the one about the Burns reunion

We got home Sunday evening from the annual Burns family reunion. That is Grandma Galley's family. This year, we went to MillSite State Park near Ferron, Utah. It was such a neat place! I had never even heard of it but it was a super fun place to go. It was very nice and clean. There were very nice camp sites right on the beach of the lake. There was a really cool golf course there and the guys hit that a few times. We had a nice pavilion and full bathrooms and showers. Of course, I have my own bathroom and shower in my trailer, but it is still nice to have it there. The weather was sort of nasty the first couple of days, but Saturday was PERFECT! We had a lot of rain, but that wasn't even that bad part... the WIND was AWFUL! But only a small part of the time so it was bearable. We left Wednesday afternoon. the drive should have only been about 3 and a half hours, but it ended up being about 5. We started having vehicle problems at the summit of Indian canyon. We pulled over, popped the hood and Brett discovered a blown radiator hose. He had to totally McGyver it with an old leather glove and his belt, but it got us to Price so we could get the parts we needed. We traveled with Tara's family and by the time we got to the part store in Price, the kids were ready to stretch out.

They had water guns so.... do the math. Antsy kids cooped up in cars, slow, hot travel; add in a few water guns and... well you can only imagine! After that little bump in the road, and a pit stop at Subway, we were on our way. Setting up camp was pretty easy, since there wasn't much leveling to do. Spence looks totally weird in this picture, but it was so funny that he kept putting his head in the trailer and yelling things like, "Mommy! I'm hungry!" "Mommy! I'm scared!" etc. etc. He is such a nut!!! He took a tent and we put it right by our trailer. I was so worried that he was going to get attacked by a bear. Brett assured me that there are not many bears in the dessert, but I was still concerned. They also told me they sprayed the tent with bear repellent so that eased my mind a lot. ;) We were all hungry around 10 pm, so I made TONS of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Thursday morning, we headed for Goblin Valley. It was about an hour and a half drive from our campground. Like every camp out, Quayd and Drake are attached at the hip, so Drake rode to Goblin Valley with us. They are such good boys and they have so much fun together. Here are some pix from that day. Brett, Spencer, Quayd, Drake and I all walked into the valley together. Can you see Brett and Spence way up at the top of the above picture???It started getting really hot and it was time for lunch but Brett and Spencer still wanted to hike so the little boys and I headed back to the pavilion. Grandma Galley had brought a nice big lunch for everyone. We spent a few hours there, then headed back to camp. We were all hot and tired and I think everyone of us, except Brett since he was driving, fell asleep. Friday morning we played Bingo. Grandma Galley takes her Bingo pretty serious! She shops all year long looking for sales and good deals on prizes for the kids and adults. Brett was the bingo caller and I helped set up prizes. Can you believe this? There were close to 80 people there and everyone that played went home with with a paper grocery sack full of stuff! On Friday evening, with the swords they got from Bingo, Brett and Spencer decided to have an ultimate fighting/jousting competition on the water trampoline. It was so funny. They both ended up bruised, scratched and sore the next day.

/p>

Saturday was spent mostly just relaxing and playing in the water and on the beach.








On our last night at the reunion, Brett and Spencer decided to make a craps table. They used the back of some wrapping paper and it it actually looked pretty good!


Brett had packed his poker set and it had everything in it for craps. They invited anyone who wanted to play. It ended up being Chad and Marcie, Scott, Shae, Brett and Spence. They had so much fun! The kids stayed up late that night riding bikes, playing with glow sticks and roasting marshmallows. Tara and I stayed up and fed our Bejeweled addiction. Yah, we totally had WiFi at the campground!!!

This is Chad's little boy, Evan. Isn't he so cute? I just love him!!! He gives "face lovies." So CUTE!!! It got kind of windy once it got dark, so it ended up being sorta chilly. I don't know how or why... but a few "people" decided to "take a dip" in the lake, if you know what I mean. Burrrrrrrr, it was SO COLD, but it sure was fun!!!!! It was a good way to end this fun camping trip. Quayd loves camping so much! I like it, I always have fun, but even if I didn't it would still be worth going, just so Quayd could have fun. It's funny, actually. I feel like I hardly even see Quayd when we are camping because he is off playing the whole time. He stays pretty busy exploring and playing. I'm so glad he loves it so much. He is so much fun! I just wish he would stop growing....

