sister's stole my mom around midnight and took her to Denny's for a last little hoo-rah as a single woman. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend some time with her before her big day.

The next morning, we were all up early, getting ready, and on our way to St. George for the wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful and they had a lot of support.

My mom is an amazing woman. I am so glad that she has found someone that she can share her life with.

We took pictures outside then everyone went to Golden Corral for a wedding brunch. Claude and my mom talked about how they had met and some things leading up to the wedding.  Then he had each of us girls get up to say something about my mom.

The weekend was filled with super late nights, early mornings, family, good food, and lots and lots of fun. I absolutely love when my siblings are able to get together. Even if we do nothing but sit around and talk, we are guaranteed to have a good time.

The majority of our time together was spent in Kim's back yard playing a soccer juggling game called Kill. We played for hours and would often be rolling on the floor laughing for some reason or another.

Man these people are fun. Too bad Jim wasn't able to make it. 

Once all of the wedding stuff was over, we wanted to get out and do something fun. We debated between going to Zions, finding a short hike, or something else. Finally we decided to go to Sand Hollow for a day!

 

 

The two girls weren't too sure about the water, but were content just to sit at the edge with their feet in.

 The boys spend the majority of the time digging out tunnels for the water, making sand castles, and playing in the mud. Zac was so good to play with Will and Will was in heaven.

  We also had the four-wheelers and the sand rail there to ride on the trails. Again, Will was in heaven.

 There are few things that I love more than being surrounded by family. I wish my family was able to get together more often, because it is such a rare occurrence.

Congratulations to Mom and Claude. We are all very happy for them and wish them the best of luck.