Photo Scavenger Hunt

Uncle Tom and Aunt Larena planned a scavenger hunt for the families. There were rules. We could only use one camera. We worked as a family. We could stay near the cabin or adventure out. We were given a list and 5 minutes to get a game plan. Then we were off. Kevin stayed behind with two sleeping kids: Kambry and Lucas. Off we went. Here are the pictures of the some of the items on the list.

Six people on one rock (check out Zachary's pose-wanna be model? Just kidding!):

An animal in a tree:

Six people standing on a tree stump:

A star:

A mushroom:

A rock that looks like an animal (I think the consensus was that it looked like a camel...or was that a dinosaur. I will let you be the judge.)

A funny face: (Thanks Cory!!! The flower in the hair is really what set it off. The picture had to be memorialized.)

Bigfoot: (Had to get Brian involved.)

Six people in the front seat of a vehicle (only 2 could be little kids. That's why we immediately went to one of the trucks. Now way could we have fit 6 in the front of my car.)

Three people hugging a tree (aren't the three brothers so cute doing this):

An adult in water (Janine volunteered for this. I believe that she needed to wash her feet. Perhaps a shower would work from time to time. Just kiddin' Neeners!!)

Something Red:

A sign with a moose on it (we took it literally. Joni wrote out this sign and we put it on a tree.)

We had a blast. Our family was the only one that went out in a car to see what we could find. We had a great time just touring around in the back of Kevin and Tenille's truck. Tenille drove and had about 15 backseat drivers. It was so much fun!! Here is the group gather to watch the slide show from each family as to how they gathered the pictures.

That was a great activity. Thanks Uncle Tom and Aunt Larena!!!

Time to Catch-up

OK, so I have been camera-less for bit of time and extremely busy. WARNING: There are a lot of things to catch up on as my sisters continue to tell me. They have been requesting, quite incessantly, that I update my blog. So, Janine and Joni...I hope you are happy now!!!

First Section: Matthews' Family Reunion - Uncle Tom's cabin is so wonderful and it is fun for me every year to see the currently updates. This year, there were some wonderful new lights in the eating area. They fit the feel of the cabin so well! The setting of the cabin is beautiful. I could spend a lot of time up there just reading out on the front porch in the log rocker. It is so peaceful up there. Perhaps sometime I'll have to see if I can arrange something with Uncle Tom. A week up there would do more to recharge my batteries than anything else. What is it about being up in the mountains? So peaceful. So serene. So wonderful!!

This year was a little different. It was supposed to be Susan's year but with Chris's wedding a week later and Amanda due, Susan knew her stress limits and opted out this year. Because of this, each of the remaining 3 families just picked up a meal and an activity. Here are some random pictures from our fun time up there.

As my contribution each year, I make cookies. There was an abundance of cookies this year so for the most part mine were left uneaten. Janine, however, found that I had made the Andes mint cookies. She grabbed one and ate it all, including licking her fingers free of the chocolate.

Lucas was hungry so Jason fed him. Janine wanted pictorial proof of this happening so I took a couple of pictures. Lucas's hands were going crazy. He loves the rice cereal.

Lincoln found the snickerdoodles. He sat there eating while dancing in his seat. It was so cute. He bounced back and forth, huge smile, savoring every bite.

There were a couple of scrapbooks that Grandma had that we all looked through. The next three pictures were little things she saved in these books.

This one we found to be so funny. My grandpa got a Certificate of Award for neither being tardy nor absent for the month of October. If he got it for one month, how was he the rest of the months. Kind of makes you go hmmmm... We all giggled over it.

This is Spencer after eating his brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce. See it all around his mouth?

Lincoln loved his as well:

Look and Janine's "Lil Blue Eyes". His eyes are so blue. I hope they stay this blue when he is older. He will melt some girl's heart.

OK, let me explain the next photo. Janine was holding Lincoln and rocking back and forth with him. Eventually she ended up laying down between the benches. Lincoln moved up onto her belly and was pretending he was a cowboy. Then he said, "Oh, I don't have my hat. Oh...here's my hat!" Then he put that foam bat on the top of his head. It was so funny that he came up with "his hat."

Lincoln has the funniest expressions. He can go from this...

To this...This is his "Who broke my window?" face. His angry face...Isn't it funny? 

So Friday morning, after getting Lincoln ready, he came out to where I was talking with Janine and Jason. He sat down on the mattress, pulled his hat all the way down to his nose, and then laid back like he was out of it. However, ever so slightly, we saw a smile.

Larena planned a pinata for the kids. Every kid got a chance to have a few swings at the pinata. I think Uncle Tom was enjoying pulling the pinata up or letting it drop and watching the kids marvel at missing it.

Check out Lincoln's tongue. Reminds me of Kevin who as a child seemed to have his tongue out no matter what he was doing.

Here was the final haul of candy...minus one that had somehow already made it into Lincoln's mouth.

