Richins Reunion!

I survived my biggest camping adventure of the year. We left last Tuesday and got home on Saturday evening. I was alone with the kids until Thursday when G.J. came. The trailer that we borrowed from G.J.’s parents is cleaned out and returned…most of our stuff is put away, and I am so glad to be home.

We had a really fun time. As usual, camping is a TON of work for parents and lots of FUN for kids….so I guess it is all worth it in the end. Tomorrow I have about 10+ loads of laundry to do, but that’s just part of the fun right?!?

We have a huge family….I am related to almost everyone in Vernal it seems! We always have lots of F’s….Food, Family, Fun, Fresh Air, Freezing nights, hmmmm….what else starts with a F???? Anyways….it was a great time, and felt good to get away. The only thing that was definitely missing was my sweet Grandma. I thought of her a ton while there. She loved the reunion and camping in general. So, enjoy my pictures…I didn’t capture very many, but I tried!

One more thing….I came home to over 60 emails, a billion facebook junk, and lots of blogs to read….So, I decided just to skip reading it all, and start fresh this week!

Our first morning there in our little home away from home. I was SO grateful to G.J.'s parents for borrowing us their trailer. It was so nice to have a space of our own.


The next 8 pictures are from our swimming adventure in Brush Creek. Nothing like taking a dip in water that is freshly melted snow off the High Uintas! Brrrrrr....









Gavin had SO much fun with all his cousins. Both Hallie and Gavin got to play night games for the first time and they thought they were pretty awesome!


Roasting Marshmallows....on our "fire"


My mom and Jenette arm wrestling. I lost in the first round...lol


My Cute Sis-in-law Jenette with Kayler. He looks almost as big as her!!!


Bike Rodeo


Bike Rodeo


My kids with their bug catchers and candy/prizes


Kayler and G.J. finding candy in the sawdust


A cute poster my cousin made of the legacy of my Grandma and Grandpa Richins


The Chicken Poop game. Choose a number...and pray the chicken poops on it! A crowd favorite!

Summer passing us by....in lots of good ways!

I don't know if I am a fan of this once a week blogging thing or not. In my "older" age, my memory is starting to fail me, and I can't remember what I did during the week. Thank goodness for my camera, because without it I wouldn't be able to remember where I had been and what I had done. I am the worst photographer though, because I only have 1-2 pictures from each event....pretty pathetic, but I am trying!

Since I am so lazy, I will give the week in a nutshell and then you can play match to try to figure out which pictures go with what!

Monday- I cleaned house, did laundry, errands, etc. Then after a day filled with lots of frustrating thoughts about something in my life (which I may or may not blog about....maybe someday) My cute neighbor and Visiting Teacher Lorraine showed up on my doorstep with some cute sticker books for my kids, a book for me, and best of all, a note that made me just cry with gratitude that the lord would prompt her to say the things she did....it made my day.

Tuesday- We FINALLY got out our big Bonsai slide. It is a TON of work, but the kids had so so much fun. We invited my Sis-in-law and her kids, and some friends over. The kids had a blast. We were going to do it again that evening, so we left it up all day long. Unfortunately the wind came up. Along with that everyone was SO sunburned. Poor Hallie got the worst of it though!

Wednesday-Was pretty boring. We got up, went to school lunch, played at my moms, Hallie had her last gymnastics class of the summer, and I think that is about it.

Thursday- Oh what a day. G.J. worked 4-10's last week so he was able to stay home with the kids while I went to my Dr.'s appt. in Salt Lake, got my hair cut in Park City, and did a little school shopping. G.J. and the kids did great. I had a pretty nice/boring day. The Dr. was pretty intense. She had a medical student with her, as well as a pharmacy student. They must have wanted to impress the Dr. because I was there for over 2 hours answering every question in the world about my health/thyroid issues. I had a TON more tests ran, and we will see this week what the results are. I enjoyed my haircut though. I got some super good deals on a few things for my kids for school. I arrived home to play with the kids and crash in bed after a very long day.

