Brock's Salt Lake City Visit...

I am a little more than behind on blogging; Brock's visit was two weekends ago, and I am just now getting to it. I apologize. We had so much fun, but we never have enough time - so we packed everything we could think of in four days. Lagoon (the amusement park in Salt Lake) was one of the highlights - all the other highlights will have to be stored in our memories as I didn't take any other pictures. Oh, such a bad sister!

I insisted that we play the "Horse Racing" game; Brock won.

And we got airbrushed tatoos. I acutally had one lady ask me if mine was real... she said that the purple color of the monkey was exactly what she had been looking for... ummm... OK?

JJ loves to play games, and more often than not, he wins! We give the prizes away to little kids - I love to see the look on their faces when they get a toy.

Brock's Visit... (cont.)

I wait and wait, and most often, not very patiently, for my brother to come down and cut my hair! Oh, the luxury!

Brock and I found a yummy looking pancake mix (and it truly was delicious), so we tried it out Saturday morning.

And being the wackos that we are, we had to arrange the ingredients with our new favorite pancake mix front and center so that we could get a good picture.

Lazy Lake Days...

JJ and I are so blessed because each year in July we get to take a long (and usually much needed) vacation in Washington for two weeks, just to relax and hang out with our families. Last year was the exception. JJ was not able to go because he was in Kyrgyzstan, so this year we lived it up. Although we spent most of our days on Loon Lake at my parents' home, we also were able to travel further north to Priest Lake for five days, to play with his family on an awsome island in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, we do not have one picture from Priest, as I forgot my camera :0( I hope these pictures make up for it - in true "Erin" fashion, I do not blog forever and then post one huge one... Here it is!

The puppies love the peddle boat and anything else lake-related!

Cousin Mac, me and Cousin Oliver in the hot tub goofing.

Cousins Mark, Oliver and Scott with good friend Andy (in the flourescent shorts) spent many an hour playing our "redneck" game called "Washers". I think we even kept the next door neighbors up late one night - my dad hooked up a flood light in the tree. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time...!

Our once yearly "floatilla"; what is that, you ask? Well, each person has a floatie of some sort, then we form a line, each person hanging on to the person in front of them and we paddle around the lake (really we just paddle in little circles) with one person leading.

And the person in charge??? Brock, our captain (also the one who had to pull everyone else since he drew the short straw for the lead position)! Check out those buns of steel holding that flag up! Needless to say, we did a lot of laughing and not much else during our annual floatilla.

Husband and wife, hanging out in the boat, having a great time!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

The puppies really can be sweet when they are getting along... ha, ha! They are truly the best of friends!

OK, I admit: we eat well at the lake. Cousin Oliver, Brock, Aunt Martha and JJ having a bite.

Grandpa Wendell and Dad were chatting on the deck.






Cousin Mac and Aunt Marty giving a private concert.








Naps are definitely in order at the lake.

I love this picture! Two sisters noodling about the lake.

And of course, my hubby. God love him - he is so silly!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

This year, JJ and I were fortunate to have our good friends, John and Marisa Christensen, with their two kids, Braden and Sierra, join us at the lake for five days. We had a great time with them hanging out, swimming, boating and fishing. This was their first time to Washington and although the drive was long (12 hours with two six year olds! Yipes!), they decided that it was well worth it.

The picture for the family Christmas card! Ha, ha!






Dad and son catching some fish. (Thankfully we were not dependent upon them for dinner - I heard that sunfish taste awful!)

Cute little Sierra.

John drove the boat while I went skiing - thanks, buddy!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

John and Sierra with a BIG catch!





JJ and Sierra flagging while Braden was being pulled behind the boat in a tube. Fun!

Sierra and Braden are ready to head out in "Grandpa Jerry's" boat.

The Christensen's cruisin' the lake in the peddle boat.

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

Brock and Aunt Martha relaxing on the deck.





Uncle Rick and my dad drinkin' beer. It really is funny for me to see my parents drink now - they never did when I was growing up. (Well, I should say that I never saw them drink :0)





Working on my tan.

These are my mom's new "lake birds", Alaska and Amber (coincidentally my dad's favorite beer - do I sense a theme to these lake days???)

Surprise, Dad!

My dad's 60th birthday was on April 18, a day which unfortunately fell right in the middle of our Albuquerque show. Although Mom and I tried to make his happy day special, in all honesty, we were working hard at selling jewlery, and did not have time for much else. Thankfully, we had another plan in mind. Brock and his roommates, Richard and Jay, graciously offered to host a surprise party for my dad on May 2. Because of the belated date and our excellent secret keeping (I personally nearly blew it on three different occasions), my dad was truly surprised, and the party was a huge success, not to mention, a ton of fun. The theme, as you will see below, was a Mexican Fiesta! Ole!

The birthday boy in one of his finer moments....

Molly and Maya arrive for the party in style.

Supposedly my dad is holding up two fingers for the "two amigos"... not sure where I fit in, but whatever! I am just a gringa...





Brock's happy gingerbread-man potholder helped us get all the yummy enchiladas to the table just in time for the hungry crowd to strike.

As you can see, that sombrero made its way around the party. Here Mark makes the perfect model.

Richard and his roomie Jay (not pictured - that is me), definitely did the lion's share of the work for this party. From cleaning their huge house, to running errands, we could not have pulled this off without them. You guys are great! Thank you so much!

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

The "birthday boy" with Uncle Bob and Mark.

Ty, Scott and Molly are engrossed in a heavy conversation - if I remember correctly, it had something to do with the Portland Trailblazers and their most talented players. I am sure, had JJ been there, he would have had something to say about that! Go Jazz!






Cousins Oliver and Blair striking a pose. Thanks for making the trip for dad's party, guys!

Good friends, Aaron and Bonnie Drake, with Brock.

Maya is quite serious even though Blair and Vince are enjoying every moment with her.

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

Uncle Rick and Aunt Marty share a moment, and a beverage, in the kitchen.

Dad is opening his presents amidst the family. Surprisingly, he was not embarrassed, and did not kick up a fuss at having to be the center of attention.

Brock and my Fairy God-Mother, Jenny Powell.

Grammy and Uncle Vince playing Patty Cake-Patty Cake with Miss Maya.

I just couldn't resist. Maya was having a little snack before the party, and I got down on the floor in front of her with my camera...

Mouse Ears and Sunshine...

For those of you who know my family well, you know that our very most favorite place on earth (next, of course, to the cabin on Loon Lake) is Disneyland. JJ and I went there for our honeymoon a year and half ago, and since then, we have talked, as a family, about going back. So, this past Christmas, in lieu of gift giving, we all pooled our money for a trip to Disneyland. Thanks to Molly, our resident travel agent, and my husband's awsome military discount, we were all able to go this past week for four of the most enjoyable days I think I have ever spent with my family. In addition to JJ and Maya, once our two newest family members, Brock brought along his new beau, Vince, who completed our "family". What a time we all had!!!

Our now extended version of the old "Matthews' Family".

"Ed and Mil" in front of It's a Small World - one of my very most favorite pictures of the two of them.

Vince and Brock in Tommorrowland... We had such a good time with Vince, and I believe that he is reflecting the same sentiment about us, too. Whew! What a relief! Our family can get a little crazy sometimes, especially on vacation.

JJ, the group clown, tried on every hat he could find. Brock and Vince however, needed a bit of convincing for me to get this pic! Thanks, guys! You look great!

JJ and I sporting our "Pirate" Mickey Ears. It's hard to tell, but JJ's ears even have a gold hoop earring on one side, just like a real-live pirate!