Saturday morning Lincoln and Spencer came down earlier than most. Lincoln and Spencer stayed under their blankets for awhile. Once they woke up a bit, I wrapped Lincoln up in his blanket. I told him I was making him into a "Lincoln canolli". Of course when he said what he was, he said "nanoli."

Before Jason left Saturday morning we grabbed a few family pictures.

Look how cute these three boys are. No wonder they melt my heart and make me smile!

This is a great picture of Janine and Jason.

I got a lot of cuddle time with Lucas during the reunion...at my request of course. Look how limp he is. He was so close to falling asleep. Too many distractions.

Kevin, Tenille, and Kambry came up later Friday night. Look at this ADORABLE picture of Mommy and Daughter. It is so much fun to watch Kevin and Tenille with Kambry. It is as I always imagined. I would love to see them with more kids. I guess time will tell.

Kev loves his time with Kambry. He is such an awesome father...just as I knew he always would be.

Janine brought up things to make candy necklaces. The kids (of all ages) had a great time.

Here are the end results.

In addition, Mom brought up wood crafts for everyone to paint. It actually took two painting sessions. Here's Tena and Zachary working on a couple. Bri, Tena, Cory, and Zachary came up late Friday night. It was so good to have them there. They took off shortly after her crafts were done. She had a bridal shower in Evanston that they were all going to head over for and then overnight there. It's always fun to see the boys. They are growing so fast and are such great YM. They're a lot of fun!

Here's our family photo. We decided to take it on the front porch. Great place to take it however no way of getting level with the group. But, it's kind of fun to see both the cabin and the reflection of trees in the windows. It really is such a serene place.

After the family picture, I snapped this one of Janine and her boys. Unfortunately, it was the only one I could get. Little Lincoln wasn't in much of a picture taking mood by this point.

 Not exactly sure why this picture is side-ways. It's not saved out on my computer that way but for some reason when I uploaded it for the blog it flipped it. Sorry Kevin and Tenille. Look at Tenille looking at Kambry. Aren't they so cute?

By the time Kevin and Tenille left, Kambry was done. She was out. Look at the hand on the forehead. It looks like she is saying, "Oh this reunion wore me out!!!" Joni loved that she was holding her when she fell asleep. She really misses out on niece and nephew time being in St. George. I think this is one of the only pictures I have of Joni. She tends to dodge out of them. Good thing Kambry was asleep so I could get it. Don't they both look cute?

The reunion was fun! It was great seeing the family and catching up. I have a lot more pictures and will post some of them in the future but for now, there it is.

A Week Never to be Forgotten

It all started on Monday. I met Kevin and Tenille at the courthouse. It was time to finally finalize this adoption! It was an exciting and, at moments, stressful day! Kambry was so cute. We first were in the courthouse. I snapped a few shots. Unfortunately, once in the judge's chamber, I used Kevin and Tenille's camera. The judge was very kind. It was a wonderful moment when he declared this adoption done and the file closed. The joy on the faces of Kevin and Tenille was priceless!!!

Friday we were again gathered together. This time in the temple. My boss performed their sealing. As they were made a forever family, Kambry stared right into Kevin's eyes. It was wonderful. Kevin was accused of hogging all the attention to which Tenille said, "He always does that." It was funny. Afterwards, we went outside and took pictures. It was a beautiful Spring day!! Here are a few of the pictures. Look at the proud parents and grandparents:

 Quick Bowler family photo (minus a couple of cute boys who were off having fun with someone):

Spencer had a pretty flower when we came out. I wonder...did he find it on the ground or pick it off the plant. I guess we will never know.

 After I took the picture of Janine, Jason, and Lucas, here is where I found Spencer and Lincoln. Brian was having fun tickling Lincoln's neck with his goatee...

 Kevin and Joey have been friends since they were old enough to know what friends are. Behind Joey and Colony is Justin and Tiffany, another one of Kev's friends. Chad and Jenny were also there. Kevin and Tenille had a lot of friends and family there for their special day!!

These are a few pictures I snapped while the photographer was setting up her shots. I think they turned out pretty good. Please ignore if they are a bit blurry. As Kevin often points out, my camera is REALLY old and has since died on me. I guess it's time to get a new camera and one with definite sure shot so that my shaking, which is getting much worse, won't cause the pictures to mess up. Regardless, I think these next few pictures turned out great.

 Aren't they just so cute??

Look at this one. I snapped it on our way back into the temple. Like I said, it was a beautiful day!!

After they were in street clothes, we went up on the COB Plaza and took a few. I like this one a lot. I love the looks on their faces as they look at each other. Do you think they are a little bit happy???

Thought I'd include a few outtakes:

Joni took a lot of amazing pictures on Temple Square while she had my camera. Eventually I will post them. But for now, I'll show you her favorite spot. I snapped this shot right as we were going in to the entrance for parking. I thought I would post it for her.