Woo-Hoo....We went to Colorado!

The day after Christmas BJ, Joshua, Josiah, and I flew to Colorado for my cousin, Big Justin's wedding.  This was an exciting and crazy time!  Mostly crazy trying to deal with the to-do's of Christmas and getting packed and ready for a trip. Even though I can multi-task, I usually have to focus on one event and then work on the next.  Thankfully we didn't fly out until the afternoon.  :)

Once we landed and got our rental car we met my dad for dinner. The last time we saw him was the summer of 2010 so this was his first time to meet the twins.  We had a nice time visiting before making the long drive to Wray.  (A place I love....pretty sure I've mentioned that a time or two!)

It was so good to see family again.  I really wish we could have stayed longer and brought all the boys with us.  Our big boys were so sad to miss out.  On a drive to let the twins nap we stopped by my mom and Aunt's old school.  It was hard to relive the many memories of my mother.  This was where she grew up and where she took us for our vacations every year.  

BJ and I are always fascinated with the plains....you can see for miles.  Definitely a change of scenery from our part of Oregon.

Some of my family at the rehearsal.

Justin was so sweet to let a bunch of us crash at his house.  A little crazy sharing one bathroom with everyone, but great to hang out and visit with my Dodsworth cousins. We played a movie to help calm the twins down before bed.  They were enjoying being free from cribs on this trip.  :)

The big day!  I actually missed the whole ceremony because I watched the bins in the nursery.  However, I had such a great time visiting with my cousin-in-law, Priscilla. And, everyone told me BJ did a great job marrying them. :)

~Justin and Fawn~

Here I am with my cousins, Duaine and Doyle.  I have many memories with these two.  It still weirds me out to be a "grown-up" now with them.  :)

The trip was a lot of fun.  BJ and I had a great time together and it was neat to focus on our youngest two.  Congratulations, Justin and Fawn. We are so glad we could share your special day with you!

My newest nephew

Old news now, but November 16th, my little nephew Ezekiel was born.  He was a big boy and oh so adorable.  I was glad to make a quick trip up to Centralia the day he arrived with Jared, Justin, and Johnny.  BJ was sad to miss out, but he couldn't get away and I didn't want to wait!  Our dear friends had their baby boy, Eli (Ezekiel's cousin) just two days before so I was in baby heaven that day with two infants to hold. :)

Mom's Service

We headed back to Florence the following Monday to get things ready for the service on Wednesday.  Amy's family and ours shared a vacation rental home.  Fun times!  Although the reason for our gathering was a sad one, I was so thankful to see many family and friends.  

The cousins practicing their song. As you can tell, Judson was a little out of sorts the whole day.  He didn't join in the singing. :)

Paisley and Joshua

Big Justin came!  We were so excited to see him again.  We all just love and appreciate him so much. :)

Group shots after the service.  Poor Liviya....Joshua and Josiah would gang up on her.  They figured out that she doesn't like anyone in her personal space.  :)

My Aunt Lorena came!  What a blessing to have my Aunt from Ohio.  She was my mom's only sister, as their other sister, Mary Pearl, was stillborn.  Aunt Lorena has had such an impact on my life and who I am today.

 After the service our kiddos got a little lot out of hand, but oh well!  They were pretty much bouncing off the walls.  :)  Too bad I don't have those pictures to post.  

It meant so much to have both Amy's and my in-laws and dear friends there.

Ray's family is so supportive of him, which we are thankful.

My Grandma Alma, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Gee came.  Such good memories. Sure wish we could see them more often.

Ray's sister was a tremendous help and support to Ray.  I know my mom always appreciated the help she was to her after her brain surgery the year before.  My mom's school friend from Wray, CO made it to the service as well.

Silliness abounds!  It had been a long day week for them, bless their little hearts. :)

Camp Arnold

Aunt LaVisa and Uncle Steve hosted a cousins' camp this summer. What a blast!  Aunt LaVisa and her sisters are just amazing.  The crafts, activities, and food for our kiddos were awesome. 

Grandma Carolla helped Judson paint the seat for his camping chair.

The twins had great fun on the nature hike collecting leaves for our t-shirts.

It was pretty remarkable to me that 18 of Grandma Carolla's 19 great Grandchildren were there.  Growing up so far away from my cousins, I know how special this is.

Thank you Uncle Steve and Aunt LaVisa for this fun and memorable day!

family night

 I love nights like these when the boys are somewhat calm and enjoying each other. :)

Daddy was doing push-ups as a punishment for getting upset with the boys.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Poor Justin fell out of the bathtub and hurt his lip pretty bad.  I never really understood how it all happened, but hopefully a lesson was learned. :)

You're never too old to do tricks with daddy. :)

Oktoberfest with the other Kuykendalls

We had a fun time at Oktoberfest with Joey, Alison, and Lauren.  I would love for this to be an annual event for our families.  The weather was so beautiful we didn't need the 8 jackets I was lugging around.  Thank goodness for strollers. :)  Here we are enjoying our dinner....sandwiches for the littles, bratwursts for the grown-ups. :)

 

These two are only 3 months apart...and as different as night and day.  I know they will be buddies. :)

Can you see the family resemblance?

Can't wait for next year!