Family Reunions

We had 2 family reunions to attend this past summer. I heart family reunions!

The first one was the Knight Family Reunion (Neldon's mom's side of the family) and it was held at a campground outside Kamas, Utah. Most people camped or stayed in trailers but we used the excuse of having a 3 week old baby so we got a hotel room in Park City. The theme was "The Amazing Race" and Neldon's mom Norma had some great events planned to entertain the troops. Great times were had by all!



Group area/Camp Fire Area



Rebekah and her cousin Anya--Hot chocolate duty



Rhett climbed every rock he could find



Austin entertained himself for hours on this bike-Thanks to whoever brought it!



Neldon's way to win the sack race-one sack on each leg



Jenny and Payton


The 2nd reunion was the 1st Sessions Family Reunion. We have decided to retrace our "roots" and go back to some of the places my family has lived. My brother Jeff planned the reunion and it centered around McCall, ID-where we lived when our family finally became complete (Lyndsey and Tim were born there). Jeff scored some great condos for the weekend. Neldon could not get enough time off so he got to fly to Boise-I got to drive with 4 kids (including a 7 week old baby) from Las Vegas. I split it into 2 days but by the time I got to Jeff's house, I didn't like my kids very much. I soon got over my drama and the rest of the weekend was a blast! We visited some of our old "haunts" from when we were little and told lots of great stories and memories, including a slide show of all of our pictures while we live there from 1978-1983. AWESOME! We rode the ski lift to the top of Brundage Mtn., picked wild huckleberries (YUM!!!), went swimming in Payette Lake, enjoyed a frozen treat from Ice Cream Alley, and a yummy dinner at Si Bueno's. Enjoy the pics!


Dad, Jeff and Tim hanging out at the condo

Rhett swimming in Payette Lake

Cousins at the beach

Ice Cream Alley=YUMMY!

10 Sessions Grandkids

Sessions Family 2010-On top of Brundage Mtn.

Rhett, Jenny, & Payton on the ski lift

Austin picking huckleberries

Like I said in the beginning of this post-I heart family reunions! Mainly because we have the best families ever!

4th of July

Neldon had to work so I loaded up the kids (yes, with a 3 week old baby) and drove to my parents in UT. The trip was actually very easy and only took 1 hour longer than usual. Success!!! My whole family (minus my little brother Tim) was there that weekend so it was tons of fun. Here are some pics.

Jeff bought a bunch of fireworks (sparklers, tanks, flowers, etc.) so he was the favorite of the kids. He also provided the Costco bucket of Cheeseballs-he is definitely in the lead for #1 uncle. The City of Ogden put on a great show for us too. We spent some time at a splash park and joined in on a neighborhood parade. Great weekend!

Another update...

Yikes, it has been since May 30th since we last posted anything and so much has happened since then. I would love to say that we have been so busy that I just can't get to it but that wouldn't be true. We have had a lot happen since then but there are no excuses.... So, here is a 3 month breakdown.

JUNE
The biggest news was the addition of baby #4 to our family. Payton McKay Barrowes arrived on June 14 at 4:52 pm and he weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. He has his own look but at the same time looks like the rest of the bunch. I got a little impatient and was induced. He was due on the 9th (I know, it is just a guess date but when that day comes and nothing happens, it gets a little frustrating) so I gave him a few extra days before forcing him out. I was a little selfish, though, because I didn't want him to share a birthday with me (6/12) :) All went well with the delivery, the epidural was in before anything hurt too much, and then we just sat around until show time. Here are some pics.









Thanks to my sister Lyndsey and her cute little boy Emmett for coming down and entertaining the troops while Payton was being born. Grandma Barrowes also came down for a week which helped out tons!!!




As if adding a baby to the family wasn't enough excitement/chaos for the week, I celebrated my 34th b-day (6/12), my cousin also got married (on 6/12) and my 94 year old grandpa decided he had been hanging out on earth long enough. He passed away about 8 hours after Payton was born. So, I then shared my 13th wedding anniversary with his funeral. Grandpa Seegmiller was the only grandpa I ever knew since my Grandpa Sessions passed way before my parents were married. He wasn't always the nicest guy but I do have great memories of him. I am lucky enough to be one of the oldest cousins which means that I actually spent time with him. He, well Grandma actually, would take us to the farm when grandpa was out there. We usually got in his way but we still loved going. Even though my kids were loud and crazy and got in his way, he always told me that I was a good mom. He told me many times that I was a peach. I guess that is a good thing. I'm glad grandma and grandpa can be together again and that grandpa is finally released from his earthly ailments. He will be missed.




Well, that is June. I have screaming kids so July and August will come later.

6-month update

Pretty sad...it has been 6+ months since our last entry. I get annoyed when people don't update their blogs yet I can't seem to get to my own. I have to say that procrastination is one of my major strong points/down falls. I work best under pressure so that is why it is one of my strong points. You all know why it can be a down fall-things may not get done. And since I hope to have this baby any day now, I need room on my picture card. So, most recent to oldest since the 1st of the year.

MAY

Rhett's Preschool Graduation
Rhett attended Miss Lesly's preschool this year and he LOVED it. He went for 2.5 hours on Monday and Wednesday morning. There were 10 kids-8 boys and 2 girls. He made some great friends-too bad they won't go to the same kindergarten. Austin also loved it because it gave him some one on one time with Mommy. Here are some pictures of the graduate. He wasn't real thrilled with his hat.







