Family Fun Day 1

This week all of the members of J. Crew were in town. We had a great time together and kept very busy. We started the week out right with Ethan's blessing.

I Fooled No One!

These are my cousins, Jeremy and Edward. (I never thought we looked that much a like, but I didn't fool anyone! Beth thinks the height difference between her and Ed isn't fair.)


These are my cousins' wives Jacqueline and Julie, who happen to be cousins too!


Last Sunday, my aunt, uncle, two cousins, and their family from the Great White North came to my ward and then over to my house for dinner. How did I get so lucky you ask? Well, they were in town for a family reunion on the other side of the family. Like they say in real estate, it's all about your location. I happened to have the right one :)

It was so much fun to be around everyone again. It has been quite awhile since we have been able to get together. I hadn't seen my cousins for 6 years! Amazing no one looked like they had aged at all (wink, wink!)

Here is Erica, Mickey, and Kennedy enjoying a good joke.


Miranda had just woke up from a nap and gave me the sweetest smile. Warning, if you come to my house we have so much fun we wear you out.

Here is my Uncle Bob and my mom. You can tell they come from the same gene pool!

Here is a picture of the whole group. Think we are missing 5 more cousins/siblings and all of their kids. Who knew a family could grow so big when you only start with 2 kids.

PS My aunt who I wrote about being sick in China is healthy and back here. (Thank goodness!) She is holding Ethan, who is wrapped in the red blanket.

A Question for Charles Darwin

So, a question for my blog readers. This will make you think about the gene pool. FYI, the boys are genetically related to each other and so are the girls, but who is genetically related to me...

Are these my cousins?


Or are these my cousins?


My sister, Beth, is in both pictures. I am definitely related to her :)
I can't wait to hear what you think!

Mount Saint Helen's

So, what is a girl to think when her husband says he is going to climb an active volcano?!



I am still not sure what I think of it, but on Friday JR did it. JR and his Young Men climbed
Mt St Helen's. He says that words fail to describe the experience, but all you can say about it is that it is awesome. He climbed for fours hours through forest, lava rocks, then ash. He said the view was amazing! He could see four other mountains. Here is a picture he took looking over the crater towards Spirit Lake with Mt Rainer in the background.
What could top that?

Happy Birthday Across the Sea

Our friends, the Harveys, have been blessed with a new addition to their family. A little girl named Micali. They went over to the Marshall Islands to bring her home. Unfortunately, there have been some hold ups on her visa. Micali wasn't able to be here for her First birthday.
That didn't stop the Harveys from celebrating with their friends. They asked all of us to head to 7-Eleven and have slurpees in honor of Micali being born on 7/11 (July 11, just in case you needed it clarified), and send them a picture.

So, here is Team Z at 7-Eleven. Yummy slurpees!


Here we are sending our birthday wishes to a little girl across the sea.


Micali, we are so happy that you are now a Harvey. The Harveys are a terrific family. We wish you many more Happy Birthdays together.

In her own words...

This is an entry written by my sister, who had her fifth child a month ago.

Friday we went to my sister Karen's for the day. It had been a long week and I really needed to get out of the house. You know, no sleep + kids home all the time+ kids making lots of messes and only helping when I yelled = a grouchy overwhelmed mom that feels like a complete failure that her kids don't obey or work without being compelled.We had lunch, the kids played in the sprinkler, made Popsicles, ate homemade cookies, Karen and I lounged on the couch and talked, and Karen even made carmel popcorn, YUM! Karen gave Ethan 3 adorable outfits and her mother-in-law had made Ethan a cute blanket and matching burp cloth. So thoughtful. We were sad to go, but I left feeling a lot better and realized I can make it.

I am glad sitting on my couch helped her feel like she could tackle being the mother of five. Love ya Beth!

Big Bang Fourth of July

So,what did you do for the Fourth of July you might ask. Well, JR's brother and kid came for a visit. We did lots of fun things like go to Cannon Beach for two days (see Spring Break for beach pictures) We had a big fire and roasted hot dogs and s'mores while at the beach. During their visit we also went out to a yummy frozen custard place, rode bikes, and just enjoyed being together. BUT we have to face the facts for why Matt really came...

FIREWORKS!!!!


The day they arrived Matt and Zach came and ate lunch at our house but then set off with JR for a couple hours of firework shopping. The next morning, they did several more hours of fireworks shopping. Yea, for our state allowing many types of fireworks. We had days of great firework shows, even during the daylight hours when the boys just couldn't wait any longer!

Well, the actual Fourth involved more then just fireworks. We started the day still at the beach. So,we walked and play on the beach before heading home after lunch. Then, the girls played in the sprinkler. (The boys were lighting off fireworks, of course!)

Then we headed to the neighborhood barbecue.

The all American picnic.

They had a HUGE game of Twister!

There was Guitar Hero on a movie screen.

Then the show began.

The kids loved it. Eventually, we had so many people the road was blocked. There were at least five rows of lawn chairs in the road, and our lawn had several blankets covering it. We had star necklaces, glow bracelets, firework snacks, and patriotic music to accompany the show.

The show was AWESOME! It lasted for 2 1/2 hours! The fireworks flew high, sparkled, shimmered and banged! Matt even said the night exceeded his expectations. That's all I wanted to hear.

BUT after all that fun, here is a sample of how all of us felt. EXHAUSTED!

(Uncle Matt, please,please come again next year!!!)

We hope you all had a great Fourth. We feel so blessed to live in this great land where we have so many freedoms. God has truly had a hand in creating this nation. GOD BLESS THE USA!