The Coggle Family Reunion - Kodachrome Basin State Park

Our family left our efforts to get settled in Las Vegas to head for Southern Utah and the Coggle Family Reunion this past weekend. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed an opportunity to camp and to do so with their cousins and other family members. They love staying in Nana and Papas trailer and they loved playing with their "friends". So much so that when it was time to say good-bye, Will reached out to Kyle as Eric took him in his arms to carry him away and started crying. It was so sad to watch.

Friday afternoon, a big bunch of us hiked through Round Valley Draw which is a very remote slot canyon off of the Cottonwood Wash road. It took some effort getting in and out of the slot but was well with our efforts. Slot canyons are incredible and are my favorite type of hike. To be immersed in a narrow crack in the earth's surface is so awesome and mysterious. Not to mention, its the only cool way to escape the heat on a summer sunny day in Southern Utah!

Saturday we did an easy and short little slot canyon called Willis Creek Narrows. We ended having an even bigger bunch of us going down this little slot. I hadn't explored this one before so I didn't know what to expect but it was easy going and a lot of fun. That afternoon, some of us escaped the heat by driving to Tropic and getting an ice cream cone.

Some of the family experienced a stomach bug before and during the reunion so we were lucky enough (not) to bring that home with us for the week. Will and Reagan were throwing up on Monday and Taylor was on Wednesday. I'm crossing my fingers that Eric and I don't get it this evil bug! I suppose it was all worth it though. Being able to see a lot of my family and also being able to do some camping (we hadn't been out this year yet).

We took the long way home down Skumptah Road which is dirt most of the way. We also made our way through Zion National Park where we stopped to have lunch. The drive home was actually very relaxing because the kids slept the first half and contently watched a movie the second half. We had a great weekend. This weekend we will be home and will hopefully get some projects down and continue to work on getting settled and organized into our new home.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Today is Reagan's birthday! It really is amazing how fast they grow up during that first year. She has been an easy third child in that she is usually content and happy just to play and do her own thing. It helps that she has Will and Taylor to play with too. She loves the kitty, books, and playing with toys. She loves cuddling while sucking her thumb and Mommy loves being the recipient of those cuddles.

The first year is always a significant one in our family and we've always celebrated with a big party with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandmas and grandpas. This year that won't exactly be the case but we are going camping this weekend at the Coggle Family Reunion so I plan to bring a bunch of cupcakes and do a little celebrating then.

I love all my children and as they grow, I am reminded of what a great blessing they are to me. At 29, and not married, I often wondered if I would have children in this life time. It of course comes with its everyday trials but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank my Father in Heaven for 3 wonderful little blessings that keep me hopping. Reagan came into this world a cute little chunk and continues to be my cute little chunk. Here are some pictures of Reagan this past year:

A Week in Review

This past weekend has been so nice because we've actually had some rain in this desert we live in. The temperatures have dropped a little below 100 degrees as well. It definitely has added some relief. We also got our electric bill and though it isn't small, it is a lot smaller than people were telling us it would be so I'm feeling a sense of relief as far as that goes to.

Reagan is turning one year old this week so when her formula ran out a couple of days ago, we went ahead and took her off the bottle. She hasn't complained much though she isn't doing really well to drink whole milk either. She likes her sippy cup and will down a cup of apple juice with no problem, but isn't really going for the milk. I did see if she liked chocolate milk and she did so I've been mixing her whole milk with just a little chocolate milk and she is starting to drink more milk this way. I'll try sneaking the chocolate milk back out gradually until she is doing the whole milk 100 percent.

Will decided by himself last Wednesday that he wanted to use the potty and he did! He was naked at the time so I decided to let him be naked the rest of the day since we weren't going anywhere anyway and he continued using the potty the rest of the day. He has since had days that had their accidents but is definitely on his way to being potty trained. I was going to wait until August since we will be traveling a couple of weekends this month but when your kid decides its time, you certainly don't want to argue that. Its been amazing to watch him even though at 3 years and 3 months this is totally a normal process for most kids his age. Taylor however waited until she was 4 3/4 years old so 3 1/4 years old just seem SO amazing! Yeah for Will!!!

We are in the process of getting the family room off of our kitchen tiled. It is only a 15x15 space but has been taking them since last Thursday. Everyday has its hitches but the current obsticle is trying to match the grout to the grout that is in the kitchen. The flooring company told us it wouldn't be a problem to match the tile and grout but they have yet to match the grout. They've been awful about communication as well. In fact, they were supposed to be here by 10 this morning but aren't here yet and its almost 11. I finally placed a call to the builder of our home and they were able to give me the name of the grout that was used in the kitchen. The flooring company was going to try and find it they told us yesterday and they would be here at 10 this morning to finish the job. Still not here. I could have taking my kids to playgroup this morning. I hate this kind of stress. We decided to pay someone to do the project instead of trying to do it ourselves to eliminate the stress but we are experiencing it anyway! Argh! Meanwhile, my kitchen table is in the living room and I'm feeding my kids in the loft upstairs. I want my kitchen back!!!

More Visitors From the North

We really didn't think anyone would want to come and visit us until the summer heat subsided here in Las Vegas, but we were fortunate to get an over night visit from Grandma and Grandpa as well as the Tanner family the first week in July.

Grandma and Grandpa were taking Shaley back to St. George anyway so they figured they would go the extra miles to see us and our new home as well. They were just here over night but it was good to see them and the kids really got a kick out of it especially. They lived here back in the early 70s for a year and so they took us to see the apartment building they used to live in down by UNLV.


The next night we had Emma, Tamie, Val, and Madison come to visit. This was very exciting for the kids to be together again. It was nice having some family in town for the 4th of July holiday as well. We went to Hoover Dam again but this time we took the tour. That night we went down to Henderson's city hall and watched the local firework show. It was a great display of fireworks! The kids enjoyed getting wet in the water feature they had there on the grounds because even though it was getting dark when we headed over there, it was still very hot outside. My kids all loved the fireworks which surprises me since most kids are somewhat apprehensive if not downright scared to death of them.

Saturday we went swimming and out to dinner. The Tanner family left Sunday morning after a nice visit and relaxing and fun weekend. Thanks for coming to visit guys!