Black Family Reunion

The 2013 Black Family Reunion was July 4-5 at Grandma and Grandpa's new cabin.  It was so awesome to have ALL of the family there.  I sure got lucky to marry into this family!  I love them all!

The cabin at Devil's Canyon (not quite finished outside)

The highlight of the reunion was installing the new playground equipment from the old Walter C. Lyman park.  The grandkids (and Grandma) were super excited!

The ribbon cutting ceremony

Still working on it, but it is done enough for the kids to play!!!

Stetson's trick on the new slide

Never too old to have fun!
(nope, it didn't break)

Lucy loves the swing!!!

 We also had an awesome scavenger hunt where the kids had a list of things they had to find.  I was amazed at how many of the kids got everything on the list!!!

Stetson with his bag of treasures

Lucy had fun too, you just can't tell from the picture 

Now this is Lucy's kind of treasure . . . a horny toad!

We also got to go swimming, with the whole pool to ourselves!

Grandma and Grandpa even joined the fun

No one had more fun than Grandma!

It was a little cold, but it gave Lydia a chance to snuggle with daddy

Lucy Mae

The Stet-man

Lucy and Bronx
It doesn't get any cuter than this!!!

We went for a drive in Grandma and Grandpa's new ride . . . AWESOME!!!  Now I want one!

Stetson and Garrett in Big Red

 Lydia was pretty sure she was the star of the show.  Always smiling and happy as everyone passed her around.

with Brooki, Taylor's fiance

with Katie

Dave and Marlene with the two youngest members of the Black family . . . Stihl and Lydia

We also had a fun-filled evening with family skits and a pie eating contest (too bad I didn't have my camera).  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!!!  Thanks guys!  The food was AMAZING!!!  And there was plenty for all.  Plus, we had good company at a great location!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the awesome family reunion!!!

Celebrating our Independence

THE 4TH OF JULY

This 4th of July was a little crazy, but we still had fun.  Building floats for the parade, riding in the parade, the dunking booth, candy, ice cream cones, sno cones, navajo tacos, fireworks, and lots of fun with family and friends.

Three cute kids ready for the 4th of July celebrations

The drill team was in charge of a dunking booth and an ice cream booth.

Stetson liked the dunking booth

Lydia enjoyed the shade

And we all LOVED the ice cream cones!

  

THE 24TH OF JULY

PIONEER DAY

Enjoying the parade with our cousins

Ya' gotta love Lucy Mae!

The Girls

The boys

This has been the highlight of the Pioneer Day parade in Monticello for as long as I can remember.  It is 100 years old, and still able to drive down the parade route - Awesome!

THE BIG FOUR

Happy Father's Day

. . . TO AN AWESOME DAD!!!

Father's Day 2013

The kids and I are so grateful to have Kenny in our lives.  He is kind, patient, hard-working, understanding and always positive - nothing seems to get him down.  He is an amazing husband and Father and we love him tons!!!  Happy Father's Day!

OUR GREATEST BLESSINGS . . . 

Through the eyes of a child

When I was little, my sister and I used to play "house".  Being younger, and not having the final say, I always ended up being the dad.  I would pack my lunch and head off to work, which was usually a cash register and money or cooking and serving food, while she stayed home and took care of the babies.  Feeding them, changing diapers and rocking them to sleep.  Now my kids are playing the same thing, only they call it "mom and dad".  Right now it all seems to work out very well, Stetson plays the dad, Lucy plays the mom, and Lydia is the baby.  I'm sure there will come a day when Lydia doesn't want to be the baby anymore, she would rather try out being a mom - we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  Anyway, watching them play, it got me thinking about life.  The world is so exciting for a kid, they could spend hours pretending to do what adults do every day . . . but they enjoy it!  It almost seems as if they are "practicing" for the "big game" - maybe that is why I am not a very good mom, I always practiced the "dad" role . . . Anyway, what makes "practice" so much more exciting than the "big game"?  Seeing it through the eyes of a child.  Something happens to us as we leave childhood and enter adulthood - it's called "real life", and it somehow blinds us from the wonder and magic that is all around us every day.  Maybe we all need to step back once in a while and try to see things through the eyes of a child.

MY KIDS ARE SOME OF MY GREATEST HEROS!!!