The End (of our Utah trip, that is!)

This is the moment you've all been waiting for; the end of our vacation to Utah. So sit back and relax. You may even feel free to munch on an Oreo cookie or two, but don't forget the milk.
P.S. Be forewarned: there are A LOT of pictures here!
This is a mosaic picture put together by my wonderfully talentend Mother-in-law, Ana. This beauty just happens to be for sale and is hanging in the lobby of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Restaurant. Isn't he gorgeous?
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OK. So this is what happens when you leave a puppy at home alone for almost 2 weeks. (Yes, we had a neighbor come over and play with her, but still...) She used her body weight to force open the door on our shed and from there, she proceeded to drag out and chew on every item she deemed valuable to us. Lost to the cause include but are not limited to:
More than one duck decoy, Michael's scroll maps, waders, boots, baby clothes, Halloween decorations, tablecloths, hangars, and the personal loss of...
my sweater. Bad Daisy!! It took us over an hour to clean up the mess.
Our version of Christmas morning in our own home just after returning to Oakland (and after the yard clean up. This sure worked to our advantage on getting the kids to hurry!).
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This was our get together with Michael's extended family on New Year's Day at Mike and Lorna's house. (Lorna is Michael's cousin.)

L to R: Genevieve and Sam, Michael, me, Danielle, Lorna, Tamara. Back Row: Stefany and Asher, Mike (Lorna's husband), Brandon and Dave.
Facts about Asher and Stefany: One of Asher is equal to two of Michael's mom (in height), their oldest, Timir, is as tall as Michael's mom (he's 9), Stefany is Michael's cousin, AND they are some of the greatest people ever!

This is Aunt Joan. She is Lorna and Stefany's mom. (She's also the mom to their siblings, but S and L were the only ones present that day.) She also has the greatest accent. She's from Ireland, you know!
L to R: Jocelyn (Mike and Lorna's sweet daughter who is 8), Tamara and her Cass, Corrine.
Corrine and Daniellee. Corrine would like to be a combination of her two aunts when she grows up. To put it in her own words, "I want to sing like Danielle and dance like Tamara. Because isn't Danielle famous because the Dixie Chicks sing one of her songs?"
Our gracious hosts, Mike and Lorna. Another wonderfully amazing couple! Mike had part of his middle finger cut off due to an injury some years back, and he played the funniest joke on the kids! He stuck his (for lack of a better word) nub in his nostril and asked the kids if they could do what he was doing. Then he pulled it out and acted like it was still stuck in there. This kept them entertained for the longest time! It was hilarious! Cassidy kept trying to look at his hand to see if he had his finger bent and she couldn't see it. Corrine and Hunter just stared at him and quietly argued about being "polite and not to stare", but they couldn't tear their eyes away, either!
L to R: Stefany, Tamara, Elise (another cousin), me, Danielle, Genevieve (wife to Sam, another cousin) and Lorna.

Sam and Gen.
Cass and The Bird. I think all the kids had a turn with The Bird.

Sweet cousins.
Dave, Michael, and Brandon who is entertaining Laynee with his interpretation of Ace Ventura.

Ana and Timir. Isn't he cute? Nope, he's not standing on a stool. That's really how tall he is!
Not long after this shot was taken of Dave and The Bird, Dave got pooped on by The Bird.
Ana and Joan.
Joan and Bryan enjoying the festivities.
Awww, look. It's Dave and Tam. Hi guys! I miss you. Yes I do!

The whole gang minus one: Ana mom is always the one taking the pictures.
Sisters Lorna and Stefany.
Asher and Elise. We played this really fun game called Apples to Apples. You'll have to check it out and play some time!
Playin' the game.
Brandon and Danielle. I miss you, too. *sniff*

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Me and my mom have way too much fun together.

Like mother, like daughter?

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The Ems

This was taken at Hunter's baptism. It was a wonderful day, and so sweet to have some of our special people there.
This is my dad's brother, my Uncle Glen. For as long as I can remember, he has lived near us or in our same neighborhood. I remember babysitting his kids a few times (yes, that would be you Tyler, Val and Deb!) and just what an amazing person he is. I love him! He has always been one of my (dare I say?) favorites!
My sweet brother Kevin baptized Hunter. I'll say it again: It was a special day.
Ma and Pa

This is my sister and I and our babies. Yes, me and my baby are related to giants. Mandy and her baby are not. (Love you!)
The grands and the grandies all together in one place!
Our sweet Hunter made the decision to be baptized on December 29, and he asked my brother Kevin to be the one to baptize him.
Our son is growing up and there's no stopping him. *tear*

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I asked Hunter where he wanted to go eat after his baptism. After all, it's his special day, right? I even went so far as to name a few places. Olive Garden, Cafe Rio, Rodizzio, to name a few. He opted for the wallet friendly (compared!) McDonald's. Okee Dokee.
Scott, Em, and Chris demonstrate proper McDonald's eating etiquette.
I thought this was a cool picture. Melted Dippin' Dots ice cream.
Here we have Kev, Kev's friend Jason, and my other brother, Tim. I tried to get pictures of the kids, but they were too busy taunting the other children at McDonald's to care for a picture. Even for posterity's sake.
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My four brothers on Christmas morning: Scott, Chris, Tim and Kevin.

My parents gave Hunter Ninja Turtles. He was thrilled!
Tim and Chris look on.
Laynee got this pretty from my parents, and some tiny tights to go with it!

Here is Corrine's pretty.
Yummy?
Corrine got a Hannah Montana singing barbie doll from my parents. Here, she is patiently waiting for Opa to "open the dang thing already!" We gave my parents some framed pictures of the kids. I think they liked them?
Layna got those cute red leggings and some barrettes to keep her hair out of her eyes.
The kids are happy with their gifts. Thanks Mom and Dad!
I forgot to take a picture of Michael with his gift from my parents. He got another Carhart vest with a matching ski cap. Did I tell you he loves Carhart vests? One can never have too many! Especially if you are Michael, and you look as good in them as he does!

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That about sums it up. Not necessarily in a nutshell. More like a small life boat, but there you have it. Thank you families for putting up with our noise, mess and moods. We love you soooooo much and can't wait until our next get together!