Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Our trip to Idaho-part 1

In the middle of July, Kollin and I took a trip with my family to Idaho for the Kramer family reunion. Sadly, Eric had to stay home and work since he had already taken off work for the river trip the month before. I left on Tuesday afternoon with my mom, Konner and Sami. We went drove as far as St. George, stayed the night and then picked up Shelby the next morning. Before we left St. George we took a little dip in the hotel pool and stopped by the St. George temple.






On Wednesday we only drove as far as Layton, Utah because the next day we were meeting up with Kyle and Lindsay (who were brave and made the entire drive that day) and my Dad and grandparents (who were flying into Salt Lake).

We all met up for lunch on Thursday at a place in Brigham City, Utah called Maddox's Steak House. Troy and Bridgette Maddox were (and still are) really good friends with my parents when they were both newlyweds in Ontario. I'm not sure how big a role they still play in the family business since he's a full time pilot in Texas, but his Dad and brothers still run the restaurant. I was feeling a little adventurous and ordered a bison burger. It was pretty good, just a little plain. My favorite part was their rolls....they were to die for! Hands down the best rolls I've ever had.

Before we left Brigham City we drove by the temple that's being built there. It's pretty cool that this little town will soon have their own temple.




After lunch we made the rest of the drive to Pocatello, Idaho. We were in the car alot throughout the whole trip and Kollin was a trooper. I was really worried about how he'd do because when he and I went with my Dad to Idaho last summer he was not happy in his car seat! The only time he wasn't crying was when he was sleeping or when I'd give in and get him out. Even though these pictures don't show it, he was happy most the time, he enjoyed looking out the window or singing songs. He was a good traveler!




On Thursday night we met the Hancock side of the family for dinner at none other than...IHOP. The fact that they choose IHOP sums up the kind of people on that side of the family. They just like to eat...no matter the quality. I love all of my family but I'm not super close with any of those relatives so why my parents and grandparents were visiting, Kollin watched movies on my phone and Shelby, Lindsay and I walked through Down East Outfitters, which conveniently was right next door!



Friday was the first day of the Kramer reunion at a place called Steadman Ranch. This place was awesome!! Mr. Steadman originally designed this place for his grandchildren until it became so popular that they started letting anyone make reservations and come...and here's the kicker...for FREE! I guess it's really popular because the reservations have to made a year ahead of time. I think I over heard someone say that they accept donations, which they should, because everyone had a ton of fun.


They had this gigantic slide, which doesn't look that big or fast until you're going down it full speed in between two adult men unsure of how you're going to stop before getting to the mud pit at the end. Trust me, I know!






They also had a zip-line, which I was a little too scared to do. Kyle and Lindsay did it though, and Konner too.




Toward the end of the day, Mrs. Steadman set off this candy cannon. I don't even know who had the idea to rig this thing, but it was awesome. The initial blast was so loud that I was too distracted to see just how high the candy flew, but I know it was high! Shelby helped Kollin fill his bag with candy.






I think the candy was probably Kollin's favorite part of the day!



My Kollin buddy taking a break from the slide.


Kyle, Lindsay and Grayson relaxing on the grass.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The 4th of July

Swimming
+
Barbecue
+
Family




+
Fireworks







=
The PERFECT 4th of July!!

Proud to be a councilman's daughter

As is usual for me, I am WAY behind in blogging. I realize now as I'm trying to catch up that it would be way easier for me if I didn't get behind because then I have a hard time remembering these events.

Anyways...I grew up in a unincorporated area of Riverside know as Jurupa. In an effort to keep the Jurupa area from being sucked into Eastvale, a measure was created to make Jurupa it's own city. In the March elections, Measure A was passed and Jurupa Valley officially became a city. Why am I blogging about this you ask?? Because in that same election, my Dad was elected to the very first City Council of Jurupa Valley, California.

The first weekend in July was when the cityhood actually went into affect and I was lucky enough to be able to attend several of the different events that had been planned to celebrate the new city. The weekend started out with the first official city council meeting where my Dad and the others were sworn in.




Unfortunately after the swearing in, the meeting continued on for like 2 more hours. It was boring...and Im pretty sure Sami thought so too.


The next morning there was a pancake breakfast and car show. Later in the afternoon there was a parade. My mom and Dad and Sami got to ride in this sweet car.




It was super hot that day, and it didn't help that the parade was at like 2 in the afternoon. Not many people were along the parade route but it was still pretty cool to be a part of. I got to ride in this bad boy with Konner driving. We pulled a mini chopper that was to be raffled off later in the weekend.






That evening was a carnival and a fireworks show at Jurupa Valley High School. It cooled off a bit once the sun went down and I had a great time. We definitely missed having Eric there, I think he was working that day.





I really am proud of my Dad. He campaigned really hard for the election. He sent out mailers, made phone calls and even got drilled with questions at the candidates forums. I'm always amazed at how wonderfully he does when he speaks, not only in church but at public events also. I admire his desire to get involved in the community. There are several L.D.S. people who hold or have held positions of authority around the community and when a reporter from the Press Enterprise asked my Dad about this "mormom conspiracy" (they thought mormons were taking over) he simply said, "Our church encourages us get involved in the community and I would hope any other church would encourage it's members to do the same." She didn't publish that part of course but I do admire how involved my Dad has always been in coaching sports, in the Parks Board and now the City Council. I know many of the qualities I have are from my Dad and maybe this is why I look up to him so much. He is so giving, and so generous, sometimes to the point where people will ask him to do things because they know he won't say no. He never stops giving and never complains. I have seen him give of his time and talents so many times throughout the years that it's a quality that has been instilled in me, and is a quality that I am so proud to have inherited from my Dad.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Best of Havasu 2011

We took our annual trip to Lake Havasu with the Radmall side of the family back in June. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trip.

Kollin would fall asleep just about everytime the boat would start.



They started out like this...

Then they got brave...

Kollin and his chipped tooth. He fell face first out of his stroller and straight onto a tile floor the day before we left.

If I look scared, it's cuz I was!


Kollin with Grandpa Radmall


Shelby's tube collided with Callie's and she ended up with this...the day after this, it got way worse!