Nadauld Family Reunion

We started the reunion off with a blast and everyone headed to Aspen Lakes (in Heber) for the afternoon.

 

There was plenty to do to keep this active family busy FOR SURE!  

A ropes course....

 The course involved a log climb, a rope swing, a log run and a
rope hang (that only Taylor completed.. he's so strong :))

 The kids got to zip line into the lake as many times as they wanted.  Even Grammie tried the zipline... she was AWESOME!  It was like a 12 foot drop or so into the water. We were all super impressed!

 Canoes and volleyball and just playing on the beach made the day a great kick off for the reunion.

Cute Kate and Estelle the oldest grand daughters and best little buddies!

 

 Grammie and Grandpa rented a water bounce-house for 2 days and that was complete entertainment for all!  My desire for a pool got strengthened watching these kids play non-stop in the water.

 

 Train rides were a daily, hourly event and thank you Grandpa for appeasing all the kids!!

 Stacy planned some fun crafts that kept the kids busy for an entire afternoon.

 Above is Nate with his power ball.....

 we were so much fun that the neighbor brought his son and joined in the fun.  Luckily for us, he also brought a cotton candy maker and the kids were in HEAVEN!

The next generation of TEENAGERS.  Aren't they cute! :)

The best thing about a Nadauld get together is that everyone LOVES being around each other and hanging out.  It is always a barrel of laughs when these boys get together.

Above is cute Nick playing with the cousins.  Nick Murphy and Jackson are so much older than the whole slew of cousins.  And they have always been great to come hang out and play with the kids.  My boys look up to their older cousins in all ways. 

Luke and Kate have the same birthday, so we celebrated in style -- Pirate Style.

Luke got a sweet new bike.  Now that he and jake have wheels, we need to sign them up for some triatholons.  We need to put those bikes to use!

Stacy had a great idea for a treasure hunt, so we made it the family scavenger/challenge hunt...  each team had clues and we drove around Heber trying to find the big reward.  It was a perfect birthday family game!  The grown ups were all good sports and participated in all the challenges.

Below is my cute tie dy family!  Don't we look so pirateeee...?

There ain't no party like a Nadauld Party... Stacy got everyone glow sticks and Justin had the sound system going and it was a blast.  I'm sure your reunions aren't this fun.  How could they be??

We also spent a day at the beach at Deer Creek.  The weather held out and we got some sun and some boating time.  The kids just had fun throwing rocks into the lake.

 

And we finished off the week with some yummy J Dawgs and an out door movie.  "Chasing Maveriks" and it was a great family film.  We all grabbed blankets and pillows and stayed up late.

Can't forget popcorn or candy at the movies.  The kids were in HEAVEN!

What a fun reunion.  Leave it up to Steve and Stacy to start the annual reunions out right.  It was super fun and the week flew by.

Salt Lake Connect

Fun Summer Day trips... My friend Jenn Franks found a great deal on Living Social so that we could do all the fun SLC things for pennies basically.  The most expensive part of the outing was the gas for sure!  So fun and crazy with 8 boys running around.....  We hit a lot of places

 Hogle Zoo was the first stop and the kids loved the elephant and bird shows we got to see. 


The zoo is under construction, so it will be fun to see next year how different it is.

 Had lunch at the Lion House Pantry, which is right on temple square and has some yummy home cookin' going on.  The restaurant is in the home of Brigham Young.

Riding  TRAX was a highlight and even though we couldn't get out at our stop and had to go one stop further and walk back --- it was still fun! #dangautomaticdoors

 The gateway discovery museum was a hit and was right across the street from the Clarke Planetarium. So, the kids ran back and forth and watch a show and then went back and played and then came back for another Imax viewing.  VERY COOL

 The kids liked the kiddie area the best... I'm glad they are still young enough to play.

 And, still mischievous enough to break rules and climb on the wall structures.

I really liked the 3D IMAX and the Planetarium had just as many cool exhibits as the museum about

 What a great day 1 of the city connect pass....

 Day 2 started at the olympic park in Park City.  I had never been there and it was SUPER cool. 


As soon as we got there the kids were mesmerized by all the athletes training on the equipment.  I had no idea how freestyle skiers trained in the summer.... NOW I KNOW!

You can see the ski slopes and then the skiers landed in the water.  So fun to watch.

They got to play in the bobsled...

The alpine slide ride was super!  Thanks Jenn and Emme for helping me get the little kids down the slide.

  

And then to Thanksgiving Point for some PreHistoric fun!  Kids always love the dinosaur stuff, and the archeological dig was a hit too.

Fun Day 2... we ended with yummy shakes and a quiet drive home.. whew, I need a nap now!

Family Pictures

I always try to get a family picture each year to document how we've all grown.  I definitely got older this last year... so sad. :(  But my boys got bigger and cuter (I didn't think it was possible).  I just love having boys and try my hardest to keep up with them.  They are soo rambunctious I have almost given up TRYING to tame them.  Good thing they are cute!

