Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Lake in November

We Bought a Boat!!
Even though it is November the temperature has been in the 80's so we thought we might as well go and try out the new boat. We had a ball. Jack, Jay, Rhett, Ethan and Joe all tubed without wet suits and Joe and Ryan wake boarded with wet suits. The rest of us, Kate, Keelie, Hadlie, Cassie, Randy, Grandpa Jack and myself all hung out in the boat and enjoyed the ride. Even when Randy took a huge wave head on and dredged the people up front, me, Kate and Grandpa Jack.  I can't wait until summer time when the weather is hot and the water is warmer. Hopefully we will be at the lake weekly.






Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. I know I say this every year but it really is my favorite holiday. I love being with my family and I need to be reminded more often of what I have to be grateful for. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. This year for family home evening we went around and said what we were thankful for. We told the kids they couldn't do the usual, family, friends, and such. It was fun listening to them come up with something different and then explain why they were grateful for it.
Jack said he was grateful for football because it entertains him.
Jay was grateful for his freedom, so we don't have to be slaves.
Kate was thankful for the sun, because when she is cold she can go in the sun and be warm.
Ryan was thankful for the gospel.
I was grateful for my health and for the fact that I don't have to work outside the home.
We had a great time coming up with "original" things to be grateful for and I hope my kids maybe appreciate things more?
 
This year like all other years we started at my parents. My parents have 26 grandchildren and all but one, Ryan, is pictured here. It is not easy getting 27 people and a dog to look good in a picture but it was fun trying. I love that my kids have all these cousins to play with.
 No trip to my parents is complete without a Popsicle no matter how much food or dessert you have just eaten. Jack reminds me so much of Ryan sometimes. I hope he grows up to be just like him because then I know he will be a good man.
 Jay with Wyatt and Abby. Abby and Wyatt are only two months apart and Jay is over a year younger but they get along great and have so much fun together.
 After hanging out at my parents and winning the name game again. We headed to the Ricedorffs. We are full once we get there but we still manage to eat some pie and pick at the food that is left over. Jay, Kate, Kaden and Tessa were having so much fun stuffing pillows in their shirts and being sumo wrestlers. They are too cute.
 Jack keeps asking for a little brother and I keep telling him he has one, Jay. But he wants someone younger. Good thing we have Duke. Jack was in charge of Duke while we played Rook. He did such a good job and I think he had more fun than Duke. Both Jack and Duke were cracking up and having so much fun playing ball.
Well here is our Thanksgiving in a nut shell. I am grateful for these memories and for my wonderful family. I am truly blessed.

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Grand Canyon

I have been putting off this post about the Grand Canyon because I have been waiting on the picture of the start of the hike. Every year we get a picture of the group before we start the hike but I haven't received it yet so I am just going to post. So no big group picture of the start of the hike. This year we had a ton of people hiking with us. I don't even know all of their names. We had two full vans and a couple of other cars. Plus another group that went rim to rim to rim. It was crazy.
 It was a hard hike for me because I had just gotten home from my girls cruise. I struggled. But I made it out. Next year I will plan better and go on the cruise after the hike.
 
Here is a good part of our group on Friday night at the North Rim of the Canyon.
 
 Me and my cousins Mike and Kelli at Ribbon Falls. I really do love Ribbon Falls. It is beautiful.  Kelli had shirts made up for us that said rim to rim 2012. It was fun to see all of the red shirts. In fact I kept seeing another woman with a red shirt who was not a part of our group and I was annoyed that she was wearing a red shirt. How dare she. 
 Me, my dad and Matt at Phantom Ranch. I did not stay with my dad this year, so this was the only time I saw him on the trail. In fact my dad got sick and really dehydrated so he had to spend the night at Indian Gardens with Matt and Jeremy and be helicoptered out. He has since recovered and now says he will be the driver from now on. He says his days of hiking the Canyon are over. If I would have know that I would have stayed with him. It's fun to hike with my dad.

 Me crossing the Colorado River. It's tradition to take this picture, no matter how sweaty and gross you look.
The finish line with Barrett, Jodi, Kelli, Pam, Nathan, Steve and myself. I took a lot longer than I wanted to. Next year I will do better and not take a cruise before. We had a great time and I can't wait for 2013. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Goodman Reunion

Growing up I had a truly unique life. I have always lived next door to my cousins. My Uncle Steve's house, then Uncle Jim's, then mine, around the corner was Grandpa and Grandma Goodman and around the corner from them was Aunt Katrina. I always thought this was the norm until I met other people who didn't know who their cousins were or only saw them at holidays. As we have all gotten older I don't see them everyday like I did growing up. Now it really is on the holidays and at the Harry and Rita Goodman Reunion. It is so much fun to get together and laugh about old times. I have a lot of fun memories of my cousins and it's fun to watch the second cousins all play and get to know each other. This year we were without both Grandpa and Grandma Goodman. It's hard to believe sometimes that they have passed on but I know they were up in heaven and enjoying the get together from there. I am sure that they could see their posterity and it made them smile. I am grateful to my grandparents and my parents who taught me to love my family. I know I have been blessed by being born a Goodman.
 
Uncle Steve, Uncle Jim, Aunt Katrina and my dad, Dale. I love that they still want to hang out and see each other. My dad goes on walks with my Uncle Steve and my Uncle Jim stayed with my dad at the Grand Canyon. They love each other and it shows.

 Most of the grand kids with their spouses and a few of the great grand kids. My Grandparents had 21 grand kids and a whole lot of Greats.
The great grandsons. I love that they are all getting to know each other and have so much fun together. They played football all afternoon.
 The great granddaughters. What a posterity.
 The granddaughters. We were missing Rita who just had a baby. It's funny to me because growing up so many of my cousins seemed so much older than me. Now I realize we are all the same age and have so much in common.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Jay's football team

Jay's football season has ended. He only won one game but they played their little hearts out. The season ended with a heartbreak loss in the playoffs. Jay had a blast playing football and had a lot of friends on his team. Sometimes Jay would rather play with his friends than watch the game. But he enjoyed the season and he did improve.


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Halloween

 Halloween came and went. I am trying to like this holiday but the older I get and the older my kids get I am becoming more cranky about it. Maybe that's why my kids seemed to not have as much fun this year. I will try to do better next year. We had fun this year though. Jack was a black morph suit. That is all he wanted to be. So we found one online and got it. He was old enough to go trick or treating with his friends. It's weird for me to think he is old enough to do this but other parents, one who is a policeman, said it was okay so I succumbed to peer pressure and let him go. He was fine and was actually home earlier than expected. He said the next day that "Halloween is a lot of work and not all that much fun." Jay was the Incredible Hulk. I think he is a cute Hulk, I mean a fierce Hulk. He wanted to meet up with his friends too but when he did he went to about five houses and then was done. Kate was Annalise, the Barbie Princess. She stayed home on Halloween with Ryan and passed out candy. I think she had more fun doing that then trick or treating. Overall it was a fun holiday but we didn't get nearly enough candy and gave away too much. Even some adults were trick or treating. Which I don't agree with. I really need to change my attitude about Halloween.