labor day weekend

I know I usually post a lot of pictures, but this one really has a lot. You've been warned. In my defense though, this is my way of sharing the pictures I take with family members.

For Labor Day weekend, we went to Provo, Utah to be there for the baby blessing of my nephew Cannon. Friday night we stayed in North Salt Lake with Shad's sister and spent a little time with their family, which was fun. Saturday morning we continued down to Provo and met up with my family.

The kids (and several adults) had a good time feeding some ducks.

Shad and Cannon, the star of the weekend.

Everyone else arrives.

These two were fun to watch the entire weekend. Avery just wanted to be like Jayden.

Watching funny videos.

Heading to the park with Grandpa and Grammie.

Trent.

Drake loved this dog. She belongs to Amy's family, and Drake was more than happy to walk her around.

Blowing bubbles.

Talking to the dog (sorry, I can't remember her name now).

Sarah was good to entertain my kids from time to time.

My mom's oldest brother and his wife, and several of my cousins, stopped by the park to say "hi" and visit for a little bit before heading to the BYU game. It was fun to see them.

Taking advantage of the hotel's pool before dinner.

Back at Trent's and Amy's place.

Waiting for homemade ice cream.

The little man and his dad.

Sweet facial hair and a proud mom.

By the time we made it back to the hotel, the boys had already fallen asleep, so we just stuck them in bed.

Avery, on the other hand, had a hard time falling asleep.

But even she eventually gave in to slumber.

Sunday morning, Trent blessed handsome little Cannon in their ward.

It was very nice, and Cannon did great.

After we got back to Trent's place, it was picture-taking time. This is both sides of the family who could make it.

These are the kids.

This is just our side of the family.

And this is just our family. I didn't realize I was hiding behind a branch.

Brother Nathan and family.

The brothers in attendance and Cannon.

I like this picture.

Don't ask.

My mom and I.

My mom surveying the inevitable.

Micah and cute kids.

That afternoon, we headed back to the park for some games that Amy's family had planned. Drake found a new friend and got to drive his remote control car around.

Graham and Avery decided to sleep instead of participate. We just left them like this in the car, with the doors open, until they woke up.

If you're familiar with the show "Minute to Win It", that's essentially what we did. Instead of individual competition, we split up into teams.

I didn't get a picture of all the activities (I don't think), but here are several. In this one you had to try to move the cookie from your forehead to your mouth using only your facial muscles.

Here's some video for your enjoyment.

For this one, you had to land the slinky on your forehead so it was coiled closed.

This was a contest to see who could drop a Mentos into a 2-liter coke bottle first.

It was fun to try the different things they had set up.

Back at Trent's and Amy's, the kids had a good time playing ball.

As did some adults.

Amy's family had to leave because of a long drive ahead of them, but we did a few more "Minute to Win It" type games.

Drake enjoyed trying to bounce a ping pong ball into the cookie jar full of water.

Matt enjoyed stuffing as many ping pong balls into his mouth as he could.

Cannon slept.

Trent tried to compete...

...but Matt definitely has a bigger mouth.

We also played tic tac toe by bouncing ping pong balls into cups of water.

This time I brought my kids' pajamas so if they fell asleep on the way to the hotel, we could just stick them into bed. (Avery, who still sucks her thumb a lot, is sharing her other thumb with Grammie.)

Drake was getting creative with styrofoam bowls and plastic forks and other things.

The next morning, it looked like a contest to see how many different people we could rotate through the beds.

We also took advantage of the pool again before checking out.

And the kids enjoyed watching cartoons one last time before heading back home.

Before leaving Provo I bought peaches to can and jam and Shad got a couple new suits (first time he's bought any suits since we were married).

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we were able to go down. My body is definitely tired from being on my feet so much, but it was worth it to hang out with family.