Cousins and 2nd Cousins

Ok, so my family on my mom's side is pretty close but we sure don't get together a whole lot.  We live here in Salt Lake and in Utah County and it seems like we only get together when there is a blessing or a farewell or homecoming and then again at our Annual Christmas Party.  So this week we got together 3 times.  Why do you ask? 

Well the first time was for my cousin Cameron Bruun's Farewell.  He is going to be going to Sweeden for 2 years for his mission for the LDS Church.  The 2nd and 3rd time can all be tributed to my Cousin Brittney that lives in Georgia.  She decided to drive from Georgia all the way to Idaho for her family reunion and she decided to make a stop in SLC for a couple of days.  It MADE all of us cousins get together since we don't see her a whole lot since she lives so far away.  It was so awesome.

The first day we all met downtown at the Gateway to go to the Childrens Museum, have lunch together and then run through the Splash Fountains.  The kids had a blast.  All of us cousins had great fun watching our kids get to know each other a little better.

Nick and Caleb-2nd Cousins

Savannah and Alex-2nd Cousins

Cali, Alex and Savannah

Rylan, Alana, Lilly and Jayci-2nd Cousins

Me, Brittney and Kayli-Cousins

The next day we all headed down for a swimming party at Sarah and Dallin's House.  Dallin is my cousin and brother to Cameron that is headed out on his mission.  We had an amazing lunch and the kids had a blast in the pool.  Later on my mom and her sisters Lisa and Tammy showed up.  I think that they got a kick out of all the little kids playing so well together.

The whole gang-at least most of it.

You can do it Rylan.

The slide was the big hit!

Nice belly flop Nicholas  :))))

Savannah

Savannah and Alana.

That evening I talked Brittney into sleeping over at my house before her and the kids headed up to Idaho.  Shawn has been working so hard that he came home and fell asleep before he even saw them.  The kids of course made a fire for some smores and went on a few bike rides.  They were so tired by 10pm that they acutally went to sleep that night.  It was awesome to catch up with my cousin Brittney and my kids made great friends with her kids.  They actually exchanged email addresses so that they could email each other when they went back to Georgia. 

I promised the rest of my Utah cousins that I would plan a night out for the adults.  I totally plan on doing that---sometime soon---I hope......

Love ya all and I had a great time getting together with everyone.  Thanks :)))

DRAPER DAYS!!!

Draper Days-Year 10 (at least we think so.)  We know that we have pictures of Nick at Draper Days the year he was born so that's 10 years.  Where does the time go? 

So my parents backyard is right on Draper Park and that makes Draper Days a high priority for the Simister Clan.  This year was no exception.  I am going to tell the story of the day in pictures.

The day started out strong with dinner and playing in Grandma and Grandpa Simister's backyard.  (That means some serious Jeep driving for the kids) :))

We then moved on to the very exciting Birthday Celebration for Jaxson (6) and Lincoln (2).

After the Birthdays we headed over to Draper Park.  It's not a long walk, just around the corner, and some years we have actually cut through the pasture.  At the park we headed straight to the rides.  Now these are new this year, usually the biggest ride is the train.  These were very exciting for the kids.  The little kids went on the roller coaster and the boats.  The bigger kids braved the spinney ride.  Make sure to look at the pictures very carefully to see who the 2 biggest kids are.  :))

 

Nick and Savannah talked Shawn and I into going on the Hammer.  Let me tell you, I AM TOO OLD FOR THE HAMMER.  AND SO IS SHAWN.  Not a good idea.

The kids then moved on to the train.  SO DANG CUTE!!!

The kids favorite thing at Draper Days is the free activities.  This year was no exception.  We also get to listen to a great band while we enjoy our Draper Days Festivities.

We then headed home for Smores and Fireworks.  We watch them launch fireworks right over my parents house.  Its better than going to ANY park to watch.  What a terrific night!!!

Happy Birthday Nick!!!!

I bet you all thought this post was going to be about the 4th of July.  It kinda is.  Nick was born 10 years ago on July 3rd.  I was really trying to have him on the 4th but he was to excited to come and join our family so he arrived on the 3rd.  What that means is that he usually gets at least a 2 day celebration for his birthday.  Since the day he was born, he has gotten fireworks for his birthday and then fireworks for the 4th on the next day.  Lucky Kid. 

Since the 4th was pretty much celebrated a day early because it fell on a Sunday, we celebrated Nick's Birthday with a BBQ and Fireworks at home.  This was a change for us because we usually go to Sugarhouse park to watch fireworks but we wanted to do something different this year.

Nick got spoiled for his birthday.  On the top of his list he put Wi-Fi.  He bought my iTouch when I got a new iPhone and he has been asking and asking for Wi-Fi so he can use the internet on the iTouch.  He was so excited when he opened the box.  I set it up for him and now we are wireless.  (Whatever that means.)  Savannah got him the Monopoly game that has the electronic money.  He also got to pick out a new fishing pole and then we bought him a fishing bag, and a bunch of stuff to go into the bag.  So of course his Birthday started out with fishing trip with Dad, Savannah, Terry Slesser and the Slesser boys, Colton, Drake and Brysen.  They went up to Silver Lake up American Fork Canyon.  They had a Blast.

While the kids and dads were fishing, Julie and I prepared the BBQ of all BBQ's.  We smoked some ribs, made corn on the cob, baked beans, made potato salad, made awesome dip and bought ice cream and fireworks. 

When they got home Julie came up with the cute idea of having the kids decorate their own T-shirts for the 4th.  They turned out so dang cute.

We were blessed with a gorgeous sunset after dinner.

Then the party started.  Since Nick was 10, Shawn let him help light some of the fireworks.

The kids enjoyed doing their favorites, which includes smoke bombs and snakes.

We ended the Fireworks with Sparklers, (notice the boys lighting the tanks with the sparklers).

We had ice cream sundaes for dessert since Nick isn't a big fan of cake.  It was a fun Birthday and a fun Holiday all mixed up in one.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

SO....DANG....TIRED...

It's been 2 full days since Savannah, Julie and I went to the Eclipse movie at 12:05am and I've got to tell ya, I am still SO....DANG....TIRED.  My 36 year old body cannot stay up until 3am anymore.  It takes too long to recuperate. 

We had a blast though.  Savannah actually saw it two times that day because she went to a birthday party for Bailee at 4:30pm for a premiere showing of it.  She was such a good sport to come back with me that night.  There were quite a few teenagers at the midnight showing and I definitely felt my age but I can't wait to do it again for Breaking Dawn.  Parts 1 and 2 :)