Lava Lava!

We look forward to going to Lava Hot Springs every year with David's Moms family. We go up on Sunday and leave Wednesday after breakfast. The fun usually starts Sunday night with going to the hot pools. His family loves sitting in the hottest pool. I figure it is because it is not as crowded which is nice.

Monday was pool day. David and I were in charge of lunch at the pool, so we provided sandwiches. This year the boys actually lasted more then two minutes in the pool. Aiden of course was a little more hesitant but warmed up to the water pretty fast.
David's cousin Karina and I went down the slides this year. Last year I was too chicken so this I did it. I was suppose to go off the first platform with her too but we left earlier so we could get the boys down for a nap, so in the end I did not make the jump. We all had a lot of fun and my niece and nephew Scarlett and Harrison went down the kiddie slide a little more then a thousand times. I wish I had a picture of Harrison's face. He would prepare for the water way early by having his eyes closed and mouth shut, it was great.
The rest of the day we hung out, played games, napped and ate food.

Ross and Adrie with the boys

 Aiden, Oliver and Scarlett found the chest full of ice and loved sucking on them. Mmmm!

Tuesday was floating the river day. I always get a little anxious before the first float because you never know how it is going to be. But after the first run all fears are gone. Two years ago we decided to hold onto each others tubes forming one long line and we've never gone back. It is so much more fun seeing everyone's reaction and laughing together rather then going alone. Also this way, rarely anyone falls off. If someone does it is usually brought on by their own doing or trying to do a trick.

On our second time down everything was great, we made it down the first and second drop without a hitch. Ross and I were in the front of the line and we got pushed to the side which made us stop. We then  were at the end getting dragged through the trees. We were about to go under the bridge when I realized that my tube was deflating, and pretty rapidly. Within seconds I had no tube and couldn't get out of the water, so I hurried and pulled myself up onto David's tube in front of me and made it through the rapids without a scratch. Once it was smooth I got out where I did get scratched and met up with his mom, aunt Karen, Adrie and the twins who were watching from the sidelines. We met back up at the truck and went to fetch me a tube and go down the river again. The guy at the tube rental told us that the next tube was free but if it happened again I would have to pay for it so the next 5 times we went down I made sure to stay away from the edges. I love floating the river and I would say it is my favorite day in Lava.

this is not the bridge where I had to try and survive at. :)

I love David's face in this picture, and the whole time Ross kept saying he was "Michael Phelpsing it up" because at one point he used his flip flops to paddle to catch up to us. He was hilarious the entire time, but I am not sure what pose he was trying to pull off here.

Running into people, Yeah it's our thing!

Josh almost lost it there

See you next year Lava Lava!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa McAllister for the awesome accommodations.

3rd Annual Meyer Reunion

We had our reunion on Saturday the 28th of July at my parents house. We all arrived at my parents house on Friday spent both Friday and Saturday nights there.

I made German pancakes for breakfast, which didn't turn out as fluffy as when David makes them but, he was still sleeping since we had a late night with the boys so he couldn't work his magic. Soon after breakfast we got ready and headed to the High School to get family pictures taken by my friend Sami Rose. She did a great job and brought a helper which was nice since there were 18 of us. We hadn't had family pictures taken since 2007, and since then we have added 6 people to our family.

After pictures we relaxed, put babies down for naps and just hung out until lunch. Steven and Michelle brought yummy Papa Murphey's Pizza and made salad. Once our stomachs were stuffed we headed outside to make our stepping stones. I found online a way to make your own clay mosaic pieces by just breaking up plates. When David and I went to the DI to get the plates the cashier was going to wrap them up in paper so they wouldn't break. I told him there was no point since we were going to break them anyway, he just laughed. My dad and my brother Steve were the mixers of the mortar and I supervised. Everyone laid out their pieces for their ideas and some got pretty creative. Regan did a flower and sun, Abe did a cool sun burst design, Nick did a U for UofU, David did an owl, Steve did an A for Aggies, My dad did a hand, Brenden did a palm tree,  My mom, Marcie, Michelle, Mckay, Maylee, Ben, and I just did mosaic pieces of art. The three youngest even got in on the action and put a few pieces in on their own stone. We weren't too smart at first and put some of the stones in the sun to dry which dried them too quickly and some cracked. But no worries my dad patched them up and even glued my mom's back together. :) We had a lot of fun and it was a hit. YESSSS!!

Next up, Water time. My parents blew up their shark pool and the kids didn't hesitate to get in. My brother brought a huge Beach ball that squirted water and my Nephew Brenden had squirt guns which were used constantly with the guys. Steve, Nick and David had fun ganging up on each other and on Brenden. In the end Nick and Steve got each other soaked the most because they resorted to using the hoses. We also played water balloon toss and actually tossed it without dropping it 15 times, pretty impressive I'd say. :)

Soon it was time for Marcie's yummy dinner of Mexican casserole and fruit. Again we got stuffed with deliciousness and then it was Party time. We had five Birthdays in a 3 week span so we celebrated them all. First it was my moms, Steve's, Brenden's, David's and then Autumns. My sister in law Michelle made a cake for each person, and they were all delicious. We sang and they opened presents and just had a great night after that.

Marcie and Abe went home late on Saturday since she had sharing time at 9 the next morning so we put the boys in their room and they slept much better that night. I made Crepes for breakfast Sunday morning and Steven and Michelle went home a little before lunch. David and I spent the day there since we had dinner at his mom's at five. It was good to relax and nap a little bit. Nick hung around too.

We had an awesome time with everyone and can't wait until next year!

Maylee loved the shiny rocks and I tried to go from hot to cool if you didn't notice. The boys had fun putting their artistic talent into their stone even if they only put a couple on there.

My cute niece Regan and I making faces

Aiden and Oliver

A Day In The Park

My parents wanted to get together with the kids and my sister suggested going on a picnic in the park. We went to the Providence Elementary School playground which was really nice except that the tables to eat on are kind of far from the playground, but we still had a good time. The boys tried to climb up the slides and loved sharing their cousin Ben's sucker. It was Root Beer Float flavor, Yum!!

 

I actually dressed the boys to match that day. We rarely do.

Ben was so nice to share his sucker. His sister had a bubblegum flavored sucker, and we later found it buried in the sandbox. Don't worry though, she saved it and brought it home so we could wash it off.

My sister Marcie

Autumn and Ollie

Thanks for the Picnic, we had lots of fun!!