Heaton Family Reunion -- SLC

I love being with my family. We have a fun way to plan family trips by having all of my siblings involved. Each year one sibling, and their family, plans the trip and then it rotates to the next sibling the following year. They are usually not too expensive and involve A LOT of fun! I suggest it for any large family -- that way, the planning gets pasted around and the activities are very different from year to year.

Anyway -- here is a string of pictures of out fun trip "up North" that's what I've always called provo/slc my whole life. Thanks to Lonny and Tara for planning it! First, we all met and Hiked up to the Mount Timpanogas Caves.


My oldest Brother Kirk is a real outdoorsman. Below is a picture of him leading all the grandkids (4 and under) up with a long rope that he tied little handles in for each of the kids. Talk about patience and strength. :)

It was no small hike for the 23 grandkids and parents to be making. It was pretty much straight up hill. We actually saw paramedics evacuating a young kid on our way up because he had heat stroke.
The hike was strenuous for some, but for others quite cozy! Watching all the other kids hike really tired Luke out!



Here is a view from the top -- I was panicked the whole time that some one was going to fall off the edge. I think I have a little of my dad in me with regards to that! Don't you think they should have some sort of fence!! :)

Once we got to the top -- we went into the caves. The temperature dropped to below 60 degrees inside. It was pretty amazing. We saw all sorts of "treasures" as the guides encouraged us to look around and discover different rock/water formations.
Me and my sister with her 2 youngest that are just the same ages as my 2. We all love playing together.

My cute family inside one of the caves.
Me and Taylor. Nothing beats the mountains of Utah -- there is not a one here in Ohio, and we just couldn't get over how beautiful it was!

After hiking the caves, all 30 of us went to eat at the Mayan Restaurant in Salt Lake. We were all there except my brother Kelly and his family -- they had just had baby a couple days before and weren't up for the trek. I announced I was PREGNANT! I don't think too many people were surprised, Luke will be 3 this summer! 12 weeks and counting!!

The next day (the 4th of July) we spent at Lagoon. You'd think it would be packed for the holiday, but it was perfect. The kids loved it!

Jake is not the real rollercoaster type (you'll understand how bad he hates them if you've ever tried to push him on a swing). He thinks he'll love it and then screams until it's over! He did however, really enjoy the carousel. Luke on the other hand couldn't get enough. They both really enjoyed themselves, mostly because they could run around with cousins!

We went home Saturday and were able to get to St.George in time for my nephew's baptism and then had a family dinner afterwards. Sunday my new nephew Shane was blessed and so the entire family was there for that too. It was such a great weekend. We love our family.

Here are more pictures of the family in St.George:


All the kids love to go to Grandmas -- in St.George you have to have something to keep you cool and my mom has a great portable pool that the kids LOVE. My mom also trys to do all sorts of things with the kids that mom's (mom's like me) never do. Like hiking the red hill, making clay potery after a storm, painting rocks, lying in the grass and watching the stars. The picture above is of her letting all the kids help her make taffy.

We love you Grandma Heaton!

A bonus for our little family now is that Taylor's parent's are in St.George too. They have a little pool in the back yard of their house that My sister and I took advantage of. This is a picture of Gavin and Luke (Jake's best cousin). What cute boys huh?

Island Park Paradise!

This week we had such a great time with all the Nadauld family! It was my first trip to Island park -- which is the Nadauld favorite family summer family vacation spot. Taylor's dad is from Idaho and has a special place in his heart for this beautiful country. It's definitely rubbed off on all his 7 boys and now their wives and kids too. In total we were 37 and next year, will be 40! what a crowd.



The following is a long stream of Pictures -- I'm not sure how to capture the fun we had, but take a look for yourselves~


The kids tubing with Taylor (4 of the 7 girl cousins in one tube opposite Taylor -- the looks on their faces were priceless! They didn't quite trust him.)
The kids had fun with the uncles who took them floating down box canyon, and entertained them by the fire.


Cute pics of Alison and Kelly with their cute kids (in-laws via the twins).

Nadauld Boys = FUN! no matter what was going on, we all got lots of laughs. From Battling on the tubes (I don't have a good picture of that, unfortunately, but the game is for all the brothers to get into the tubes and try to force everyone off -- needless to say they refer to the sport as death tubing), to building bike ramps into the lake, to surfing (and tackling each other while surfing), playing tennis, hanging around the fire telling funny stories, playing dice games late at night, and we can't forget fishing! Those were (to list a few) the big kid activities... some pictures to entertain

Adam going off the ramp ( good thing that bike was a rental eh?)

Taylor Surfing, and Lincoln doing a back flip off the board. Of course the #1 rule of the boat was strictly enforced by the brothers -- (ENTERTAIN EVERYONE ON THE BOAT!)

The nieces and newphews are learning quickly from their dads. Some of their activities consisted of Wake boarding, surfing, tackling each other while surfing, a little death tubing (but not so near death), swimming and boating in the beautiful lake, driving off roading vehicles, hanging out with cousins, and of course catching frogs. A few pictures to show you our fun

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Murphy tackling Nick. And on the right, my boys enjoying the boat!

Max and Jake jumping of the "bike Ramp." Jackson Wake boarding for the first time.


The kids with their frogs, a highlight for jake. Thanks Max for finding 16 of them for all the cousins -- is that considered an infestation?



And to top it off there were four wheelers and mini motorcycles for everyone to ride. The older cousins were nice enough to take the younger ones whenever they asked -- which was often.

