Family Reunion

Hello from Fremont. We are enjoying a beautiful August back home at last. We recently came back from Utah and 2 1/2 weeks of family fun. We all flew to SLC for the 24th of July weekend with my family. We had the 1st annual Hartley Family Reunion. It was the first time all of my siblings have been in the country at the same time for 9 years. We had a great time! On day 1 we went to Farmington and spent the day in the canyon with water balloon and squirt guns. We had lunch and played in the freezing cold creek that ran next to our picnic area. The water fight lasted until we were all sufficiently soaked (even the babies didn't get any mercy!) The afternoon and evening was spent at my brother Brad's house. We did a fun family history talk with my parents and learned a bit about my grandparents on each side of the family. In total there are 11 grandkids in the family with more on the way. It was really fun to watch Parker with his cousin Ethan (1 month older) as they were rolling on the floor. Parker didn't want to be left out of the fun so he learned how to roll right over and quickly started rolling across the room. On day 2 we were in Orem for some early morning family photos and crafts then off to the Scera pool for some fun in the very hot weather. It has a huge shallow area and some water slides. The kids had a great time! After the pool we went back to Mom and Dad's house for a BBQ and some fireworks. Brad took charge of the festivities and the kids loved kicking over the fountains when they finished. On day 3 we were in SLC at Liberty Park for a picnic and family meeting. The kids made some great little rain sticks and painted the outsides. In the late afternoon we went back up to Brad's house for pizza and games. We played the names game while all the kids ran a little nuts. We were all pretty spent after that, but had a great time being together.
After the reunion, Darryl flew home to go back to work in Sacramento, while the boys and I stayed for some swimming lessons with Nana. Each morning Tanner got up and got his suit on then went swimming with a few other kids from the neighborhood and his Savage cousins. It was great for him to wait his turn and watch the other kids progress. He has a strong will, so it took some work but he is now a lot safer in the water.
I was also really excited to see the birth of my new nephew. He was born so healthy and strong, and I was shocked and impressed that Cheryl could come for swimming lessons the very next week. Tanner loved every minute with them in the pool. He especially appreciated the extra granola bars from aunt Cheryl after each lesson.
We pretty much spent every day in the back yard pool. Friends that I haven't seen in a long time came over with their kids and swam. We had BBQ's and played games. It was a lot of fun to catch up and see how much our families have all grown.
We flew home about a week ago to find an overgrown garden with giant veges. We are blessed to have so much, but some of our zucchini are bigger than Parker! We have been enjoying the fresh garden goodness each day since we've been home.
Darryl is still hard at work, but as you can see...he still finds time for some fun in the skies! He has also done a little golfing and taken in some movies on his evening off while he is travelling. I found a few minutes to go garage sale treasure hunting and Tanner and Parker are just fun all the time.
Life is good and we love SUMMER!