Family Reunion '08!

Every year my side of the family has a reunion over the 4th of July holiday. It is usually the only time throughout the year that my entire family is together, so we cherish these few days together and make it a memory to last! Here's some of the things we did over the reunion!

Family photos! This was a "spur of the moment" thing that nobody planned on, so we decided to just do an immediate family picture. We will get a full family photo with all kiddos and in-laws when people are prepared for it! From top left to right: My brothers Thayne, Marshyl, Brytt, and my sis Bryndi. Bottom left to right: My sister Krysti, dad, mom, and me!
Can you believe my dad had been through 4 rounds of chemo treatment in this picture? It's pretty amazing to me how great he looks considering what he has been through! My brother Marshyl's family getting a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Cloward. My brother Brytt, his wife Jinger, and their two cute kids showing some "character" for the camera!
All of the grandkids LOVE their Uncle Carson! He is so good with them and loves to spend time teasing and tickling them. It makes me excited knowing that he will be such a great father for our kids. When I show up to family functions without my hubby, all the kids want to know where he is and why he's not there.... I've come to accept that he's the preferred visitor out of the two of us!
My nephew Ireland showing us the "strong man" pose. All you have to do is say "strong man" to Ireland and he will grunt and flex his muscles and say strong man in the most manly voice a 2 1/2 year old can do.

Boondoggle Time! (Is that how you spell it?) My sister Bryndi always comes up with fun, creative activities to keep the kids involved and entertained... as you can see it keeps the adults entertained as well! She taught us how to make boondoggle key chains and bracelets. It was a lot of fun and the kids wore them the entire reunion.

I thought this was adorable! Here's my sis-in-law Jinger with her two kids on each side, plus a third one on the way due in October! You can't even tell she's pregnant!


My nephew and niece, Ireland and Kensi playing in the weeds.



Music is a family tradition for us. My parents made sure music lessons were an important part of our "growing up" years, and as a result, everybody in my family can hold a part singing and play the piano, so when we get together, we love to make some harmony! It's been fun as in-laws have married in because they all have musical talents as well, so they make this tradition even better! We like to sing 4-part A Capella hymns or ad-lib harmony on songs around the piano, or do some composition jams. My brother Marshyl will always ask me to come sit with him at the piano and make up some music! He will start with a cool LH theme, and then I ad-lib on top or vice versa. I always look forward to composing with him at the piano, even if it's made up on the spot and doesn't always sound great.... we eventually pull through to a new key and idea that works pretty good! We spent some time on our reunion Sunday singing hymns as a family and singing around the piano.

Have you ever heard of 5 Crowns? It's a lot like Phase 10, but faster paced and even more fun! My dad was introduced to this game and loved it so much that he bought each of us our own set for Christmas! If you don't really enjoy games, this one is sure to win you over!



My beautiful niece Taylor and I made "surprise" cookies... what's the surprise? Well as you can see there's a marshmallow squished and re-baked on each cookie... you cover it up with chocolate frosting, and that's the surprise! You don't even know the marshmallow's there until you bite into it! I loved spending time with Tay and her mother, my sis Krysti and miss them so much already! Because they live in the east, we can only see them 1-2 times a year, but it sure completes the family fun when they are around!

Beautiful double rainbow right from the porch at the cabin. If you look in the corner, you can see the second rainbow behind it.

BLONDE BABES! I love this picture! My sis-in-law Jinger reading a story to some of my cute nieces.

Time for fireworks! I really was more excited than this picture shows, my sister snapped this without warning, which is why I look a little "loopy."

I was so excited to see the sparkler pictures turn out! Here's some of the designs people made!

My brother Brytt feeling the burn by the spark that hit his forehead.
I love the cabin grounds! There are so many animal footprints and little surprises like this nest full of baby robins! I took my niece Taylor and we got as close as we could without the mother robin attacking us.

A fun new way to do smores. Instead of buying hershey bars and graham crackers separately, my mom and dad started buying the fudge graham cookies already coated with chocolate! That way all you need is a marshmallow and your set! This is cheaper and a fun new twist to the orginal smore recipe! As you can see, my niece Kensi is loving it!