Friday- Was spent playing catch up from being gone the day before. There are always bills to be paid, laundry to be done, house to be cleaned, and errands to be ran. One of those things was going to Wal-Mart. I decided to walk home from Wal-Mart and G.J. took the kids home. I think it is about 3 miles or so. I made it about half way home when a neighbor drove by. He turned around to check on me to see if I was “exercising” or not. I had to laugh…is it really that rare of a sight to seem me out walking!?!? I did have flip-flops on though! He offered me a ride home, and at first I said no. Then he turned around to head home, and gave me one last chance to hop in. My feet were sore, it was hot, and I had to pee…so I got in. What was funny is that I got home…acted really tired, and G.J. didn’t really realize how fast I was. I even told him I had ran. He must have not been paying attention because he told me good job. Heaven knows that I do NOT run! But I couldn’t lie to him!

Saturday- G.J. had to help at his parent’s ranch, so I got a few things done around here. One of the things that I did that was very important this week was to get G.J. and I all registered to visit the 1 week Autism Treatment Center of America…clear in Massachusetts in August. I have SO many emotions about this….too much for this blog post, so maybe another time. But as of Saturday we are registered and paid and all that….so that is why it was a big deal!

My mom and dad offered to take us to the lake that afternoon. We got there…and apparently all of Vernal’s “finest” had decided to go too. There is nothing more sad than seeing parents drinking/smoking/gorging on food under a canopy while their poor little kids play in the dangerous water with hundreds of people without life jackets on, getting sunburned, drinking lake water, stealing our kids toys…K-enough said, I know you all get the picture. My kids had fun though. The only problem was that we forgot our camera in my parent’s truck….so we only got 2 pictures after we were done. Oh well, maybe next time!

When we got home, our neighbor’s the Nielson’s invited us over to roast marshmallows and other yummy treats. It was still super hot to be by a fire, but we all had a nice time. My kids loved playing in the dirt…so they had 2, or was it 3 baths yesterday? We are grateful to have good friends and neighbor’s right next door. I think we will have a lot of fun with that fire pit!

Sunday- Today was church- It was nice. I was busy getting sign ups for the ward cookbook project that I have been overseeing. After church I got a VERY nice nap. This makes like 5 weeks in a row that I have had a super good Sunday nap. It is just what I need to get me ready for this week. We are headed camping on Tuesday until next Saturday or Sunday. I am really excited to get away from home. G.J.’s parent’s borrowed us their trailer, so it will be so nice to have a spot of our own.

So…I noticed summer is officially over half way over. That makes me sad a little, but we have had a lot of fun…and there is still plenty of time to have more fun. Have a great week!

The week in a tiny little nutshell.

Boy...a lot has happened since the last post. So I will try to make it as short as possible.

Monday night G.J. left for the week for business stuff out of town. I had to take all 3 kids to Gavin's last T-Ball game. I didn't get to watch much, but I think it went well!



Tuesday started out pretty boring. Then G.J.'s mom decided to save me and let Hallie and Gavin come stay the night at the ranch. Kayler and I were able to get some quality time before my big "date" that night. My cute nephew Drew was also in town visiting. He is 21, and he is going to Fashion Design (or something like that) school in Vegas in a few weeks. I decided he needed to come help me go shopping to help me with my style, see what I look best in, etc. We had the BEST time....seriously. It was so fun. Thanks Drew!



Look at all the loot!


Wednesday started out as a pretty boring day as well, but then Karlee called and invited Candace and I to the booths on the courthouse lawn. I will admit I was SUPER worried about Kayler getting hot, ornery, screaming...you get the picture. I was very very happy that he was such a good boy, and had a great time with his boy pals. It is so cute because Kayler is 3, Tate (middle) is 2, and Jhett is almost 1. They have fun together!



That night Hallie had gymnastics and went to the rodeo parade with some friends. The boys and I just hung around here until Hallie got home. We then went to take a shaved ice to my Grandpa. It was my turn to feed him dinner, but he wasn't up to eating, so we took a shaved ice instead. It was a very hard night emotionally for me being there. We sat on the porch watching the kids play in the field, and I felt the most painful void without my grandma there. I never knew it was possible to feel true physical pain when missing someone. I don't think it had hit me until that moment that my sweet Grandma was gone forever....and that although I will see her again, the time until then is going to be hard. I just loved her so much. Besides my husband, I was closer to her than anyone. I feel like a large part of me is lost without her, but I need to pick up the pieces and re-group...she wouldn't want me to be miserable forever!

