Cousin Time!

 Last weekend we had 2 of Jeff's brothers and their families come stay and there were a lot of crazy little monkeys running around!

Settling Catan

When Jeff's youngest brother, Brian, and his wife, Sierra

come visit it almost always includes a game (or two, or three...) of Settlers of Catan. If you haven't played that game, run away before it sucks you in. I swear, that game brings out the worst in everyone and no one wants to play nice! 

But it's still fun, which is the crazy part.

We sure love our extended families and enjoy having them come stay, we wish we lived closer to the Stoker side so we could see them more often. But it's always fun when we get together!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 For Thanksgiving Dinner we went to my brother Ryan's house, he and his wife, Charly, graciously hosted this year.

There was a lot of delicious food and yummy pie, and the kids had a great time watching Jumangi.

Then we hopped in the car and went to Declo for the weekend.

On Saturday we drove to the mountains so those who wanted to hunt for Christmas trees could while the rest of us went sledding.

The hill was reallllly steep and slippery, but we made it home without any serious injuries.

Just as we got our campfire going, the Tree Hunters returned.

The sun was going down and it was time to head back, but we all had a lot of fun!

Mommy Needs A Time Out

For Mothers Day my Mother-in-Law took the Daughters-in-Law to Time Out for Women. Jolynne unfortunately couldn't make it, but on Friday night a girl sitting in front of us reminded us of her so it was almost like she was there. Almost.

We had a great time relaxing and listening to motivational speakers and musical numbers and Jeff did a great job holding things down at home all weekend. 

Thanks Becky!

Weeks of Summer: Part 5--Happy 4th of July!

 We spent the week of Independence Day in Burley where Jeff worked before we spent the weekend at a family reunion. We stayed in a hotel for the first few days and the boys had a great time swimming. We got to watch fireworks twice and had a wienie roast with cousins. For some reason, Jeff ended up wearing the same helmet & goggles Kamden had on when riding Coltin's 4wheeler.

 Jeff also came up with a sporty uniform along with his youngest brother, Brian, for the family soccer game.

 We spent a day at the river and the kids all loved the bouncy house and playing in grandpa's backyard pond. We had a fun, busy week and enjoyed the time we were able to spend with family.

Weeks of Summer: Part 6

 Earlier this month we went to Declo for the extended Stoker Reunion and the Fair/Rodeo.

Jeff took the boys to the rodeo and I stayed at the house to rest (because growing a human is hard work) and they all loved the cowboys, the crazy clowns, and the wild bucking bulls and surprisingly they all sat through the entire thing.

We got there on a Wednesday and the boys had the adventure of riding with Grandpa Stoker in his big blue truck, playing video games and eating several cans of Pringles.

Which means that Jeff and I got to drive all by ourselves! That hasn't happened in almost 9 years.

On Thursday Jeff was working in Burley so the boys and I joined cousins at the local pool after going to lunch and had a fun afternoon.

 Owen, Coltin, Kamden, & Vaughn

Look at those muscles!

 Addison & Ethan

 On Saturday we had breakfast at the park with Jeff's Grandparents and their 7 kids, a lot of cousins and a bunch of wild cowboys:

 Owen's horse was the only thing holding his shorts up during the barrel race:

 Ethan crashed near the finish line during the sack race:

 I didn't get any other pictures of the weekend but there was a softball game, dinner at the park, and a family slideshow of Grandpa & Grandma Stoker's life together so far. On Sunday we all went to Church before having brunch and heading home.

That Tuesday my niece Kelsey got married in Emmett and she had the 3 best-looking ring bearers in all of history:

 I mean, seriously, those are some handsome dudes. And see what a good job they did walking down the aisle? They were so nervous about everyone looking at them and when they found out they had to wear PINK ties they were NOT HAPPY.

But they all felt better when they found out Uncle Jeff was wearing a pink tie too and they walked that aisle like a boss.

(It didn't hurt that I had bribed them with a trip to the movies the next day to see Turbo)

 In order to see the movie they also had to smile big and be still for pictures, and they did a good job with that, too.

Kelsey looked gorgeous and the boys and I saw Turbo the next afternoon while eating old popcorn and I tried not to think that it was weird that a 50-something man was sitting in the front row all by himself?

I guess animated racing snails appeal to all ages. 

Anyhow, we are so happy for Cody and Kelsey and hope they enjoy their new life in Florida!

 Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the reception:

(notice the pink ties are no longer on)

 So we went to the movie on Wednesday, then on Thursday Ethan's friend from school came over and we spent most of the afternoon at the pool. On Friday Owen said he wanted to go to Lagoon for a picnic but we compromised and drove downtown to a park and had lunch before running errands. I have to say, errands are going to be much easier when they are in school!

Friday evening Jeff took the boys to the ward party at the city pool and I had the evening to myself. It was nice having a quiet house for a few hours and they had a great time swimming with their friends.

On Saturday we went to Emmett and met some friends at the park for lunch before going boating with my dad and niece, Emily.

The boys and I hung out on the beach, the water was too choppy to do much but Ethan went on the boat and road the tube for a bit but mostly we just played in the sand.

Ethan & Kamden were feeling adventurous so they swam out to touch the buoys and they thought that was pretty awesome.

 Of course, a day at the beach is hard work and works up an appetite so there were plenty of snack breaks:

 Then we went back to my parents' house and had a bbq with Ryan, Charly, & baby Everly, Shelly & Bryan, Stew, Kylie, & Miss Braylee, Emily, and Cody & Kelsey so we could all say good-bye before the newlyweds headed off on a new adventure in Florida.

Since the water was too rough for much, rides behind the lawn mower are just as fun:

Tomorrow is the last day of summer, school starts on Tuesday for Ethan & Kamden who will be in 3rd & 1st grade, and Owen starts Preschool on the 3rd.

We've had a wonderful summer and I'm sure in the coming months we'll be missing the long, lazy days and the warm, sunny weather, but we are all ready to get back into the routine of a school year.