My cute hubby is allergic to shell fish, and my sister made a HUGE crab macaroni salad and forgot to save some out before she added the crab! So as you can see, he resorted to nachos as a second choice. The green bowl is the culprit of the HUGE crab macaroni salad, just sitting there to tempt Carson. I feel so bad for him! My nephew Nicholas roasting marshmallows around the campfire.My beautiful sis Bryndi holding the newest addition to the family, Garrett!
Roasting hot dogs around the campfire. Yes that is my parent's cabin in the background, so no we did not rough it in the woods. We were spoiled and had air conditioning and in door plumbing for this reunion. But at least we have this little campfire to feel like we did some roughin' it!

Every year we like to take a ALL-DAY 50 miler 4-wheeling trip. Carson and I both look forward to this tradition and enjoy the trails. Thanks to mom and dad for providing the machines and keeping them licensed and gased up to make this happen!

Jinger and cute Brynlee waving goodbye to the 4-wheeling crew.
This is proof that 4 wheeling is an activity that makes you VERY dirty and VERY unattractive. You will finish with stringy hair, dirt-filled nostrils and ears, a nice farmer tan or sunburn depending on your skin type, and grit in your mouth.

Carson all dirted up from the 4-wheeling trip... I'm not sure if he is trying to give me the "bird" on purpose for taking his picture, or if it just happened that way....?
My niece Taylor relaxing on the 4-wheeler from the bumpy ride.
My niece Afton and the beautiful backdrop. I love the Scofield mountains. They are so beautiful! I wish I could transport this into our section of Wyoming!

Taking a break form the 50 miler to enjoy lunch. We parked two 4-wheelers together to do a make-shift table for the sandwich spread! It worked pretty well and the lunch was really good...

My dad got all the workings... ham, pepperoni, turkey, roast beef, pickles, red onion, lettuce, tomatoes, condiments, you name it! It was like eating Subway in the mountains! I never knew red onions were so good on cold cut sandwiches!Nephews Nicolas and Luke enjoying the shade as we stop for lunch. The last patch of snow on top of the mountains. We rode across this rim on our 4 wheeler adventure. Beautiful wild flowers dotted the roads and meadows everywhere on our 4 wheeler journey!

Here's the 4 wheeling gang stopped on the side of the road to let everybody catch up for the next big event.... Seeing the "sheperds potty!" Yes that really is a toilet seat carved out of wood nailed between two trees. You can't see it from the road, so we had to do a little off-roading with the 4 wheelers to get there, but it's a pretty cool sight! My dad found this one day hiking and thought it was a hoot! Someone really did build a mother nature toilet! I was tempted to use it, but decided splinters and bugs don't sound too fun in that region of the body...
The nephews and nieces wave hi after seeing the shepherd's potty.

Ireland all geared up to go! I love that they make helmets small enough for toddlers!
Sitting on the 4-wheeler ready to go. Even though Ireland is only 2, he loved the 50 miler trip and wanted to keep going when we got back to the cabin!
Ireland and his dad (my brother Brytt) getting ready to go.
All of the adults teamed up with one of the kiddos for the 50 miler trip. Uncle Carson took our fearless nephew Luke, who got to drive most of the time.
The trip included riding through a river. Lift your feet up high!

Spraying down the 4-wheelers and gasing them up after the trip. The cold water felt nice!

Every year we go down to the "Scofield Days" Parade on the 4th of July weekend and check out the floats and the booths. This year we ran into some good friends of ours! This is Bill, his wife Becca, and their little girl Sage. (Can you believe she is only 18 months?!) Bill and Carson have been friends since they were young. They grew up in the same town and played high school sports together, and Becca and I became friends when Bill and her were dating. We get together with them whenever they come up to Utah and enjoy spending time with them!

This is our awesome friends Jeff and Keri, and their little girl Gracie. Carson and Jeff have been friends since they were tiny kiddos running around and Keri and I met when they were dating. We have been great friends ever since and love to hang out with them. They actually moved to Wyoming before we did, so it was nice to move into a town where we already had permanent friends! We like to get together as often as possible and BBQ, play games, and laugh A LOT!

Here's my sister Bryndi, my brother Marshyl, his wife Jen, and their kiddos along with my other neice Taylor hangin' out at the booths!