Terrible no good day

We got a phone call from our neighbors while we were at city of rocks that they had caught red handed two 9 yr old boys spray painting our house, kayak, and pumpkins. I was so upset. Not angry, but sick in my belly like I was going to puke. I felt terrible for their parents and also that Our house was ruined. The boys who did it scrubbed off what they could and my awesome painter uncle saved our brick with some product from his work. Now their parents are going to get the garage doors repainted for us. Hopefully soon. It was very sad and I hope they learned a lesson.

City of Rocks with Facer fam

This year for our annual weekend away we went to Idaho and stayed in an old refurbished school house in Albion Utah. It was a really cool place with tons of beds for all the kids and a fun game room with 2 ping pong tables and chess games. The kids played chess for hours. Gonzi always won but they kept trying to challenge him. We spent Saturday at City of Rocks where there is tons of bouldering to do and some really steep climbs up mountains where we saw a pool on the top. It was more like a moss pit, but called a pool. Braxton was being a bit too daring and adventurous for the likes of his parents but no one got hurt and we had a wonderful weekend away.

Had to snap a shot of dad using the health Ryder. 

Gonzi, Tara, James, and Nash up front being tuff guy.

Family picture in front of a wall where pioneers wrote with axel grease when they passed through. I sure love all of those boys. They are all getting so big, and adventurous.

Cameron, Shane, Gonzi, Nash, Denim, and Dakota. 

On the top of the big climb at the pool. We even had to use a ladder put in to the rocks to get up. It was pretty steep.

View when I was on the top and these two were heading down.

The whole family. Troy and Hailey got married on July 3rd so we can officially say we are a whole family. So excited to have them join us. 19 with Gonzi, getting pretty big.

 We went for a walk around the small town and I had to snap a shot of how cool all these boys think Shane is. They idolize him. He is a great dad and uncle. We stopped at the nearby park and everyone played. The adults even tried the monkey bars. Man it is harder than it looks and I was sore the next day. Kids make it look so easy. We love our family and are very thankful for the memories we make together. It is the glue that holds a family together, being together. 

Gonzi is back

Gonzalo, our son from Spain, is back to stay the month of August. He has grown a lot taller and his English is excellent, but he is overall the same sweet obedient kid he was two years ago. In fact, Shane keeps pointing out to our boys how when I speak Gonzi gets right up and says ok!  He is a great kid and we like having him around. The first couple of days that these pics are of were just settling in, playing together. Jumping on the tramp in the pouring rain, playing monopoly, kicking the soccer ball around (finally outside--I almost lost a fireplace from the kicking in the house), going to see the animals at the fair, and his first meal he cooked for us. The dinner was delicious.  It was called "arroz a la Cubana'. Rice, tomato soup, with fried eggs on top. Shane added the fried bananas on the side because that is what the recipe online said it went with, however Gonzi said he does not do that at home. Gonzi has really enjoyed cooking for us this time and has been eating more variety of foods, I can tell he is growing up. He is quite political and told us he is not sure what he thinks about hunting. It was a pretty funny conversation seeing as we have 3 dead animals hanging on our walls. He loves history and likes having conversation about Presidents and Kings. He is also a lot more interested in religion than last time, asking more questions about why we do things the way we do.  It is a good growing opportunity for all of us.

Pilgrim family reunion 2015

The wet banana slip and slide is always one of the highlights of the Pilgrim Family Reunion. This year we played a lot of volleyball which proved to be quite entertaining.  We also headed to the lake. One of my favorite parts of the day was when my cousin Wendi had everyone play a game called I remember when...then you fill it in with a reunion memory and everyone who remembers it trades seats.  The person without a seat then does their memory. It was a blast. We heard insights into the minds of the young and old as to their favorite parts of the fun.  Dakota said "if you remember that we have chicken EVERY YEAR"(as if he was complaining). Silly boy.  All three of my boys also learned how to tie a quilt and they really liked doing it. 

Friend camp out 2015

This year we headed up to Jessica's uncles property near Bear Lake. Having friends to spend time with and especially camp with is one of the highlights of our summer. We just have the best time. We spent one full day at the lake kayaking, swimming, paddle boarding and playing volleyball in the water. It was a blast. The next day we spent at camp 4-wheeling, fishing, ziplining and playing games. I didn't get photos on the zip line, but all of us loved it. I even tried it out. Scary, but way fun. We figured there were 48 people and 30 were kids. Man we are way outnumbered these days. Braxton is the oldest at 12, so it is loads of crazy.

Zoo

I believe it has been 6 years since we went to the zoo and it was way too long in between. Everything was different. It was really fun. The cages are so much more open and the animals seem to be able to roam if they want to. Cam had never been or so he said. He loved all of it but especially the huge tortoises.  400 pounds. We went on the carrousel and the train too.  We went with Kathy, Wendi and Xavien. Also mom,Tara, Kiley, Carrera, and James.