A Weekend of Hawkins!

July 12-13, 2013
As my friend in Park City put it, "family reunions in Utah definitely have their season."  It's so true!  Mid-July rolls around and I get so excited for all the family get-togethers.  Beverly's cousins still put on a reunion and this year the venue was Mona.  Pretty close to Cove Fort so we decided to make a weekend of it.  Beverly and Lloyd hadn't met their newest grandson, so we thought it would be a good opportunity!  Cove Fort is beautiful in the summer and their vegetable garden was booming.  It really made mine look measly.  Dallin was pretty well behaved and handled the car ride better than expected!

We headed to the reunion in Mona and arrived as late as was acceptable for a family with a new-born.  Geez!  I have to add another hour of prep time each time we go somewhere!  The reunion was pretty fun and it amazed me how they can keep putting this thing on year after year, with the generations getting so distant.  It's inspiring!

Nannies

July 8-10, 2013
I admit... having two kids is hard!  I know that several people who read this will roll their eyes and mumble, "try having four or five".  It's all about what you're used to, right?  Well, I wasn't used to it.  I started working again with the landscaping company and found very little time to get anything else done.  Anna wasn't much help.  Having an infant around seemed to amplify her needy-ness.  I enlisted the help of my nieces, Addie and Paige, for 1/2 the week.  I thought I could get a whole lot done... but we ended up just playing!  We went to the park, swimming in Kamas, fed the ducks at Sugarhouse park, and ate lots and lots of ice cream!  Something became very obvious to me, the more kids you have, the more they help with the younger ones.  People tell me this, but now I experienced it first hand.  Addie held Dallin practically the WHOLE time, and Paige entertained Anna.  It was wonderful.

A Blessing for Dallin

July 7, 2013
We decided to have Dallin's baby blessing while Bevan's sisters were still in town.  We also realized that the next time we could do it wouldn't be until September, and there's NO WAY his vest would still fit him.  My friend, Kristine, made it for him and I was able to jimmy-rig a bow tie that matched.  He looked adorable!  The blessing was wonderful.  Bevan does such a good job tuning into the spirit.  I felt really at peace and I knew that Dallin will grow up to be a good kid.
The luncheon was originally scheduled for our house, but after putting two and two together, I realized that wasn't the smartest idea. Too small and too hot.  Many thanks to Tom and Kim for hosting it at the last minute. It was perfect!  I slow-roasted 20 lbs. of kalua pork shoulder overnight (NOT the most pleasant smell when you first wake up...) and made a bunch of Hawaiian rolls. Pair that up with salads and desserts brought by family and we had quite the feast!  We just ate all afternoon!  Dallin loved being held by all of his wonderful family.  We were grateful that so many out-of-towners could be there.

Cousins from afar!

Bevan's sisters and their families were all in town the same time this year!  We had to have a party!  We definitely missed Beverly and Lloyd, who are still on their mission, but it was super nice for them to let us trash, eh... use their house.  Pizza and cousins!  What could be better!  Anna loves to play with Jane and they were inseparable.  It really makes me appreciate family.  

3rd and 4th of July!

The 4th of July came early this year when Bevan scored some tickets for the Oakley Rodeo for the day before.  Supposedly, it's one of the best rodeos in Utah.  It was also our first date in a LONG time, since Dallin was born, so it was a little hard leaving him for an evening.  The rodeo was just OK.  Nobody could stay on their animals!  The winner of the bull riding event was the only guy who could stay on for the full 8 seconds!  It was the same with almost every event.  At least we were close to the bull pen, and the fireworks were cool.

The next day was an improvised party at the cabin.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, and of course a delicious dessert ala Nora!  After lunch we headed up the canyon to Mill Hollow camp and reservoir.  It's still amazing how much that place HASN'T changed!  I'll always hold a place in my heart for that camp.  It was my first taste of the great outdoors.  It still SMELLED like 1990!

The reservoir was beautiful and not very crowded.  There's a trail that loops so we all took a spin around the lake.  Paige and I started to collect wildflowers, just one of each kind.  It was fun and we had some good specimens.  I actually didn't know what many of them were.  We took them back to the cabin and compared them to Grandma Allen's pressed framed wildflowers.  Her displays were so beautiful.