A fun, fast day trip

Today we went down to see Uncle Brant and Aunt Chris and boys.  It was a fast trip, made even faster by Jason's driving, fairly easy traffic, and good tunes.  We ate lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory (yum!) and then spent a little more time with them at their house.  We wish Uncle Brant the best with his new job in Chicago, and pray that Chris and the boys will be able to join him quickly!  We love you!

Our epic Summer 2017 trip. Part 3: Beck Reunion and time with even more Sheens

After 3 lovely days at Bear Lake, our big crew worked fast and furiously to clean up and pack out and get on our way to Burley, Idaho for the Beck reunion.  This is an annual event that's been happening for many years with my mom and her siblings taking turns to organize it.  It was the first time for our family to be there, and my mom's turn to do it.  What an experience!  For Jason, it was the first time since our wedding day that he'd been with Becks, and Rhiannon and Wade's first time ever.   Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back, I wish I'd spent a little less time that afternoon on "reunion details" and a lot more time with my Beck relatives.  It sure was good to see them, though!  And we were very appreciative of Beck family members helping with most of the food since we were travelling the furthest to get there that day.  And kudos to Mom for the amazing family picture booklets she worked so hard to make--they were very well-received that day!

It's a Beck reunion tradition to have a "candy cannon" of sorts for kids.  Since we didn't have access to that this year, Grandma Donna put together a terrific alternative--she glued candy to shirts, and Jordan and Tommy raced around the baseball field, trying to keep away from kids coming after them.  It was hilarious!  They were such good sports!

One final pit stop remained.  And it was the perfect end to our time with family.  We loved seeing Uncle Max, and cousin Raul and his wife Audra there.  Jordan and Amelia and crew were there, too, but had to get on the road before we took this picture.    

I loved walking around the yard, checking old places made new.  What a rush of memories for me and my brothers, especially as we watched our own kids playing around doing the same things we'd done at their age, whether it was playing with dogs or pretend-riding the lawnmower.  What a great afternoon!

We said our goodbyes, sort-of, haha!  After that we went to a Cushing family favorite, Steve-O's, and had a delicious meal with Tom and Lyd and Derrick and Traci and kids.  Then we made our way to Twin Falls where we spent a quiet night before making the return trip the next day, on Father's Day.

For our quiet, mellow family, getting together with relatives can sometimes feel a little overwhelming and loud, haha!  But, boy, are we grateful for the memories and for our time with these people that we love so much.  

Our epic Summer 2017 trip. Part 2: Bear Lake for the Rich and Donna Sheen Reunion!

Our next big item on the summer trip list was Bear Lake.  Boy, what a gorgeous drive.  Our family was the first to arrive at the house and were pleasantly surprised by the amazing view and the house itself.  My favorite part was the huge porch on the second level--so fun to sit out there and watch boats on the lake!  The tiny driveway made things interesting, and there wasn't a backyard, but there was plenty, plenty, plenty of room for our big crew, quick access to the lake and town, and all the amenities we needed, including a key to the neighborhood pool.

Some highlights from Bear Lake were:

Being with Sheens!
Visiting on the porch
Golfing for Jason and Wade
R-A-S-P-B-E-R-R-Y milkshakes, oh my!
Sheens, Beans, and Macaroni t-shirts
TALENT SHOW
Driving the boat at Bear Lake--Uncle Brant let Rhiannon take a turn and she was ecstatic!
UTV experience--thanks, Traci and Derrick, for talking us into it!  And thanks for treating us, Grandpa and Grandma!
So. Much. Good. Food.
Sitting on the porch late at night watching a lightning storm come in--a family favorite moment
Horseback riding--again, thanks to the Houston and Denton Sheens' encouragement!
Field Day games
Bear Lake walk by the house
The house at Bear Lake!
Swimming with Amelia, GPA and kids
Card games and squishing the two big tables together


Again, I took v-e-r-y few pictures, but I'm thankful to family members who took some AMAZING ones to document our time together!  Here are a few (of many) favorites:

Our Texas Thanksgiving Trip!

This is one of those updates that is best explained in pictures.  Our Thanksgiving trip to Texas was a fantastic experience.  We loved showing off Texas A&M to Rhiannon and Wade and seeing a football game in the new-and-IMPROVED-and-HUGE Kyle Field, spending time with Derrick, Traci and kids in Houston, enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving Day meal with Tom and Lydia and family, and lots of relaxing with Grandpa Rich, Grandma Donna, and Great-Grandma Sue.  Any time we spend in Texas is fantastic, but Jason and I agreed that this trip was just further clarification we will retire to the Lone Star State some day!

First up, College Station!  In one word--HUGE.  That place has grown like nobody's business, and it was massive when we were going to school there!

Dinner at Freebirds

Checking out our sweet Aggie purchases

Represent!!

Getting ready for Midnight Yell at Kyle Field

Bell Tower

Cushings at the new-and-improved Kyle Field!  It was so fun to be there together!

Future Aggies?  We'll see!

Game Day

We were pretty high up but had a great view of the game!

Wade was being silly--he was having more fun than it appears. :)

One of my favorite places on campus!

And Jason's second home!

The Bonfire Memorial was stunning and peaceful and VERY well done.

Construction going on at the Zachary Engineering building

And then on to Houston!  We had a fun time with the Houston Sheens--thanks, Derrick, Traci, Max, Maggie, and Moses for the delicious Thanksgiving meal with friends, a trip to the Houston Zoo, and a YUMMY Mexican restaurant dinner!  We had a good time visiting and playing games, too!

Moses made me laugh.  He was having a lot of fun emptying planters in the backyard.

Fun with cousins!

Houston Zoo!  The place was packed that day, but it was a great place!

YUM!

Our next stop was Grandpa Rich and Grandma Donna's home in Sachse.  Boy, we loved relaxing and visiting, eating, playing games, going to the Fantastic Beasts movie, shooting bb guns, going to the Dallas Temple, and playing disc golf!!!!  Love you guys!

Family Goal--check!

Frisbee golf was crazy and awesome!

We loved being around Grandma Sue.  She is witty as always!

Love you, Grandma Donna!  She is so fun to talk to and wants to know every detail!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!

And this one!

On Thanksgiving Day we drove north to Tommy and Lydia's home in Savannah, outside of Denton, Texas.  The meal and the company was OUT OF THIS WORLD awesome.  Thank you for all your hard work, Tom and Lyd and Rosemary!  We had a wonderful time and left there full and happy!!

Their cat MJ is pretty cool.  I'm not into cats, but if I had to be, I'd choose a cat like MJ.

Beck and Hardy were SOO cute and funny!

It was a wonderful 8-day trip, busy and relaxing and happy and fun all in one.  We loved being with Sheen family!