Cabin in the Uintahs.....

When I found out that everyone was planning on coming to Utah for a visit and that Mike had mentioned that he wanted to go fishing in the Unitah mountains, I instantly thought of my brother Gary. He has a nice cabin right by Mirror Lake. It is good sized and would be big enough for Steve's entire fimily to fit. I called him up and asked if we could use it for a few days in July for a family reunion. He said YES!!!

It was a perfect gathering spot for Howie's big family.

After everyone arrived we began to check out the place....

I think the young girls loved this place the best.

It is a little doll house off to the side of the cabin.

It had a fun loft to climb up into and play....

There was a play kichen area and table.....

It was the perfect place for the girls to play and pretend. In fact they spent the majority of the time in this little play house. Besides eating and sleeping these girls could be found here!

Sidney (the girl on the right) came running into the room about 45 minutes after we had all arrived --ALL SMILES--and said to me, "I LOVE YOUR BROTHER!" "I REALLY LOVE HIM!!!!" Sydney was having such a great time thanks to my brother. She told me that same thing probably 6-7 more times throughout our stay at the cabin. I love my brother too for lending us his cabin. It was fun!

It was so quiet and peaceful there....

A perfect place to take a walk with the one you love!

Perfect for just sitting back and reading a book.....

Or just soaking up the sun & all the beauty that surrounded us!

Gary has a perfect set up at his cabin.
There was TONS to do and activities for all ages.

We took mom and Debbie down the path on one side of his property where Gary has a horseshoe pit. Everyone had not yet arrived so we decided it was a great time to get a game or two in.

Mom and Debbie set up their chairs to watch
us make fools out of ourselves

We didn't know the rules so we decided to make up our own.

It was fun!

Before long Heidi and Suzy arrived and wanted to try their hand at this horseshoe game.

Suzy had a little shadow!

Addison wanted to do everything that her mommy did.

She helped with picking up the horseshoes

and before long she was throwing them like a pro!

I was surprised that this game did not bore her.

She would tag along right beside her mom throughout the game.

As Suzy was waiting for her turn she had her arms folded and when we looked down, Addison was standing EXACTLY like her mom. ARMS FOLDED AND ALL!!! Very cute!

Besides horseshoes there was also tetherball

and volleyball in this area of the property.

In Gary's garage he has a loft area where you can sleep. It is also set up with this arcade basketball thing. As we were waiting for everyone to arrive we began a contest to see who could shoot the most baskets in one minute. We had categories for men, women, teenagers, and children under 12. It was fun to see how competitive the Howell boys are. We only did this the first day because once everyone arrived there was so many other activities to do that we never made it back into the garage to finish the competition off. Skylar, Veronica and I think Howie were the top winners in their divisions. Not sure because we never finished it. But it was fun to watch!

Lots of fun downstairs in the cabin.....

In the basement they had fooseball.....

Ping Pong......

And video games......

On the last day these boys spent about 4 hours straight down in this room playing video games. We had bought a Wii system for Gary to thank him for letting us stay up there and when the kids asked us if they could play it the first day we all agreed....NO-WAY! We wanted them to enjoy the great outdoors and all of the activities at the cabin. By the last day the boys decided they had gone long enough without their electronic games. They loved playing this together as cousins....

Some other activities we had up at the cabin were bike riding.....

and basketball.....

.

We had a fun game of HORSE!

McKenzie, Howie and Me!

"Kenz" is a great shot!!!!!

Howie would come up with some bizarre places to try to shoot from. Often behind the cars or so far away that there was NO POSSIBLE WAY of making it. It was tons of fun!

Down the back side of Gary's property is a trail that leads down toward the swings set.

The younger kids really enjoyed themselves there....

Little Addison ready to slide down into the arms of her daddy....

Getting help from big brother, Bradley....

I think Amanda love the slide the most!

She would climb up and down, up and down, up and down for over an hour. I watched her and thought..."Can you lend me some of that energy of yours!"

The older girls loved to spin around and around on the swings

McKenzie is such a great helper. She was playing right along side the smaller kids making sure they all had a good time. She is a sweetheart and a super BIG SISTER!

Addison all by herself!

Even baby Nova got a ride on the swings....

Down right next to the swingset is a badminton court. The Howell boys loved it! Me....Well....Not so much!!!

They are so competitive....

Mike cheering on his team.....

Steve kept begging me to come and play.....

I honestly have NEVER liked the game. In fact I use to make fun of people that played it. It seems like a Sissy game to me. BUT- I couldn't even hit the little "doo-hickey" with my racket!

I only stayed in the game long enough for Howie to lose a few points (with me as his partner) Then I yanked myself out. The sun was really in our eyes but that is NO EXCUSE!! It is just a STUPID LITTLE GAME!

DON'T LIKE IT!

Jeff is convinced I don't like the game because I SUCK at playing it! BUT that is not the case. It is a wimpy woosy game! :) ha ha ha

There are all kinds of lakes near the cabin. The night that we got up to the cabin the boys took the kids out to Mirror Lake and had a wonderful time. Everyone was catching fish. EVEN THE KIDS. I was told that Valerie was the FISHING QUEEN. She out fished even the guys. I knew I liked her the minute I met her! WAY TO GO "V"! Wish I had a picture or two of them fishing but I chose not to go.

The next day they went hiking up to Lily Lake and fished for the morning. Once again Valerie outfished everyone. Bradley caught one-which worked out great for his merit badge-

He brought it home to cook up.

That was the requirements for earning that scout badge.

Great Job Bradley!

No reunion in the mountains is complete without a nice campfire

And SMORES!!!!

Fun times with cousins.....

McKenzie has the right idea!

Forget the marshmellow and the graham cracker....

GIVE ME CHOCOLATE!!!

Let Adisson eat the crackers.....

Gary's cabin was stocked with EVERYTHING we needed.

Even Book of Mormons to read before bedtime.

Having a seminary teacher as a brother sure comes in handy. Nice little devotional before bedtime, Mike!

When it became time to go to bed the kids still continued to have fun.

I loved to hear them talking and laughing and goofing off with each other when they were suppose to BE ASLEEEEEP! The adults were out by the fire pit and we could hear them making quite a racket. I decided to go upstairs and BRIBE them. Howie was still out by the fire when everything went instantly QUIET! He wasn't sure what had happened until I came out to join him and I told him about the contest. KIDS WILL DO ANYTHING TO WIN A QUIET CONTEST! Works everytime! It was nice to sit outside with Howie for a while and watch the fire and the beautiful stars in the sky. It was nice and so peaceful (now that the kids were settling down)

Well during our visit we enjoyed wonderful meals......

together as a family......

A Mormon Movie Marathon .....Lasting for HOURS!

Lots of games......

Laughs and fun.....

We enjoyed playng the Battle of the Sexes......

and getting to know each other more.....

We enjoyed acting silly and just having FUN!

Even the little kids found things to do for entertainment....

Here is Addison jabbering in the fan to hear the strange sound it makes.

And Nova picking up on the latest strategies of Sudoku from her daddy,

I even found Addison one day, while everyone was around doing their own thing (playing games, getting ready for dinner) there sat Addison all by herself outside on the front porch in this lounge chair just singing away.... She was so content and happy to be there at the cabin.

When it came time to leave

The girls all painted posters for my brother.....



Thanking him for letting us stay ........

We had a great time....Thank you Gary & Marie !!!

The cousins had fun getting to know each other better

Howell Family Reunion

July 2009