Anyways, that night G.J.'s sister called and asked if it was o.k. if she brought all my nieces and nephews out for a visit. She has 2 kids, and they are from Kaysville. She was bringing my other niece and nephew from West Jordan, and one more niece from Murray. They were going to stay at our house, so Thursday I was frantically trying to get beds, bathrooms, food, activities ready. They arrived just in time to see Kayler go to his Special Rodeo. It is for special needs kids, but they let the siblings participate. I am not the most "cowgirl" type, but I wanted my kids to look cute for their rodeo. G.J.'s mom had bought them some outfits awhile back and they had never got to wear them, so I got them all "cowboyed" up, and I was so happy to have my sister-in-law Lisa there to help. The other kids had a lot of fun too. I was also glad that G.J. made it home safely that night.








Friday we went to the Rec. Center, had a barbecue, and then everyone but me and Kayler went to the drive in.




I was so sad to see them go this morning. Sure it is chaos having so many people around, but they are seriously so nice and good. They are all older than my kids, so they helped out a ton. I get along with all my sister/brother-in laws too, especially Lisa.

I had to clean my mom's house this morning. She paid me to clean it before they come home from their trip to Africa/Seychelle Islands. They will be home Monday. G.J. played with the kids, and got a few things done around here. Now he is gone on a computer project out of town (long story....maybe I will blog about it later, grrrrr.) He BETTER be home by 6, because I really want to go to the temple. I feel that is the perfect way to end this week.

So, I think that this weekly blog thing might have to be the way to go for awhile...Things have gone from boring to beyond busy, and that is o.k.....for awhile at least. Hope all is well with whoever reads this!

The past week or so.

A lot of blog-worthy things have happened over the past week or so, but I haven’t been in the best of mood….so I have put it off. I refuse to get behind on my blog though, because it takes so long to catch up. It is my only form of journaling for our family too, so here goes!

First off, last Tuesday, I was able to have one more girl’s night with my friend Jill. We went to dinner, got a shaved ice, drove around, and just talked. I feel like she is one of the only people who TRULY knows how I feel. When she moved here a couple of years ago, I was automatically drawn to her wonderful personality. Little did I know at the time that she would be a source of guidance and love and help with Kayler’s Autism issues. Her sweet little Connor, who is 8 now-is autistic, and she is a WONDERFUL mother to not only him, but her other 2 cute kids as well. She is doing a wonderful program to help him with it, and she has really given me lots of info about it. I am really sad that they are moving clear across the country to Virginia this week. It will be good for them though. I know for a fact that she moved here for a lot of reasons, but one of the main ones was to help me. Thanks Jill!



The next night I went on another girl’s night to the movie with my sweet friend/neighbor Candace. We went to “My Sister’s Keeper” I felt so bad because I knew it was going to be sad, because I have read the book. Well poor Candace couldn’t stop crying…it definitely wasn’t an uplifting show. I guess I am ashamed to say that I didn’t shed one single tear. I am the type that holds it in….and then all the sudden I start crying and can’t stop. I truly appreciate the friendship I have with Candace. Not only does she share the same name as me, but we are alike in so many ways that it is almost scary. She is a clean/organized freak like me…has a lot of the same thoughts/preferences, and we just “get” each other if that makes sense. The main difference is that she is like 50 lbs skinnier and drop dead gorgeous…but other than that we are very similar.

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for G.J.’s Searle Family Reunion. It is at a place called “The Basin.” It is on Diamond Mountain…kind of by Calder/Matt Warner (like over the hill) It is a private family owned place. It is so beautiful. We saw an owl and deer on the drive in. We stayed in a tent….and WHAT an adventure. It rained buckets upon buckets. Everything we owned was soaked and dirty. We tried our best to have a good time though. Of course it is always fun with good food and G.J.’s fun family!








