Haderlie Family Reunion

This year since we were already in Utah, the kids and I decided to make it a priority to make it to the Haderlie Campout. We always love going, but we didn't know if we were going to be able to go this year. But we did. Shantel was kind enough to let us borrow all of their camping stuff so that we wouldn't have to pack ours, and it worked perfectly.

Kevin wasn't able to come, so it was just me and the kids. I wanted to get there early so that I had time to set up the tent and get everything ready by myself. I was also hoping to snag a camp spot that was close to the bathrooms. Little did I know that there was going to be no close camping spots to the bathrooms. This was a new campground that no one had ever been to before.

I was the first one to get there, so I got the kids out, and we went to take a look around. The only way to get to the camp grounds was to hike down a little hill. It isn't too bad if it is just yourself and you only have to do it once, but hauling down all of your camping gear plus three kids multiple times, plus bathroom breaks, it started to feel like a mountain each time. My fitness watch was so impressed with how much I was exercising the days while I was there.

People started showing up and we had dinner that night. The kids slept great, and we had a good time. I was wondering if we should leave the next day since I was leaving to Cambodia only a couple days later, but decided to stay one more night and I am so glad that we did.

We went on a little hike and saw a nice little waterfall. The kids got to play with all of the other cousins and they loved that. I felt like I got to see a little bit of a glimpse into Kevin's childhood. Running around and playing with all of the cousins. It was just so fun to see.

The next day we packed up and headed out. I felt grateful for all of the help that I received from so many people while I was doing this by myself. But I am so glad we were able to go see everyone and get to know everyone a little better.

 

 

 

 

 

Trip to Utah

This summer was the longest trip I had ever been on. We pretty much packed the whole house to go. But what can you expect when you live so far away from family. When we drive the drive we want to make it worth it.

On our way out to Utah, we made our first stop in Omaha to visit Kevin. He was driving through, so we hastily packed up the car a day before we were planning to leave to go visit him. We hadn't seen him in a couple of weeks, so although it dragged our trip out an extra day, it was worth it.

We got to Omaha the exact same time Kevin arrived. He checked us in at the hotel, then went and fixed my car...for some reason the AC wasn't working. He really is the best husband. I got the kids ready and we went swimming, then Kevin joined us after looking at the car. It was fun to have him there with us, and that we were able to go swimming as a family. We don't swim very often.

The next day we ate breakfast and headed out. The kids did great. We probably could have made it all the way to Utah that day, but it would have been a push for everyone, plus I really wanted to stop and see my Grandpa, and if we went all the way to Utah, we wouldn't have been able to see him. So we stopped in Wyoming..somewhere. I can't remember, but I need to because it was the worst hotel. I hope never to sleep there again. But we did order pizza and pop popcorn and made the best of it that we could.


The next morning after a terrible breakfast, we headed to my grandpas house. It was so good to see him. The kids played in the tree, and we went and saw some little calves. I just love being at my grandpa's house.



We finally made our way to Utah. We spent time bouncing between Shantel's house and my parents house. Here are a couple of the fun things that we did while in Utah.

Swimming at Shantel's Pool

Hiking to the "M"

Playing with Walker Cousins

                 

Going boating with Walker Cousins

Movie Date with Grandma and Grandpa Walker

They took them to their first movie and watched Toy Story 4

                                      

Kid Pancakes with Grandpa Walker

Hanging out at the Morgan Library

                                                                

Touring an Old Testament Temple

Morgan recreated an Old Testament Temple with the Ark of the Covenant and all of the different rooms. They taught us about them and then we went and walked through it. It was really interesting.

     

Lucy's Baby Blessing

Fishing with Grandpa Walker- Camille caught her first fish!

                                          

Steven and Phalla's Wedding Reception in Idaho Falls

Playing at the Morgan Park

We did so many things, and had so much fun. I feel so grateful to have such a great family, and to feel so loved. We loved all of our time spent in Utah this summer!

4th of July in Hills

This was our first 4th of July here in Iowa and it did not disappoint. The only disappointment was that Kevin was gone.
                                    
All summer Camille has been asking to do a Lemonade Stand. Today was the day we finally did it. Camille was so excited. She takes after her dad. In the morning she was planning to put flyers up all over town, and she wanted to make a lemon costume that Jason could wear so people would know that she is selling lemonade. She had a whole marketing plan made up. I convinced her that we would just need to put up a poster board saying that she was selling Lemonade and the customers would come.

People would drive by and she would say, "mom, why aren't they stopping?" We had to come up with a lot of excuses for why people were not stopping. But eventually people did stop. We had some neighbors come by, and a police man, and a lot of strangers. People were so generous and kind to her, especially since she only filled the cups up 1/4th of the way. In the end she made $25! That is a ton of money for 1 hour of work and being 5 years old!
                                              
After the lemonade stand we hung out at the house for a while until the parade started. We walked down to main street and found a place by some people we had met. The parade was perfect! I love small town parades. It wasn't too long, or too short, and there was so much candy for everyone. The kids loved it as well. I think this is the first year Jason really understood what was going on at the parade and he had a blast.
                                                   
After the Parade, our friends invited us over for a big party they were having at their house. We drove over to their house which was beautiful. Really, it is pretty much Kevin's dream house. Mine too. The house wasn't huge, but still good sized, but it had a big shop and lots of land and a garden spot. It was just so relaxing. We couldn't stay too long because my kids go to bed so early, but it was fun to stay and meet some new people.

We went home and got the kids to bed. I had told Camille that when the fireworks started going off that I would wake her up and bring her out to watch them. When I finally heard the fireworks, I went and tried to wake Camille up and she was so out of it. I kept leaving the room, then talking myself back into going in and trying to wake her up. She had just been so excited to see the fireworks. I finally decided I would just go grab her out of the bed, and that would probably wake her up enough to watch fireworks. I picked her up and we went out on the deck to watch the fireworks. By the time we got out there the fireworks were almost over, so we just watched a couple of minutes, then I asked Camille if she was ready to go back to bed. She said she was, and she hopped off my lap and started walking toward the glass sliding door, and she ran right into it. It was so funny/sad/extra funny. She just was so tired. We finally got her into her bed and she went back to sleep.

It was fun to celebrate the 4th of July with my little family, and I feel grateful for the friends we have made here who have been so thoughtful of me while I have been away from my family.  Happy 4th of July!