Believe it or not, I surfed and wake boarded even though I was pregnant. I don't know if that was the smartest idea, but I figured we need to start the little guy off young learning what his future will hold. :)

The picture on the right is of Jake surfing with Taylor, Luke even did it -- although I wasn't on the boat with my camera that time. If you wonder what Taylor and I will be like in 30 years -- take a look at his parents (this is Taylors hope at least). Grandma loves riding on the boat with the grandkids (and even tubes with the kids) and Grandpa is still one of the boys with his skiing and surfing -- Impressive!

My boys in their element -- water and sun!

I caught this picture while Jake was waiting patiently for his turn -- the only hard part with having so many fun cousins around!

It was my first trip to Yellowstone National park. Taylor was quite appalled since this is basically his favorite place in the world. So, we made a Sunday drive out of visiting the national sites with some "brothers" and their kids.

Waiting for the blast ....

And finally it happened -- it was pretty cool. And that we only had to drive an hour to see it really helped Taylor accomplish this "site-seeing" tour. It was beautiful and pretty neat to see the buffalo, elk, deer, and other smaller wildlife so close to the roads. And now I can finally say I've seen Old Faithful.

The only family photo we got all week You can see we were way to busy to take pictures!

T-Ball Anyone?

This year was Jake's first experience with organized sports. Besides fighting for the ball from teamates, it was a successful season. Even though they don't keep score our have any "outs" Jake was convinced he won every game. :)

Jake up to bat .................................. Jake running the bases

He was on the Cubs team and has a baseball cap and jersey to show for it. Jake got new running shoes (and even learned to tie them himself) so he could be extra fast.

Luke of course was very disappointed he couldn't play this year -- the 4 year olds have all the fun.

Making it to first base

Taylor was pretty excited to watch his first son to play a sport -- he is hoping it's one of many games he'll be coaching and cheering his BOYS on.

Dad helping Jake learn the rules of the outfield.

Happy Father's Day!

Our favorite Dad..

I don't think there is anyone who deserves a day devoted to appreciating all they do than the dads in our lives. We tried to show Taylor all he meant to us by starting the day off with Luke and Jake helping me make him breakfast in bed. He always has early morning church meetings so we had to wake up early to beat him out of bed.

Some of the reasons why we love him-

Jake: he helps me make any thing I think of and he works hard to make money

Luke: he always wrestles with me

And a few more reasons why I love him-

* He never leaves the house without leading family prayer and giving everyone a kiss and a hug.

* He is a hard worker, and really strives to excel at whatever he's doing.

* He loves to play (especially when it involves water or running past someone while holding a ball)

* He takes full responsibility for the boys on the afternoons I work (and even makes dinner sometimes when I've had a bad day)

* He never complains about my housekeeping or cooking

* He is admired by just about everyone in the ward because he is always lending his truck and helping whenever there is need.

* He has a great love and knowledge of the scriptures

* He always makes everyone around him laugh and feel at ease

We love you Daddy!

Of course we can't forget the other dad's that mean so much to us....

My dad is:

*Patient when things seem very overwhelming

*Considerate of everyone around and how they should be treated

*Hard working (My dad and Taylor moved our whole house including washers and dyers by themselves!) I'm sure it was not a fun visit, but he did it with a smile

*great with kids (I never worried to leave my boys with grandpa -- even as babies he always had a calming influence on them)

* A true Christlike example to all who knew him

*Missed every day!

My Dad in Law is:

* willing to get dirty to help others (once again, we invite visitors just in time to help us with a project -- the kitchen was no small thing)

* fun with the grandkids (memories of my babies getting fed pickles and salsa come to mind. :)

* a perfect role model for all of his seven sons and 12 grandsons

* Not only a father, but a true friend to all the sons

* Knowledgeable of the gospel

* Some one Taylors want to grow up to be like.

The Dreaded Goodbye --

The day has come. The Brostroms are leaving us for good. My only solace is that they are in Utah now and at least that means we'll see them when we visit family. Just like family though -- visits are never long or often enough!

At the Airport--

I am really sad for Jake to loose his buddy Carter. He asked me the other day, "everyone is moving out. When is someone going to move in?"

Luke asks when we are going to get our new house and move by our Grandma (like Carter did) about every other day as well.

All this moving stuff is a little hard to handle -- for everyone.

We did get to have a fun last get together with the Brostroms with some of our closest friends. It's amazing the quality of people we have been aquainted with here in Columbus. It's a very special place!

Every Day is a POOL day..

We have the greatest pool just down the street from our house. We convinced some friends to get passes this year, and we are loving going everyday. Carter has always been a pool buddy, we are so sad they are leaving us in just 2 weeks!!

The Gang in the Baby Pool...

Luke, Jake, Morgan, Carter and Myles hiding in the background.

Jake got stitches the week the pool opened and started swim lessons. Even though the doctor told us not to go swimming for 5 days, we just found an alternative... nexum waterproof bandaids! They worked great and the stiches didn't slow us down one bit. (In case you were wondering, I was NOT involved this time when Jake got hurt -- I promise!)


Poor Lukie never has a schedule. Fortunately for me, he sleeps on the go; even when we are at the Pool.


More Horsing around in the water -- what could be better for these crazy little ones!

Luke Jake Olivia and Morgan

June Thankful Thoughts....

Kind of a boring post -- but at least we are into June! Both June and July were crazy months for the Nadaulds. A lot of fun for sure (pictures to come).

I am thankful for......
1. SUMMER
2. The Pool
3. The Lake
4. Running outside with friends
5. Boys that are big enough to go play outside WITHOUT supervision
6. Great Neighbors
7. Tennis in the Park
8. Bike riding with my boys (well, I walk/run and they bike at the park). which reminds me..
9. I love our park that is right around the corner.
10. Isn't summer just the greatest ever! I love everything about it--even the 100 degree weather.