Family Reunion

Earlier this month I was able to fly out to Utah and see my family for a few days. Unfortunately I had to go by myself because five plane tickets was a little much, but I had a great time hanging out with my brothers and their families and my Mom and Dad. It was the first time we had all been together in over 9 years! I had not seen my brother Mark all that time and I had not met his wife of five years either. So it was awesome catching up and also forming new friendships. We had a big dinner one of the nights and took some family pictures which is always fun.

This is the whole group of us. It was a lot of people for my Mom's tiny house.
Here is my parents and brothers and I.

Ryker, Lexy, and Grayson being funny.

My oldest brother Todd and his wife Julie and their kids.

My "little" brother Kevin and his wife Livia.

Mark and his wife Mindy.

Darin, Anna and their kids Gabe and Addison.

I got to spend at least a few hours with each of my brothers separately also. Darin and Anna were nice enough to put me up the first night I was there even though my flight didn't get in until around midnight. We went to breakfast the next morning at a place called Kneaders and it was awesome. I am still craving the chunky french toast I had.

On Sunday I went to see Kevin and Livia at their new house. They bought an adorable little pink house and they have been renovating it. It was cool to see all the work that they had put into it. I have been keeping up with it on their blog but its not the same as seeing it in person.

(By the way Livia, I REALLY want your cookie recipe)

Here are Kev and Liv with their super cute dog maddie.

That same day I also had dinner with Todd and his fam. Julie made a delicious chicken recipe that I am also wanting, hint hint... Talking with Julie and Lexy I decided to see what all the fuss was about and started reading the Twilight series while I was there. Little did I know that once I started I would not be able to put it down and I had to read the other three books once I got home. (Jim was not very happy about that)
I spent some time with Mark and Mindy too since we were all staying at my Mom's. It was so great to finally meet Mindy, she is as nice as everyone said for the last five years, not that I was surprised. She and Mark make a good match, although I don't know how she does it with him gone for 18 months at a time. It just goes to show that it is not just the military personnel who have to sacrifice for our country but their families as well. I am very thankful for both of their sacrifices.

That's all for now, more to come...