By the time we got home, cleaned everything up and re-stocked the trailer, I had decided that I had enough camping for awhile. But, now I have changed my mind... I am ready to go again. I actually think we might go this weekend. Anybody want to go???

the one about NOT going private

What is the deal with everyone going private on their blogs all of a sudden? Ok, don't answer that. I know why, but here is my opinion of it. If someone wants to find my family and me that badly, they can just google me. It's easy to find anyone. I don't think my privacy is invaded from my blog anymore than it is on the internet. Anyway, that is just my opinion. So I would like to announce at this time that I will not be going private! I have many blog fans that do not have a blog of their own so I hate to inconvenience anyone who wants to read about my crazy life.

And to all of you who are already private, or who are going private in the near future, I want to be invited and everything, but I am terrible about reading your blogs! I'm sorry! I just forget about you! So don't be sad or offended that I don't check it all of the time it just slips my mind. I still love you though, I just forget.

the one about arbitration, hogle zoo, the Castillos and the air show

We went to SLC and Ogden this weekend and stayed with our good friends the Castillo's. We originally went for Brett's hearing about his motorcycle accident 2 years ago. It went well, but we won't know much for about a week or so. I don't want to dwell on it and I hate to broadcast any details on the web, but the crazy thing about it is that it is very clear that Brett was not at fault. He did nothing wrong, but the insurance companies of the other two people involved are fighting about who has to pay for OUR BILLS! In the mean time, we have been sent to collections, get harassing phone calls and are stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills. Nobody else was injured, Brett was the only one not cited, yet WE are the ones that have suffered for two years! ERRRRRRRRR!!! Its so frustrating. Oh well, hopefully it will come to an end soon. Coincidentally, it was the same weekend as the Hill Air Force Base Air Show. Tony and Melanie Castillo invited us to come stay with them and hang out this weekend, so we thought, "What the heck!" It worked out well because Spencer wanted to go pick up a few things at his parents house and visit with them. They just live a few miles from Tony and Mel, so it was perfect. We had never met his parents, so we were able to sit and chat with them a bit. It was so nice. They were so nice and welcoming. We loved them! It was fun to finally meet some of the people that I have been blog stalking for so long! ;)

First thing Friday morning (we left home at 6:00 am. YUCK!) Brett and I had to go to arbitration at our lawyers office. Thank goodness we had Spence to hang with Quayd. They went to the Clark Planetarium, an arcade and their favorite place to eat: Panda Express! After that part was over with, we headed to the zoo to meet up with Melanie, Mikah and Konnor. Sweet Mel had packed a lunch for us to eat at the zoo, and it was delicious! We just did the typical zoo stuff.



We put Spencer through absolute hell by making him be in pictures with the kids and stuff.


It is funny to us, but poor Spence. He is a good sport though.

It was so great for Quayd to be able to play with Mikah. She is 8 and such a cutie! They hit it right off and had a BLAST together.

We were also able to get some "family" pictures taken at the zoo! (thanks mel!)
It was so weird... I saw this cute little girl in the funniest tiger mask and paws. I had to show Brett and everyone because she looked so cute. Then I realized it was Cara's daughter Anika! She was there with her girl scout troop! I took a picture with my phone and sent it to Cara. It said, "Look at this rare white tiger I just spotted at the zoo!"

Saturday morning was time for the air show. SO COOL! We had never been, but we knew we would love it. It did not disappoint! Spencer ended up going to his parents in the morning. It is so weird, but we sorta felt "incomplete" with out him. Brett and I worried about him all day. Then he ended up spending the night at his parents! Of course we knew he was fine, but we missed him like crazy! We have gotten pretty attached to him. Anyway, it had been rainy and yucky the day before at the zoo so we were a little concerned about weather for the air show. It actually turned out to be PERFECT! It was slightly overcast and a little breezy so the temperature was just right.

We got there just as it started and stayed until the kids were getting bored, about 2:00. Then we went to the Museum on base.
We stayed at Mel and Tony's again Saturday night, picked up our big boy and headed home Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun weekend! Tony and Mel were AMAZING hosts. They fed us wonderful food (AWESOME RIBS TONY!!!), they played wii with us, set up the pool for us and truly were fantastic to us. We are so glad to have such great friends.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. The weather was a little rough at times, but we didn't care. Arbitration went well and its over with. Good food, fun, great friends, met the parents with whom we share a son and we just relaxed. Does it get any better?