McDonald Family Reunion

We just got back from our first annual McDonald Family Reunion.  This reunion was for my Mom's family & her siblings and all of their kids.  We have always been super close with all of our cousins so it is always so fun to get together.  No matter how much times goes by, it's like we were never apart when we get back together. 

We have several river guides in the family so it only made sense to take a trip down the Payette River.  Talk about a blast!  We had so much fun!

My sweet Grandpa and I!  I hadn't seen him in several months and it was so nice to be able to see him again.  The reunion was a tribute to him and he absolutely loved it.

Me & my love. :)

Plenty of time to visit and catch up. :)

Every night of the reunion seemed to be a different birthday! The first night was Miss Claire Bear who turned 3, Papa John the next night, and then Uncle Brian the next! We had our fair share of cake and ice cream! :)

Love these cute little girls! :)

Part of the reunion consisted of a talent show/lip sync.  My immediate family was a bit nervous for this.  We didn't prepare until the night before but ended up having a blast!  The other families, however, were way ahead of the game and had costumes and the whole bit.  It was so much fun! I hope this is a tradition that sticks around for years to come. :)

Chad, being the only boy in the family, did Old McDonald had a farm.  His wife's name is Rauni....making her RAUNI MCDONALD! It was such a cute skit and had us all rolling with laughter.

Next up was Marlo's family.  She and her daughters have all been blessed with nice bums so they did their's to the "Bubble Butt" song.  Fit them perfectly!! Notice the balloons in their pants....haha!!

And Jill's family did a collaboration of songs, which was so cute! They are all so creative and talented - everybody loved it!!

My Mom and her siblings did their own little skit dedicated to my Grandpa of all the kids in their high school days.

Papa John with his great-grandkids! 

An afternoon at Eagle Island.

These pictures with Sarah make me so happy!  We have so much fun when we are together! Here we are practicing some moves we learned in our Ballet class together at BYU.

Wish we lived closer!! :(

Besties and cousins. :)

Jill's Burger Bar for Brian's birthday. :) 

Stephen and I showed up wearing identical outfits one afternoon. HAHA!

Love this family of mine! 

Papa John with all of his grandkids and great-grandkids.  The boys are just a little outnumbered....14-5. Haha

Riding the bat mobile! 

We finished the weekend off with a game of kick ball! SOOOOO MUCH FUN! Makes me want to start a kickball league! Haha

^^On the way home from the reunion we stopped in Snowville, UT for lunch (and some relief from our hot car) at Mollies.  It was so yummy!  They recommended anything with bacon to be delicious and they were right! I got the BLT and Preston got the double bacon cheese burger - both were amazing! I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the fun weekend, McDonald's!! Can't wait to do it again! :)

Road Trip Essentials

A road trip for 6+ hours without air conditioning (I know, we're nuts and should have fixed it a long time ago) can seem pretty miserable (and it was).  But since we have experienced this before, we decided to plan this one out a little better and make sure we were fully prepared for a long drive in the summer heat.

 Most importantly, bring your BFF.  It makes every trip fun regardless of the circumstances.  

First thing on the list for us was water.  We bought a case at Walmart for like $4 and that was more than enough for us. It kept us totally hydrated and alert the whole way.  We thought we would miss the caffeine to help us stay awake since we left so late at night but with all of the water we were drinking, our bladders did an excellent job of keeping us nice and alert the entire way. :)  Not to mention we weren't downing all of the unnecessary calories that come along with drinking soda.

I'm not a huge fan of messes and clutter on road trips and I have to say this little cereal container turned trash can did an excellent job of keeping our car nice and tidy throughout the entire trip.  One of my biggest pet peeves after a road trip is cleaning out the cracks and crevices were trash has been shoved throughout the trip and this little guy completely eliminated that problem! I would highly recommend it for road trips and for day-to-day car use in general!

Healthy snacks (with the exception of the M&M's - we needed a little bit of sugar!), paper towels, tissues, wet wipes, first aid kit, and toilet paper because sometimes you just have to go! :)

A little entertainment is always a good idea for a long drive.  We like to listen to books on tape and have plenty of music on hand.  It does wonders for keeping those eyes peeled on late night drives. :)

By the time we reached our destination (at 2am) we were spent and ready for bed.  But we made it!  Even I, who usually always falls asleep on any drive we take, stayed awake the whole way!  The only thing we would change for the next road trip we take is to get the dang air conditioning fixed....that is definitely a necessity. :)

Other road trip essentials not pictured:

• A blanket (big enough for two)
• Jumper Cables
• Tools
• Oil
• Window washer fluid
• Tire Gauge
• Pillows

McD Reunion

I am so grateful that those two pictured below, fell in love and created so many wonderful people that I get to claim as family.  

