Family Pictures

When we were in IF for the 4th of July and family reunion, my mom got us all together for family pictures and I thought I'd post a few of my favorites:

4th of July

I know that it's like, a month later, but I just didn't want to conform to all the other bloggist's ways by posting my 4th of July pictures right after the actual 4th of July. So, here they are. It was a blast, of course. You can't beat the 4th of July with my family. Parade. (we still boo Skyline and stand up and cheer for I.F. . . . )
( . . . Collin thinks all this is ridiculous.)
The best Grandma ever.
Un-precedented: We rode our bikes to the fireworks, and home afterwards. This will also be un-repeated. Brothers at our BBQ at Grandma's--The loving looks they constantly give me.

No one in my family has ever gotten a picture of my dad in a different pose than this.

No one in my family has ever worn my dad's dorky sunglasses around like this either.

Seriously . . .

So seriously, we just moved out of the nicest ward ever. Collin FINALLY got released from the bishopric on Sunday (a month after we actually moved), and I was sitting with a couple of friends I have in the ward during sacrament meeting, and one leaned over and asked what we were doing that night . . . because she had planned an Open House for us! I mean, really, who does that?!?! So, the Pecks had an open house for us at their house that night. . . and we thought it would be really weird because we've never ever heard of that before. . . but it was just a total blast. Their house was packed. I don't really think that most of the people came to like, see us off (pretty sure it was mostly for Jeannie's amazing cooking!), but the people who came were really all the families we've gotten to be such good friends with, and all my young women and other leaders we both have worked with. It was great to spend one last evening with the awesome bunch. And everyone was so kind as to come find either Collin or me to say goodbye and wish us well when they left. So all in all, when I thought we would finally be getting on with going to our new ward and Collin being released, I still got one more big surprise of the hospitality, friendship and kindness of our wonderful neighbors and fellow ward members. Farewell Castle Park Ward!

Rafting

These pictures are actually our raft! I can't figure out how to make them zoom in, but if you can enlarge you can see it.

Collin and the head coach from Capital put on a wrestling camp this week (which meant he was gone from 7am-11pm each day), and Friday, after the 4 days of intense work were over, they took the boys out to raft the Payette main and I got to come along.

It was fun! I've done some rafting over in Eastern Idaho on the Salmon River, but I haven't ever done it here. I admit, it wasn't as intense as I was expecting, but still we had fun!

Our raft was mostly adults--considering not that many came. Collin, Jody (Capital's coach), Coach Blue and I were all in there, along with 5 rowdy little boys! I think they were all in 5th or 6th grade. Although the rapids weren't super-intense, the kids were! We took 6 full rafts out and on the calm parts it was MAYHEM! They were all like, wrestling each other off and dunking people and raft-hopping! A couple tried to mess with me--but I showed them! ha ha, just joking, but I really never got dunked. I think the boys/coaches had more fun rough-housing than the actual rapids/floating part! But hey what can you expect, it was a WRESTLING CAMP.

I did get thrown out once--of course in like the stupidest part. It was in a calm spot but we totally smashed into a big rock. I wasn't expecting anything but the next thing I knew I was like, sprawling out onto the rock on my bum! I fell back on my head into the water and I remember someone grabbing my foot . . it was like the most awkward fall! Plus it wasn't even rough water! I was laughing. If you could have seen it you would too. I have a nice bruise and sore spot to prove it!

Camp!

I don't have very many pictures. . . but I was at girls camp this past week. It was at PineTop, this place about an hour out of Boise that the church owns. This stake does it so differently from anywhere else I've heard of girls camp--they split up the girls by age instead of by ward, and they have cooks that come up and cook for them, and this place even had a pool--so it was pretty prissy if you ask me. But hey, you know I'm not exactly a wilderness granola so it was FINE with me! Although I am glad that I had the more "hardcore" camp experiences I did, because I'm proud that I survived! And I know how to build a fire and cook my own food!

Getting steam-rolled for having something in the lost and found! Thank goodness Caley and Wendy were next to me . . .

Anyway, it was a blast the whole week. Of course we were all seriously sleep deprived, especially Tami J, Jen Reed, Katie Featherstone, Suzanne Mackelprang and I because we had late-night (freaking hilarious) scrabble games every single night! Besides all the other fun stuff that went on. We took the girls on a 5-mile hike also, and that was another hilarious adventure that is another story. I also had to be the devotional speaker for "Scripture Power" (everyone at camp listened) one afternoon and definitely had a lot of butterflies going on until it was over--but it went really well. Camp is such a great place to have fun and be silly, and feel the Spirit and learn more about the gospel! It's like, everything in one! I'm so glad the church has this wonderful program. :)

hee hee . . . I know this was just to catch extra lemonade, but can you guess what we called it? ps-the person posing is totally anonymous! :)

It was very sad being there with all these women and girls that I love so much and knowing that it was the last time I'd be doing anything like this with them since we've moved out of the stake. Especially bishops' night--that was a big crying time! But I'm really just grateful for all the wonderful friendships I've made in the stake, and I know that we'll still be keeping in touch even when we finally quit going to the CP ward. (If that ever happens. . . )

So anyway, these pictures are of the night of the Big Hair contest and dance party--last big shin-dig before we packed up and went home the next morning. Yes, I know I look electrocuted and we all look exhausted. . . it's true. We WERE! Me and Tami, we were the 2 leaders for the 2nd years. We were the "blue pops" (all candy, suckers, soda, popcorn that's blue, to explain) and the theme for camp was "Sweet is the Work." Just ignore the insanely scary look on my face. And if you know Tami, you will probably think her hair is hilarious because I SURE DID!

I love these ladies!!! Jen, Tami, Emily, Wendy, me, Tammy, and Jeannie. We had a blast together and I'm so grateful for their friendship!

CP Pride! The whole gang at bishop's night.

Family Reunion

Well our family recently decided to have a big reunion every 3 years, instead of every summer like it has always been before. So we all ended up in Albion, ID (somewhere near Declo and Rupert) last week for our first "big reunion." Since I'm making this into a book someday, I wanted to post some of my favorite reunion pictures. The reunion was really fun, by the way. It was weird being in a different place with no work to do (not even cooking) but we all filled the time in fine with lots of great activities. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family. We can always have fun together even though we don't get to see each other hardly at all during the year. I have so many great memories of doing hilarious things with every one and I am so blessed to have such a great supportive, hilarious fam! It was so great to see everyone!This is the awesomest picture. . . Grandma in the car with 3 obnoxious boys. I don't know how she stood it, but it sure looked funny in her low-rider car! :)A typical picture from the family program The Whittiers doing our "Familial Rhapsody"I had to give a shout out to Wendi because they had the cutest song! I was totally laughing. Family campfire--this is where Tara, Cory and I sang the Jungle Book song with Alex on the ukelele--and we saw many other funny songs

My handsome brother
Yes, that's what I look like when I run. NOT! I must have been slowing down.
Jodee. . . is obviously not slowing down.
Jodee, Meili, and Danessa
Chilling on the couch--Collin didn't want to put his cowboy book down the whole time, but he was nice and did spend lots of time with the family--especially airsofting.
haha--you can't tell this is posed, can you?
Our Lowboil dinner. . . nothing like eating like a pig out of a trough!
Love my brother Alex! (and he obviously loves me!)
The family dance party--surprisingly fun! :)


That's the end of the reunion pics, but I thought I'd put in a few more of the week with the fam:

Once again, handsome Sam
awww.... me Mom and Tara
Enjoying Jodee's cancelled softball game--it ended up being Dads against girls which was fun, but Dad was too chicken to play! :) (love you anyways, Dad!)
2 of my favorite people!!