Thanksgiving Point

A few weeks ago after work (ok, May 14th to be exact) I met Deborah and her son Tate at Thanksgiving Point for lunch. We decided to walk through the farm area and here are a few highlights from our outing.

Riding on a pretend cow.

Checking out the real thing.

Oooo, a bunny!

Kneeling to the donkey. We heard this braying later on, it was really loud!

Look at the horsey!

Mom's a bit unsure of things.

Wow, these are just my size!!!

It was a fun visit and a treat to watch Tate discover the animals. We even went on a horse-drawn buggy ride!

One of the funniest things that happened was as we were walking to and from the farm. Deb and I were each holding one of Tate's hands and I gave him a little kick in the seat of the pants Every time he'd turn around to try and figure out what was going on. Deb and I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction and confusion.

Deb & Tate, thanks for a fun day on the farm!

Way too long with favorite people!

It's been 2½ years (and 3 grandchildren) since all 5 of the Broadbent siblings have been together. We've had a few gatherings for reasons happy & sad over the years but there was always one family missing.

On Saturday, December 23rd were not only in the same state but the same place at the same time. We gathered at Kevin & Kelley's home for brunch, gifts and a Wii tournament. Not everything went as planned, the Wii tournament never really happened, however, Kevin & Kelley have ton's of great toys and we had a blast playing with them. After eating and a few group pictures we decided to expose our inner rocker and played Rock Band. You might not be able to tell but there are 2 guitars, vocals and drums (for the Rock Band illiterate). I don't know who laughed harder, the performers or the observers.Just setting it up was a challenge for Kevin. The girls formed a girl band first and just the setup of that was an experience. Poor Kevin was so patient with his ditsy sisters as they all kept pressing buttons and messing up what he'd started. Of course selecting our respective band members was a huge challenge, we are girls afterall...Kevin thanks for being such a good sport with all us!

A bit of competition took place too. The first drummer wasn't doing as well as her husband thought she should so when the next band formed, he took over the drums. After the song ended he admitted that the drums weren't so easy to play after all.

Kevin showed off his Rock Band expertise by playing the advanced guitar then switched to the advanced drums. We all commented on his selection of the hardest drums level forgetting that's he's a percussionist. Course, when it ended, he too commented on the difficulty...little rusty, Bro?

When it came time to open gifts we rigged things so that Grandma (aka, Nama) and Papa could join in the fun via webcam. As everything was getting set up Kevin decided to play with the webcam first. It was unanimous that he needed a facial, maybe that should have been part of his Christmas gift....

The Wii was played by some as a few of the littler ones slept, some even in the same room as the doubles tennis game was going on. But we couldn't let the music in us die. We also played a bongo game...4 sets of bongos...the screen telling you which bongo (right, left, both) or when to clap in rhythm with the song selected. As was the case with the other video games, there were many giggles and lots of laughter at ourselves and each other. So much for thinking we were all coordinated and know how to keep a beat.

We had a great time. It reminded me of when I was little and visiting my grandparents in Cedar City, it felt like there were people and grandchildren in every corner of the house. We may be somewhat small in number still (6 grandchildren and 4 in-laws to date) but it was a houseful of family, laughter, fun, and love. Let's make sure that our next gathering isn't 2½ years away and that Mom and Dad can be there in person next time. How I love these crazy people I'm lucky enough to be related to!

All good things must come to an end...

Why is that? Why can't we just stay in summer and no school or work forever??? Oh, yeah, food, shelter, clothing...bummer...Before school started back up I took a little time off to relax and enjoy the summer activities and weather. So here's my "What I did over the Summer" summary....

• Touring all 33 houses on the Salt Lake Parade of Homes in 3 days. (I'll be sharing some of the ideas I gathered in a future post.)
Straightening up my bedroom and rearranging furniture.

• Completing my GRE prep course and the exam. Listening to others in my classes worry and prepare for the exam, I'm really glad to have it over with.
• Three trips to Salt Lake's Hogle Zoo.
• Dinner with Kara during her 1½ day visit to SLC from Tokyo. (Kara, please be sure to send me copies of the pictures you took while we were together. Can't wait to see you again for Christmas, hopefully.)
• Several family outings: Bear Lake for a family reunion with Nathan, Shayla's 4th Birthday party, Midway with Mom & Dad, Kelley's family cabin with the UT group + Mom & Dad, picnic in Bountiful while Ann, Tyler & Lucy where here, babysitting Shayla and Cambree...

• Activity Day Outing with the 8-11 year-old girls from church.
• A couple temp jobs.
• Getting my schedule all worked out for the fall; Anatomy of Speech and Hearing, Language Science, Pediatric Speech Pathology, Voice Lessons, and Aural Habilitation/Rehabilitation.
• Meeting some new guys at various singles activities, meeting new men isn't a regular occurrence so definitely worth recording. No announcements (several of them have already disappeared) just being honest about the summer.
• Setting up a part-time job that works well with my schedule.
• Meeting with my academic advisor, 2 full semesters and 1 on-line class next summer, then I'm all finished with the prerequisites!

Now it's back to school and work...After this full, relaxing and enjoyable summer, I'm really thinking that a job within a school is a great way to go after I'm done with my master's program. Vacations in the rest of the business world don't come often enough or long enough.

Ugh...more computer issues, had this all ready to go and then, somehow, I deleted it ALL, pictures, text, everything! Then there's all the spacing issues with my post...Sometimes computers can be such a pain....

Aunt Nae's brag time...

Being an Aunt is the best! When I have little ones such as these to love, kiss, hug, play with, tickle, giggle, read to, be silly with, watch grow up, cuddle with, tuck into bed, babysit, laugh with and just plain enjoy, who could disagree? (It doesn't hurt that they are the cutest things to walk the earth either.)

It's clear that Cameron, Nathan & Shayla love being cousins!

Tate's such a big boy...just look at him trying to sit up.

The cool, oldest grandchild, Nathan. What an awesome guy!

Cambree's all decked out & ready to head home from the hospital. Welcome, Little One!

" RRRAAAARR," says Cameron.

Isn't that smile so adorable? I just want to pinch and kiss Tate's cheeks.

Another adorable smile, this time it's Lucy! Her little smirk is so darling.

Such peaceful slumber for Cambree. I love the tongue "sticking out."

Did I mention being silly with the nieces & nephews? Shayla and I pulling faces.