^^Grandma & Grandpa McDonald^^

^^Grandma Rachel. The most amazing woman I have ever met.^^

 

We are up in Idaho celebrating the legacy that they created.  I'm sure I will have many pictures to share after our time together! Until then, I'm going to take advantage of the time I have with some of my favorite people.
Happy Weekend!

These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you.....

I seriously felt like the whole time we were in New York, "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z, was on repeat in our heads the entire time. I must say, there is a lot of truth in those lyrics.  And it's safe to say New York is in my number one spot of favorite places to travel.  I absolutely loved it!!  Preston served his mission there so it was fun to go back and see some of his old stomping grounds.  But let's be honest, one time wasn't enough.  I feel like I need to go back to visit every year for the rest of my life and even then I still probably wouldn't be able to see and do all that there is to on that island! We got to spend six days there and we definitely wore ourselves out by the end of the trip.  We stayed right in Times Square - it was awesome! I definitely underestimated how much walking I'd be doing... I don't recommend Hunter boots for walking long distances, I'll say that much.  However, we had an absolute blast and are already planning when we can go back.  I'll let the pictures tell the rest! :)

^^So happy to be back in his city. :) ^^

^^Central Park^^

^^The Plaza Hotel^^

^^The Rock^^

^^China Town^^

^^Riding the Subway!^^

^^Had to make a stop at Serendipity, of course!!^^

^^We spent a lot of time on the subway - I loved it!^^

^^Yummy hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant in China Town^^

^^Freedom Tower^^

^^Empire State Building^^

^^Gorgeous views^^

^^Flatiron Building^^

^^KATZ'S. SO DELICIOUS^^

^^Grand Central^^

^^Carlo's Bake Shop^^

^^Brooklyn Bridge^^

^^I want to live here^^

^^Preston getting a sculpture of his face^^

^^9/11 Memorial^^

^^Times Square^^

We can't wait to go back! I {heart} NY!!

198

So... it's the 198th day of the year today. Weird that I know that? Yes, but that's beside the point.  The point is that out of the 198 days this year, I have blogged a total of six, count them SIX, times.  Embarrasing.  And I'm guessing (I'm not going to check but I'm sure I'm fairly accurate) that 1/2 of those posts involved something to the effect of me recognizing my failure as a blogger and recommitting (for the upteenth time) to be better.  So I'm going to spare you all that song and dance yet again and just simply state that I want to blog.  Plain and simple.  I want to remember this time of my life.  This doesn't mean that I am going to be good at it but I sure am going to try.  I've realized that my life is full of mess ups.  I get going really good at something for two weeks or so (obviously that trend has never happened with this blog), something happens that sets me back, and I'm back at square one.  But I'm grateful for that.  Not always.  Sometimes I forget that I'm grateful for the setbacks and I have a bit of a breakdown (sorry Preston).  But in hindsight, I learn so much from those obstacles.  Life is funny that way but it keeps it interesting.  Here's to being better!

And since no post is ever complete without pictures, here's some random ones that don't have much to do with anything I've said, but I love them all the same.

^^ We love this little dog way too much. ^^

^^ And to be honest, these pictures have a lot to do with what I've said, now that I think about it. For instance the hole in the wall behind my head and the fact that the image is blurry. ^^

^^wilting zucchini.  But I'll have you know that they are still producing and that's all I care about! ^^

 ^^What's left of our spinach.  Not my proudest gardening moment.  We let all of the plants die and didn't eat a single leaf.  That's what I get for thinking we could handle such a big garden when both of us are working full time.  Ya win some ya lose some. 

time

^^Thistles that line the road on my way to work^^

 

The passing of time is an interesting thing.  There are times in my life where weeks can go by right before my eyes and I'm not even fazed.  And then there are other times that I step back and think "holy cow! It's already been a month since we did that?!? Where did the time go?".  Times like that kind of freak me out.  Getting older (and I am by no means old, I'm 23, almost 24, for goodness sakes) is an interesting thing.  I guess its the fear of the unknown that is so unsettling at times. 

But then I have to remember that I have made it this far in my life and survived, so surely I can keep on going and take the trials as they come.  Luckily we just have to take it one step at a time.  And I am soooo very grateful for that.  If I was dealt every hardship I have ever encountered or ever would encounter, I'd give up, no questions asked.

I love thinking about what the future will hold for me and my little family.  It amazes me that eventually Preston and I will look back at our days where we didn't have any kids and wonder what it was ever like.  We'll forget what it felt like and that makes me sad in a way.  Our life is so good right now and I don't ever want to forget the fun times we have had.  But I do take comfort in knowing that it can only get better.  It's all a matter of perspective, being able to find joy in the present and having a little ALOT of faith. :)