Reunion Time!

It's family reunion time! That means I get to put an obscene amount of pictures up and YOU get to enjoy them. Oh boy, here we go.

So we took a nice drive up to Island Park, ID to stay in a big house with Carl's (almost) whole family, minus two siblings. But on the way there I had to stop by a place I once called home. That's right, Rexburg, ID. I must say, I never thought I would be excited to be in that town again, but it was kind of fun driving through with my hubby and baby and showing them where mama used to live and go to school. A lot has changed in the last 10 years(yikes, it really has been that long).They now have a temple and it is beautiful!
What better place to let my naked child run free than on the temple lawn.

I spy with my little eye.....(if you blow up the picture below, it really is funny.)



What kind of person would I be if I didn't visit my old stomping grounds. Say hello to Dorm 6 and Royal Crest #116.



So, we made it up to the house to spend some time with the family. Aren't our nieces and nephews so cute?
We spent a lot of time in Yellowstone National Park admiring the beauty of this country, and what better way to be welcomed than by this bald eagle. God Bless the U.S.A.

This little beauty was about 5 feet from our car. I really wanted to pet it, but Carl wouldn't let me.

Old Faithful. This is after she went off. We were so busy filming it that we didn't get a picture while she was blowing!

If I were famous, this would be my paparazzi shot. Lovely, isn't it?
I just like this shot of Mom and Dad McCain. And yes, we did all have family reunion shirts on. Adults in brown and kids in green. Awesome. However, we failed to get a picture of everyone together in our shirts. Way to go.

These hot pots are all over the place and they are incredible. This one is called Morning Glory.

It may look like she is pooping, but she isn't. She's just silly.
Happy kid.

Artists Paint Pots. A bunch of mud/clay bubbling like water.

This is what happens when there is too much excitement.

One of the highlights of Yellowstone, the waterfalls. These were spectacular!

From the top of the falls.

Happy 4th of July!

Hayden is so excited about America's birthday, as seen in these next 3 photos.



Our view of the sunset before the firework show. I was very impressed with this little town's firework performance.

"I love my land, America!"

What a wonderful time we had as a family. I loved seeing all of them and spending time together. I can't wait for the next reunion!

The Solution

What do you do when your baby doesn't want to go to sleep?

You DANCE!


That should make her good and sleepy...or make her really wide awake. Either way, she's cute when she does it.

Happy Father's Day...

....to all the men in my life.



Dad, thank you for all you have done, and always do for me and my family. You are the best and you deserve the best. I love you!



Dennis, you are a great example of putting family first and I love you for teaching that to Carl. Thanks!


Carl, you are my baby's daddy and I love that about you:) You are such a wonderful father to Hayden and a loving and patient husband to me. You are the cheese to my macaroni. Thank you for everything you do for us. I love you thiiiiiiiiis much!

Guess What?!?!

We bought a house and we are pretty excited about it.

It's only about 13,000 square feet with 8 bedrooms and about 7 bathrooms, which should do....for now. We might need to expand later. But it's pretty nice.

Oh, and we bought that Mercedes in the driveway too. They gave us a good deal.

Syke.

Okay, I'm joking, you caught me. We did the parade of homes up here in Utah county and this was one of the amazing houses that we saw with our friends Andy and Amylyn.
It was incredible, equipped with an indoor pool and racquetball court.

Awesome.

To Be a Kid Again

I realized something today. I really like cartoons. Sometimes I find myself watching them and Hayden isn't anywhere near the TV or even in the same room. Nice huh? Hayden doesn't get into cartoons like I do, except for her Baby Einstein videos. Those are like visual heroin for her. But I've realized that some cartoons that I have started watching are really clever and funny. Here are a few of my choices:

1. Of course, Sponge Bob Square Pants. It is so funny to me. Why haven't I been watching this since it started?!?!
2. Phineas and Ferb. At first, I wasn't too interested in this one, but the more I watched it, the more funny it became to me.
3. All of the early morning Playhouse Disney shows. I love them. They aren't as funny but they are cute.

Having Hayden has made me grow up in so many ways, but has brought out the kid in me in some ways as well, and I love it. At the present time, I would rather watch cartoons than the shows they have on for grown ups in the morning. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so.

Possibly the Best Day Ever?

Does anyone know what today is? Mark it in your books because today is DOUGHNUT DAY! Yes, I did already go pick up my 1/2 dozen glazed doughnuts, and yes, they are delicious.

This is almost as good as Christmas.....almost.

We miss you, Grandma and Grandpa!

We had such a wonderful time up in Washington with Gma and Gpa Owens that it is kind of hard to be back. Mainly because I was spoiled by being able to sleep in while Gma took the baby every morning and entertained her until I felt the need to be apart of their lives again. It's amazing how much sleeping in until 9 can really do for you. I also try to remember that I used to sleep until the afternoon when I was a kid. Crazy.
Anyway, moving on.

We flew up on Saturday and lucky for me and Carl, we were able to have a date night in Seattle while the bundle of joy stayed home with the folks. It was really nice to have time away just to be with each other in our favorite city. I love my hubby!



While Carl was with us we got to go to the movies with my brother Paul and enjoy the beautiful Washington weather with a BBQ at home for Memorial Day. Sadly, Carl had to leave us Monday night to put food on our table. Thanks, Carl, for working so hard. I was able to stay for the week and hang out with some of my favorite people, Mom and Dad. Thanks, you two, for taking care of us while we were there!


We had a good time. Mom took us to a bunch of fun parks during the week that she enjoys going to with Buddy. They are all really beautiful and of course Hayden loved all the ducks and playgrounds.






Hayden even had her very first, very own ice cream cone. And then a sugar rush.




We went to the zoo for the very first time and were able to see some of the animals that Hayden can imitate. It was cute!















































Since the weather was so nice, Hayden got to swim in the kiddie pool in the back yard everyday! We would fill it up in the morning and by the afternoon it was nice and warm. Perfect. She loved it! Especially the chairs Gma and I would sit in.























We did have a great idea to go visit Forks, WA while I was there. You all know what I am talking about. Who wouldn't want to go see the town that Twilight has made famous? I know I would!! So we packed up the car and off we went for our 3+ hour adventure just so I could get my Twilight fix. Well, about an hour into the drive we arrived at the one bridge that would take us over to the Port Angeles side and found out that it was closed...until mid June! Good one. We could still get to Forks if we drove back and around the other way, but that would add so much more time, so we decided not to do it. We did enjoy our short trip to Port Gamble instead (the town right by the Hood Canal that was closed)and decided to take a Ferry back to Seattle. It was so much fun, even if we didn't get to see the home town of Bella and Edward.













































We ended the week at the Farmer's market. We love going to the market when we come to town. It is so fun to see all the fun vendors and eat the delicious food. I would love to buy the flowers every week if we could.

I miss being up with my parents, but I love being back home with my husband and dog. It's bitter sweet. Someday we will live closer to each other and be able to make weekend trips without even thinking twice about the trip.

I wish I could post every single picture, but I'm tired and this has already taken up most my night. I can't wait to go back to the Pacific Northwest again and spend more time with Mom and Dad. Hayden misses you!