Oceanside 2013

Notice that I put the year date after "Oceanside" in the post title, because I think this marks the first of many "Oceanside" trips.  IT WAS THE BEST TRIP EVER!!  This will be a total dump of pictures, but it was just super fun and we had to take lots of pictures to document it....

We got to the beach late Sunday night and the boys went right to sleep... they woke up early begging to go to the ocean.  Since it was out our front door, there was no keeping them in, and I was excited to go and see how they liked it.  As much as Taylor loves water, our boys have never been to the beach before.

 Natie was in his element.... sand, sand and more sand!  He started the week off with his shirt be as the days rolled on, he wore less and less clothing to the beach.

 Sam loves the water... but was super nervous the waves would carry him away... so he spent most the time playing on the beach with Nate. He started to get brave the last couple days, just as long as Taylor was by his side.

 Jake and Luke jumped right in the water and boogie boarded all day.  It took them about one try to figure it out and they were hooked!

I was even a little nervous to get out in the water, it seemed cold and fierce.  So, I was surprised (shouldn't have been) that they loved it from the second they got in!











So, here is a gazillion shots of what we did for a week.....

Went on fun walks (and skate board rides - thanks to Grandma)

 Played at very cool beach playgrounds...

Searched for sand crabs and found a million...















 

 Played in the sand... Especially Sam and Nate.  I love this picture cuz it shows both their plumber bottoms!  :

 Rode cool "peddle golf carts" around the pier...

 Had yummy treats, and ate at RUBY'S on the end of the pier. 

By the way... I have to say that taking grandma on the trip was the BEST!  She kept me company on my solo drive Sunday without Taylor and was just so fun and easy to have around.  She did everything we all did.. including boogie boarding!  We love grandma Ruby.  Thank you for coming with us!!

 People Watching on the pier was one of my favorite activities.  There was a man there blowing huge bubbles and the kids LOVED it.  He did it just for fun and was there every night we were there.  Super Cool!

They Chased birds on the Pier...

 Watched fishermen catch cool sand sharks and fish..

 Of course we had to get some cool sunset pictures, but they never are as neat as in person!  We had a lot of fun on the pier and loved to watch the surfers below us.















 Me, with my man.  I always love to see him in his element.  And when it comes to goofing off and playing, this is what he loves to do.

Most the time was spent in the water boogie boarding... here a just a few of the million I tried to take

 You will see SEVERAL pictures of Taylor helping the boys.  They rented a couple surf boards one day and he just kept towing them out and letting them surf the tide in... He was so patient and willing to help them all have a good time.

I had to make this picture XL so you could see how cute... Sam was a fierce battle-er when Taylor went in with him.  He dove under and through and around all the waves with a huge smile.  He hung pretty tightly to Taylor the whole time though.....

I guess everything is a little better with dad around, right? 

 One of Taylor riding the wave in.

 Luke surfing on the boogie board



















Jake getting up on the surf board

 Dad helping Jake

Dad helping Luke

Nate and Sam running from the waves

 Love these 2 boys!  I can't believe how fun a vacation is with just your own family.  I thought we'd get bored of each other.... but they were all the best behaved I've seen them in a long time.  How refreshing that was!

 We even played a little woofle ball on the beach..

 And of course, we took plenty of time to relax and enjoy our vacation.  I have not slept so much for a long time.  It was so chill and I didn't even need a vacation from my vacation.... pure bliss (Plus, I have cute painted toes to look at while I was relaxing)

 Nate

 Jake















Luke

Sam held out at the beach and didn't nap till he was inside on the couch.... such a funny position to fall asleep in though. I guess he just wanted to be poised and ready to see just in case anything fun happened.


















So, we didn't eat out besides our outing to Ruby's and some treats here and there, but we did go see Despicable Me 2 one night and we also took a day and played at Knotts Berry Farm.  Taylor is not a lines and people kind of guy, so I knew disney was out of the question, but we got cheap tickets to Knotts and had a great time to break up the week.  Here are the dump of those pictures....

 Sam's favorite ride... it was a little boring for Nate, but SAM finally felt in control for the first time this week (remember, didn't like the ocean).  HUGE smiles for him.

 Me and Taylor with the little boys on the train ride... everyone loves the train ride.

 Taylor gearing up for SideWinder... Jake and Luke weren't nervous at all... in fact, this was the first year Luke REALLY dared do the big rides.  He had fun, and Jake was so glad to have a ride partner this year.

 Grandma and Nathan on the ferris wheel.  I think that was my favorite ride.

 I rented a stroller first thing... I knew it would come in handy and all 4 boys used it at some point during the day.... I guess you never really out grow sitting in a stroller. :)

 Each boy got a treat and Jake chose the funnel cake!  he was pretty pumped about that.

Love this picture of Taylor on the kiddie ride... doesn't seem safe to have a guy that big with all the littles does it?

 One with all my boys (and a stray Knotts Go-er) below...

 

Pretty fun day at Knott's Berry Farm

I guess I'll end the post of our best vacation yet with a few family shots... we had plenty of them. :)

 Goodbye Beach House and beautiful Ocean.... We'll be back, oh we'll be back!