Crichlow Reunion in Bear Lake

Okay, I really don't know what I am doing with this blogging. I will have to figure it out when I have more time, but for now all my pictures are in the wrong order. ANYWAY, in September we headed down to Bear Lake for our first Critchlow Reunion in YEARS! It was great to see lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles that we have not seen in forever. Even though we were only able to make it a couple of days we had a great time and the kids loved meeting their "second" cousins.

Here is Tenielle, beautiful as ever!

Uncle Dave and Aunt Terri around the campfire...can you believe these guys have like 20+grandkids!


I loved this picture of Joshua because sometimes it is hard to get him smiling. Who would not be smiling about a yummy marshmallow?

Man, I wish I had a scan of the "original" of this next picture. Years ago the Critchlow family had a reunion in Phoenix and all the cousins spanned the garage, it was one of those legendary moments. We tried to re-create it here with the next generation and it was not easy. The little ones on the end were screaming bloody murder.

Here are the twins...aren't they gorgeous?! (Amy and Delana)


I took a photo of Dave's children and grandchildren...

Here is the gang getting warm. It was actually great weather while we were there. My family goes every year in July so we didn't know what to expect in September. Not only was the weather great, but the whole town clears out! The boys went boating and didn't mind it a bit, even said it was warm. As for me, I don't step in the Lake unless it is HOT outside because that Lake may look like the Caribbean but it can feel like the Artic Ocean. That is Uncle Jim there in the back who came all the way from PENNSYLVANIA with Aunt Sandy!

Uncle Dave was great and gave everyone rides on the Razors. My kids came home with dreams of buying one! I love this picture with him and Gma, I think he took her on a wild ride in the hills. You know how Flo loves to be a wild woman. We were glad she got her pep up to make the big trek to Utah. She needed to be there since she is the one responsible for the whole group!

All the cousins crammed into the back of the truck to go boating with "Uncle B". You can see my boys surrounded by all those girls. I don't think they minded. (I can just hear them now, "MOM! They are COUSINS, sheesh..." )

Each night ended with a relaxing swim in the hottub. Thanks Nana and Papa for the great trip! We loved it!

Okay, and since we are out of order here. The first night down was Michael's Birthday. The big EIGHT! I can't believe it. Here is the crew with Nana and the cake we whipped together for him. (No those are not candles, they are glow sticks, we had to improvise!)

We hope to have another reunion soon and not let another 15 years go by! We missed everyone that could not come, so we will definately have to do it again!

Better Late than Never

So I am making a late entrance to the blogging scene. Even though I am just starting my own blog, I am technically not a new comer to the scene. While most people open the newspaper each morning to see what is happening in the world, I check "my blogs". I first cruise over to see how Nienie is doing, then it is over to Cloverlane, I click on my sister's link hoping she might have done a post....and so it goes.

I love my blogs. The people in them feel like friends that I know, okay, maybe like I felt that Oprah was my friend, but still... I feel like I know them. Then my kids ask me why I am reading about strangers and I feel a little bit like a loser. Maybe it is just the stalker in me, but I love reading about their lives, especially if they are inspiring and make me want to be a better mom, wife, sister, friend, or cook! I justify my blog reading by telling others, "Hey, people used to follow other people's "fake" lives on TV through Soaps and such, I am following real lives and they are more interesting and not trashy!" I get decorating ideas, parenting ideas, recipes, tutorials on doing hair, product recommendations, the works!

So now you know why I read other blogs why am I starting my own? I am not an expert in organization, decorating, cooking, romancing, photography, parenting, couponing, politics, physical fitness, style, travel, and all the other areas I look for help in on the internet. I think there are a plethora of Mormon, stay-at-home Moms already on the interent so I probably don't have much new to offer there. I don't really have a free time slot to fill in my life. So why now? The main two reasons are for family near and family far, and by family I also mean friends!

1. Family Near: In the past I have said that I don't need a blog. I can put photos in albums and I have always been a journal keeper so isn't that good enough? Well, to be honest my albums and journaling have gone by the wayside lately and try as I might, I never seem to have the time. I figure a blog will keep me a little more accountable to take time to record ideas, thoughts, and things we are doing day to day. I want my kids to be able to look back and see what our ordinary days consisted of and what some of my thoughts were as their Mother. I want to remember the little things more because I am already realizing that the kids DO grow and I DO forget things. Do I have time? No. (Especially with the "half" in this title. The "half" is our new puppy and is major time suckage at the moment. ) I have to tell myself- in 5, 10, 20 years will I remember that I vacuemed the carpet one more time or how clean my house might have been that afternoon for one hour? No. However, if I take a little time to write, they will be memories I can keep forever.

2. Family Far: I wish we lived closer to all our family on both sides. I love keeping up with what our sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends are all up to. Our Nana and Papa used to be just 30 minutes down the road and we miss our weekly interactions with them. I decided by blogging we can keep them up on what is happening each week even though we are not together.

So there you go! Better late than never, I am starting a blog and here is a cute picture of Sophie to get things started!