We came home Saturday night and tried to dry/wash everything out, took a shower, and headed to my cousin Stephanie’s for some fireworks. Hallie and Gavin had a blast, but poor Kayler was scared beyond belief. He just kept his little hands over his ears and cried. It was so sad. She lives pretty close to the big fireworks at the park, but we wanted to drive closer to let the kids see/hear them better. Kayler screamed bloody murder, but Hallie and Gavin thought they were so neat, so we were torn between letting the older kids enjoy themselves, or torturing poor Kayler.





Today was an emotional day. I just have a lot on my plate…a lot of thoughts in my mind….and I am not looking forward to this week. G.J. will be leaving for work on Monday evening, and won’t be back until Thursday evening. My parents are in Africa. I could go with G.J., but it is so stressful to be in the Salt Lake area alone with my kids most of the day at the hotel while he is training. We have nowhere to go really, and no money to go anywhere with….so I will just stay home.

I am however enjoying the nice hot weather. I have one more fun family reunion to look forward to the end of the month. There are a lot of other things to look forward to as well. Well, G.J. is ready for me to help him get the kids in bed, so that is it for this post. If anything blog-worthy happens this week I will hopefully keep up on it a little better! Have a great week!

Great Article...

This post is kind of long…so only take the time to read it if you have had “one of those days” or need some uplifting. The story is from this month's Ensign, and I truly needed it, and have thought about it all day since reading it last night.

Today…and lots of days I have felt so inadequate. I try my hardest to be a wife, mother, friend, sister, neighbor, granddaughter, cousin, niece, member of the church, etc.etc.etc. I often run faster than I have strength….end up hurting people, mostly my family,in the process, and still never feel fulfilled. I can have the cleanest house, my kids put together, errands ran, and everything in its place, and still feel like a failure at the end of the day. Why?…who knows. But I do know that Satan wants me to feel that way. This story helped put things into perspective a little more. I know that I will still have bad days, but I hope that I can try harder to realize that I really am doing an O.K. job!

Was I Living the Gospel Fully?
By Carolynn R. Spencer
Carolynn R. Spencer, “Was I Living the Gospel Fully?,” Ensign, July 2009, 71
My scripture study would have to wait. All three of our sons had awakened—and much earlier than usual. The youngest, Caden, then 18 months old, was screaming in his crib. I went into his room and saw instantly that he was sick.
Thus began a Monday of one challenge after another. At one point, shortly after I had changed Caden’s clothes and tried to feed him, he flung a large jar onto the floor, spilling applesauce everywhere and sending shattered glass across the kitchen. As I was cleaning up the mess, I thought about all the things I wasn’t getting done: family history, service, home storage, missionary work.
“How in the world can I do everything I know I should be doing when I am barely managing the basic tasks of my day?” I wondered. By early evening I was exhausted, but I set aside discouraging thoughts during dinner, family home evening, and the boys’ bath and bedtime routine.
Finally, with the children in bed, I sat down to do what I had not had time for earlier. I picked up the May 2006 Ensign, which was open to a talk by President Henry B. Eyring titled “As a Child.” My eyes fell on a passage I had previously marked: “To keep the blessing of [changed natures] in our hearts will require determination, effort, and faith. King Benjamin taught at least some of what that will require. He said that to retain a remission of our sins from day to day we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally” (Liahona and Ensign, May 2006, 17).
Immediately, I again felt that I wasn’t living the gospel fully. I wondered, “How can I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help people spiritually and temporally when I can scarcely take care of my own family?”
That’s when I experienced an overwhelming feeling of divine approval. It was so clear, precise, and tangible that I knew I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget. I could see my day replay in my mind—full of feeding the hungry, doing laundry to clothe the naked (I changed Caden’s outfit multiple times), gently caring for our sick baby, helping our five-year-old prepare a family home evening lesson on missionary work, and then discussing the power of example with my family—in other words, helping people spiritually and temporally.
The impression flowed with such an overpowering feeling of peace that I knew the Lord was telling me He had accepted my offering. In caring for my family, I was fulfilling the admonitions of King Benjamin and President Eyring.

Have a wonderful, fun, and safe 4th of July weekend!!! We are headed camping (like real camping in a tent this time) Wish us luck!!!