Soccer Season Ends (YAY!)
Bekah and Rhett both played soccer again this spring. It was their 3rd season playing and they have improved so much. It was a little rough on me since Neldon works on Saturdays-especially when they had games at the same time at different fields and it was usually at Austin's nap time and my pregnant belly was getting bigger each week. Rhett channeled his inner Beckham each week and was a major scorer on his team. Bekah rocked it at defense/goalie.







APRIL

Girls' Weekend
So finally after almost 16 years, my group of girl friends from high school (minus Katy G.) got together for a much needed weekend of fun. We ate way too much, laughed way too much, stayed up way too late, and had so much fun. We need to make this an annual tradition! It was like we picked up where we left off all those years ago.



Easter in St. George
My parents were at my Grandpa's house is St. George over Easter weekend so I took the kids up there. We colored eggs, went on an Easter Egg Hunt at the park, and spent some great time with my 94 year old grandpa.








MARCH

Death Valley
Rebekah was on track break for a few weeks in March. After spending so much time at home with each other and going a little stir crazy, I decided we needed a little get away-even if it was just for 24 hours. My family used to go to Death Valley National Park (it was just a national monument then) when I was younger and since it is only 2 hours away from us and the kids had never been there, we got in the car and took off on an adventure. And the ghost town of Rhyolite was nearby, we started our morning out there.












JANUARY & FEBRUARY

I didn't take many pictures these months because my camera battery died and in the process of moving, I couldn't find the charger. We spend a lot of our time unpacking and trying to settle in. Neldon spent a lot of time digging up the old, dead plants in the yard and getting new ones planted. Some day, we will get grass in the backyard in place of all that nasty rock. We love our new house! Maybe someday I will do some before & after shots but not now. This post is long enough.






So, that pretty much covers it. Now I can make space on the memory card on my camera to make room for our baby brother. He is due to arrive on June 9th and boy am I ready (I think)!

Rebekah's Baptism Weekend

Friday, October 9th was a very special day at our house. I know, it was over a month ago and I should have gotten around to this sooner. Rebekah turned 8 on Sept. 5th. This is a very special age in our household. At the age of 8, a child gets to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Most of you that read this blog already know that but just in case there is someone out there that doesn't. So, after shuffling dates and schedules around, Friday, October 9th was the chosen date. Lots of family came to town for the occasion (and the football game the next day) and lots of friends joined in too. It is a very exciting and proud moment for a parent to watch their child get baptized. We are so proud of Rebekah and her decision to enter the waters of baptism and become a member of the true church of Jesus Christ. She was excited for the day to come. At her interview with the bishop, he asked her if she was excited to be baptized. She responded "Yes". He then asked her how long she had been excited about her baptism. Her response, "Oh, ever since I first heard about it, 3 or 4 months ago." This got a chuckle out of all of us because we pretty much start talking about their baptism from the day they are born. Anyway, here are some pictures from that day. I think I have a pretty cute family!

Catch Up Post

Everyone keeps bugging me to get this thing updated. So, here will be your updates for August and September at the Barrowes household.

FLYING RATS

One day I was standing in my front doorway talking to a neighbor. There are always pigeons flying around, landing on our roof and making big messes-especially in the spring time when they are making their nests and laying eggs. Anyway, I turned around and looked in my living room and one of these stupid flying rats had walked right past me through the door and into my living room. YUK! It learned real quick to not mess with me and my broom.



SCHOOL ENDS, SCHOOL BEGINS

Rebekah finished 2nd Grade on August 7. She loved her teacher, Mrs. Ferriero. We had a 2 week "summer break" since we are on year round school and then she started
3rd Grade. I can't believe I have a 3rd grader! Rhett started preschool and he loves it. He wishes it was every day. So do I.








SEEGMILLER FAMILY REUNION

Every other year, my mom's family has a family reunion. A different sibling is in charge of it so it is always an adventure to see where we will end up and how we will spend our weekend. This year is it was over Labor Day weekend and it was at Spring Mountain Ranch in Northeastern UT. The family that planned it found an AWESOME lodge that could fit all of us (about 75 people ranging from Grandpa Seegmiller Age 94 to my niece Piper, Age 5 months). It was a blast! My family is RAD! Neldon couldn't come with me this time because of his schedule change at work so it was a long 9 hour drive for me and the kids but it went really well. We played games, chit-chatted till the wee hours of the morning, learned some family history (mostly from my dad's side, the Allreds. My grandma Sessions grew up in the Uintah Basin area), ate lots of food, and watched a killer BYU vs. Oklahoma football game. I need to steal some pictures that my family took because I really didn't take very many.









BIRTHDAYS

Rebekah turned 8 on Sept. 5. Austin turned 2 on Sept. 15. Neldon turned 39 on Sept. 27. September is our birthday month.
Rebekah had a Hannah Montana party. It was all rock star themed and I made her a guitar shaped cake. They watched the Hannah Montana movie that had just come out on DVD.





Austin had a train themed party. I made him a train cake. We just invited some friends over for dinner and let the kids run around. Then we opened presents and ate cake and ice cream. Austin stayed up late playing with his new train tracks. Finally he fell asleep on them.






Neldon didn't get a birthday party. He was at his parents' house so I was off the hook. He bought himself a new bike so I didn't even have to worry about buying him a gift. Next year will be the big 40 so we will go crazy then.

DOMESTIC GODDESS

Well, not really, but I felt that way for a couple of days. I got a killer deal on some produce so then I had to figure our what to do with it. It all got canned. 25 quarts of peaches, 14 quarts of pears, and 14 pints of salsa. MMMMM!






So, that catches you up through September.