Bush Family Reunion 2015

Our family was in charge of the reunion this year,

so we thought it would be a great idea to bring my Dad's backyard carnival.

It was a hit!!

The candy/money dig is always a fun tradition.

A wonderful part of family reunions is getting to catch up with family that I don't get to see often.

I got a picture with my cousin Lonnie and her husband Roger.

I still remember when my sister Jan and I spent a few weeks with them one summer long ago.

We worked in their hardware store and just had a fun time with them.

Ogden Temple Open House and Bush Family Reunion

Yesterday we went to the Ogden Temple open house. They really redid this temple completely! It looks entirely different, but it's absolutely beautiful inside and out!
I had told Anna that the Ogden temple was the first temple I ever went to and so on the tour she kept asking me if certain things were there when I was there as a kid :)

We love the temples and the feelings we get there. I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband and that he is willing to be stuck with me for eternity :)

After the open house we changed our clothes and headed over to the Bush Family Reunion. I didn't seem to take very many pictures at the reunion. We had a nice time reconnecting with family that we don't see very often. I did get some pictures of the traditional candy/money dig :)

Eve was so excited to find stuff, so fun to watch her.

 Anna and Julianne ready for their age group to get a turn

 The big kids got in on the action too :)

Glad that they decided to do the candy/money dig. They weren't going to do it, because it was pretty windy...but they eventually decided to try it.

Bush Family Reunion

It worked out nicely that we made it to Utah

just before the Bush family reunion.

It was nice to go and see family we hadn't seen in a while.

Me with my cousin Lonnie and her husband Roger.

And of course the traditional money and candy dig is always a favorite

with the kids (both young and old)

This year it was really windy so they didn't add the sawdust at first.

While it took away some of the fun of the dig...it also took away a lot of the mess!

then the wind was dying down so they added it for the 

older groups and the free for all.

 Everyone was pretty happy with their findings :)

Here are some pics of a few of them.

Side note:

On the way to the reunion our air conditioning broke again...

We were able to find a napa auto center here

and thankfully the part that had just been replaced in Georgia was

under warranty and so we didn't have to pay anything! Such a blessing!!

My Trip to Utah - The rest of the story

I don't really know how to capture the rest of my trip.

We celebrated Easter

we stayed up late talking and reminiscing

we sang together

we played games

watched movies

ate yummy food

celebrated Mom's birthday

There was so much laughter and love!

I guess I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures :)

I love my sisters!

My sisters are all so amazing.

I wish Dresden could have been with us too...

I think we all need to do a sisters trip!

 My brothers have all grown into such great men

...but they still know how to be silly :)

It was fun to get to spend time with my nieces and nephews too.

Holden was so excited to take some pictures with my camera

 Oh, on one day we ate lunch at Cravings Bistro and it was so so good!

We had to try the fried Twinkies - they were on their last box and then no more Twinkies. They were pretty good, I think they would've been better with dark chocolate instead of milk, but that's just me :)

After lunch Mom and I went over to Cravings cupcake shop.

They won Cupcake Wars and since me and the kids like to watch that show I thought it would be fun to go there. 

The owner was actually there and was super nice.

and the cupcakes were delicious!

I guess that wraps up my trip.

I had a great time and I'm so thankful that I was able to go.

My Trip to Utah - Dad Turns 70!

I got to go out to Utah for my Dad's 70th birthday party. My parents didn't know that all of the kids were coming so it was fun to surprise them. It was the first time in 6 years that we had all been together...if you ask me (and nobody did) that is way too long!

Anyway, I had such a great time and loved every minute of my time there with my family. 

The day I got there we just spent some time visiting and my mom had arranged for some family pictures to be taken...she was so happy that the pictures would now include all of her kids! 
Here is one of the pics from dav.d photography

The morning of my Dad's birthday (after breakfast at IHOP) some of us went to a shooting range. This was a new experience for me. I shot a 9mm, a .22 and a .45...at least I'm pretty sure that's what we shot. One of the targets we shot at was Osombie...I think we killed him...well Shell and I scared him and Jonas probably killed him :)

After we got home we helped get things ready for the party. I got to fix my grandma's hair.

If only my daughters would sit as still as she did...

Then we went over to Joe and Melanie's for the party. 
It was nice to see a lot of my aunts and uncles some cousins and friends too.

I even won a prize for getting the most answers right on a quiz about my dad. This duck carved by my dad was my prize. 

The theme of my Dad's party was "I Wanna Be Like You" 
When we were little we used to lip sync a lot and one time we put together a lip sync for my parents of "I Wanna Be Like You" from the jungle book. My mom requested that we perform this for my Dad, so we decided that we would make fools of ourselves for his (and everyone else's) entertainment.
Here's a little part of our stellar performance :)


I also had made a slideshow of my Dad's life that we showed. I think everyone liked it. I measured the success of it by the fact that it made several people cry.

Anyway, I think Dad really enjoyed the afternoon.

I love this picture of my Dad, I just love his smile and his laugh!

He is such a great man.

I'm so thankful that I have the privilege of being his daughter!

I love you Dad! 

Timpanogos Cave and Bush Family Reunion

On Saturday morning 21 of us made the hike up to Timpanogos Cave. We had beautiful weather and I was very proud of all the kids for making it up there and back with minimal complaining.

After we finished up at the cave, there was just enough time to freshen up and head off to the Bush Family Reunion. It was nice to see relatives we hadn't seen for a while. I even won a blanket made by my Dad's sister Nona. The favorite part of the reunion for the kids was the candy/money dig. I remember that always being my favorite part too.