Hudkins Reunion

 A few years ago at the end of the Hudkins Reunion the family was looking for volunteers for this years reunion. Mike and I naively put our hands up thinking only about how much fun it would be to plan an event like this. We drove home with visions and ideas dancing around in our heads. Fast forward a few years and we've been through a move and had a new baby and all of the sudden it became harder to make those visions become a reality. But we managed to pull off a pretty stellar weekend thanks to everyone's help, and really enjoyed everyone's company! Family is so special, and I am pretty grateful for my Grandparents and all that they do for all of us!

The Lodge that we usually hold the reunion at did some renovations and looked great!

Camilla was so excited to be reunited with her sweet second cousin Mia. 

With all of the rain, it was pretty muddy, but that didn't stop the boys from using the zipline all day long!

One night after tucking in the littles Daddy put his shoe on to walk back to the lodge and felt something by his toes. Thinking it was a child's sock, he just kept walking. When he went to dump his shoe out this big frog jumped out and scared us all to death! Also, we left our tent windows down by accident during a thunder storm and all of our sleeping bags ended up swimming in puddles. Thankfully we had lots of great family offer us shelter and blankets for the night. It was quite the way to begin the weekend!

One of our visions for this reunion was to get matching t-shirts for all of the clan! My cousin did a great job pulling this off, they turned out amazing and will be fun to wear to future reunions.

Even though the weather was windy and a touch on the chilly side, we headed over to the Tanner Youth camp for the afternoon on Saturday. It ended up being lots of fun! Cold, but fun!

The sun came out half way through our time at the beach and helped warm us up a little!

There was lots of cousin time and baby snuggling in the lodge.

Although we were missing lots of people, we were sure grateful for those that were able to make it!

My grandparents have created quite the clan and we all love them dearly! 

On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed some group relays. We all participated on different teams and had a blast!

Everyone was so exhausted by the last night that they slept like logs and took their time waking up in the morning. We all worked together to clean up, packed our vehicles and said our good-bye's. It was a wonderful weekend with family!

Hello August

 Hello August! I've been admiring the wheat and canola fields as we drive and even spotted a few yellow leaves on the tops of the trees. These next three months are my favorite and I'm getting excited for cool evenings and meals from the garden. My sister snapped a few pictures of Sawyer last week and I am in love with them! Here's to more outdoor bubble baths in the near future!

Canoe Trip

Camilla has taken over the blog today at my request to share a little bit about their canoe trip this week! I thought it would be awesome to get the perspective of someone who actually went on the trip. She is pretty incredible at documenting and is an avid journal keeper. I knew she would have lots of great details that I wouldn't, and I love what she wrote! 

 

This week we went on a canoe trip. There were eight of us, with some friends. We had three canoes and all of them were full of food and supplies. Us kids that were going were just waiting to get in the canoes when we got there, but first we had to bring all the gear down the big hill to the river.

After we loaded up the canoes we had a picture. Then we were off. We started to paddle down stream and I couldn't help think what beautiful world we live in with the trees and the mountains and the stream. After a while we came across some ducks! There was a mamma and five little baby ducks and they were the size of chicks. Well, the mamma was squawking at my dad the baby ducks were scooting across the river. 

Then we saw lots of eagles circling above us so we all thought there must be fish in this part of the river so we cast our rods out and after a couple minutes my Grandpa got a fish! It was a Sauger. Then I got a bite and as I was reeling it in I saw it jump off my hook. Then I got another fish and it did the same thing. Then I got my line snagged on some rocks and I lost all my line! 

After that we pulled over and did some fishing while my grandpa got me more line. Then we stopped at a camping place and we realized that since the river was so high and fast we were one day ahead. After we all talked about whether we should stop at the bridge or by the river we finally went on. Then my dad called out, "this one is good!" so we stopped and set up camp. It was a rocky place but there was some room for the tents so while my dad set up the tents we got dressed into warm clothes and my grandpa made a fire. Then we had taco salad for dinner and we had a lesson about how our lives are like the river. Then we all got tired so we tucked into our sleeping bags. That is day one.

We all woke up pretty late on day two and we were all awoke to the fresh air. It was so nice to be outside and to be able to have the warm sunshine on us. After we got dressed we ate some sugar cereal with milk. Then we started to pack up the canoes and we were all so excited to get in the canoe and start paddling again. 

Shortly after, Finley caught his very first fish! It was a Goldeye. 

When we found a good fishing spot we went on the land and we cast our rods out and I got a fish and then Joe yelled out, "I got one!" so me and Joe took a picture together with our Walleyes! Then Hyrum got a fish and I got another Goldeye. 

Then we went to the bridge and we went swimming. I went under the water and swam down stream. Then we got a snack and hit the river. We finished the day at Dry Island buffalo jump provincial park. Then we set up our tents there and we had dinner and had smores. After that, we went in the tent and talked about our day. I caught seven fish, Hyrum caught eight, Joe caught three, and Finley caught one.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of snoring because my grandpa was snoring. When we got out of the tent we had eggs and bacon. Then I got my swim suit on and I went swimming in the lake. Then I got all dressed and my mom picked us up. When we got home we were all so happy to be home.

Drool Worthy

This morning Sawyer hung out with me while I watered the greenhouse and drooled over all of the delicious things that are growing! After a rough start, I finally have a few pumpkins starting! The cucumbers are getting bigger and the tomatoes are looking tasty! 

Fresh Farm Eggs

The little chicks we brought home last March have started laying tiny brown eggs! Mum found a couple of them in the coop this morning. 

I am so excited about the rich brown color.

Happy Saturday!

Just Beginning

This morning I did five hair cuts before breakfast. Camilla got a trim and requested some long side bangs, and all of the boys (except Sawyer) got nice short Summer hair cuts. After breakfast we went into town to hit up the library and return some books. They were such great listeners that I decided to take them to the park for a bit before heading home.

Swings used to be a part of our every day, but I'm pretty sure this is one of Sawyers first times swinging at the park!

The  boys were thrilled to clamber around the play structure for a little while. 

Part way through our play time somebody came up and asked, "Are these all yours?" I get asked this question often enough that I just smiled, "Yes. Yes they are!"

I just wish they would quite growing up so darn fast!

In the afternoon my Mum and I went for a walk through the raspberry patch and picked a whole handful. It won't be long before we will be spending hours each day picking buckets and buckets of raspberries.

Sawyer enjoyed the fresh berries as much as I did! I can't wait to eat them by the bowl full!

Vine Ripe Tomatoes

 The cherry tomatoes are ripening! Eek!

I definitely picked and ate the first ripe tomato, and it was delish!

Also, how cute is this sleepy boy?!