We're Baaaaaaack!

We're back from our great big vacation to Colorado and New Mexico. Though I have vowed to never make that 17 hour drive ever again...well, at least not until amnesia takes over and I forget how long and awful it is with a little man going into his terrible two stage, it was so nice to go back home and see all of the family! Rachel was there with McKayla while Mike is getting things settled in Michigan. I just looooove that baby girl! She is just the cutest little baby! I couldn't get enough of her! And there's nothing like seeing Mom and Dad for the first time when I haven't seen them in such a long time! Dorothy was right, there's no place like home!!!

On Friday we drove up to the mountains and had a picnic with Michael's family. It was a beautiful day and the air was crisp and cool and it smelled like mountains. (Go figure)





Whitney had fun wandering the trails and picking wild flowers...and weeds.













While Michael had fun wandering around with Aaron throwing rocks and trying to keep Aaron from "playing" in the river!






First, we did Michael's Brimhall reunion. We went to the Sand Dunes on the first day of the reunion...which I kind of sort of forgot about the camera there. It was neat to meet all the relatives that I hadn't met yet, and hear all of the amazing family history. There is a building at BYU named after one of Michael's ancestors! Cool, huh! I also got to meet Sean's girlfriend, Lauren, which was really fun. Hopefully someday soon she'll be a permanent addition to the family!

Then we spent the next few days playing around.



Michael took the kids for rides on the 4 wheelers.
Whitney wanted to drive, of course...until it got too fast.









Aaron thought that was about the coolest thing ever! (Until Daddy somehow finds a way to give him a ride in a fire truck...then that will be the coolest thing ever)





Then Grandma Lola babysat while Michael and I did some shooting which we used to do a lot when we were dating.We would shoot stuffed animals, rotten fruits and vegetables, cans, pop bottles....computers....whatever we could find that would be fun! It was just like the good old days. He's such a handsome devil...I love that crazy man...even when he tries to give me dirty looks!


Then it was off to Albuquerque for my family's Chatwin reunion. Our family is getting soooo big! I couldn't believe all the cute little kids running around. Whitney made lots of new little friends. It was great to see Grandma Nora again, she is such a sweet and beautiful person! I won her huuuuge box of recipes at the family auction! (Much better than my little brother's tarantula that he won.....ugh!) Oh! And my brother Matt made a surprise trip from Provo to come to the reunion! I totally freaked out when I saw him because we all thought he couldn't get off work to be there. I didn't think I'd get to see him for another 2 1/2 years when he comes home from his mission! It was a great day. We were supposed to stay in a camper at my Aunt and Uncle's house, but Whitney was starting to wheeze after only being there for 15 minutes, so we thought that might be a bad idea. We ended up staying in a hotel about 10 minutes away. On the 4th of July we went to the Los Lunas parade and then to the Aquarium and Zoo. (Where I discovered that I had broken our new camera's LCD screen with a battery...seriously!) Thankfully, my sister and cousin took some pictures for us!




Whitney liked the shark tank and these really cool jellyfish that were lit up by a black light. I tried to get a picture of that but it didn't turn out too well.










And here's us on the train at the zoo. Whitney was in the back with Uncle Brett...we didn't kick her out of the picture on purpose.




That night the Texas Chatwins did a yummy Texan style barb-q and there was birthday cake and fireworks while Aunt Carolyn played guitar for a while. It was a wonderful birthday! We had to leave the next day. Michael went paint-balling with the guys early that morning and we left shortly after he got back. It was really hard to say goodbye to the family. Who knows when we'll all be together again? Rachel, Mike and McKayla are off to Michigan, Matt is off to Rome....it's so strange that we're all growing up and going our own ways.

It was a nice trip! Lots of wonderful times and memories. And now, I leave you with our almost really great family picture.....

No captions needed.