Family outing

Last Saturday (August 21st) Michaela and Anthony came home from their extended stay in California. They had a great time and I'm glad they were able to stay but I was very glad to have them home again. When Saturday rolled around we decided it was time for a family outing so we were off to the lake. Jeremiah decided to take his fishing poles and the kids took turns fishing, swimming in the lake, and playing in the sand. It was a very quiet morning and for the first two hours we had the beach to ourselves.

Emersynne loved the freedom, the sand, and the water. For some reason she didn't like her swim suit on her shoulder and kept pulling it down.

Anthony caught two fish and he was very excited about it until he was told he had to take it off the hook himself and throw it back in the lake. We now have a blackmail video of him trying to touch his fish!

Natalie spent a lot of time trying to catch a fish and came close a few times. The joke of the day was that she caught her hat on one of her casts.

When Abigail saw me getting ready to take this picture of Jeremiah and the kids fishing she quickly scooted her chair over so she would be included too.

Abigail and her first fish. She actually caught two fish and was excited but wanted nothing else to do with them. It was my kind of fishing adventure. No fish to bring home and deal with since we just put them all back.

Post wedding adventures

With the wedding over we had to find excitement in other places. I think we did a pretty good job of finding things to do.

We had a tour of the newly remodeled Walnut Creek library,

Went to the Oakland Zoo

Visited the Jelly Belly factory

Played at a water park in Danville

Went letterboxing

The kids got to see where mommy and daddy went to elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Climbed rocks in Rock City

Emersynne found a perfect spot for her little bum!

Visited Roy, Dean, Harrison, Spencer, and Chandler

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being outside and the kids had a blast being with their cousins.

Abigail really liked her Uncle Roy and managed to squeeze in between Auntie Dean and Uncle Roy on the couch so she could give her prince a kiss.

And then of course we had to have one last round of family photos before we left for home.

Look what happens when you don't actually have a photographer but use the timer on the camera.

Notice that it is my child on the front row with her legs up showing her underwear to the world. Silly girl. Thankfully we got some other possibilities because I'm not sure I want that hanging on my wall.

We tried to get some cute photos of all the grandkids but Emersynne was done!

After two weeks of nonstop excitement it was time to leave it all and go home. We also left two of our children in the care of Grandma and Grandpa for an extended stay and they have been having a blast. They got to stay several days with Uncle Roy, Auntie Dean, and the boys and have had all kinds of adventures. I don't think they are missing us at all but the kids here sure are missing them.

Wedding Day

Saturday August 31st was the big event. I was a little nervous about leaving my six children outside the temple but there was lots of help from older cousins. The kids were all dressed in their new clothes and we joked at the state we would find them in. All was well when we came out and I only had to fix a hair bow.

The nieces and nephews of the Bride and brother and sisters of the Groom

The Jones family

Emersynne loved the dancing at the end of the reception. It was fun music and helped keep us warm!

Vacation adventures

Now than I'm home and looking over our photos I'm realizing why we came home so exhausted. We crammed a lot into the two weeks we were there. Before the wedding we had little adventures like

swimming,

setting up for the reception,
Jeremiah spent most of the day up at the church helping get the outside area beautiful for the reception. The older kids took turns going up and "helping".

and attending a dinner honoring the bride to be.

Michaela and Natalie were so excited to be included in this event that was for girls only. We had a great time visiting, laughing, and eating yummy food. It was all so fancy and elegant. Check out the dessert table!

Cape Cod

It was a lot of driving in one day but now I can say I've been to Cape Cod and the kids got their beach trip in this summer. Having connections helps too. A friend in the ward has a house in Cape Cod so we drove the two hours out there, parked at her house, and walked four houses down to get to the beach. The waves were gentle and the kids had a great time collecting shells and digging for sand crabs. When I asked the kids if they thought it was worth it to drive 4 hours in one day to spend a few hours at the beach they all answered with a quick yes! They had a fun day but we were sad that Michaela and Anthony missed out. They did get a beach trip while they were in California so looks like we are good for this summer!