You know how people ask, "Would your ideal vacation be on the beach or in the mountains?" Well, I think I figured out my answer this last week at the great Flake Family Reunion 2013. We stayed at my brother's house and had a wonderful time. Isn't Horseshoe Bend, Idaho beautiful?
The reunion started on Wednesday, June 19. We had a blast swimming in the pool and hot tub. Have you ever seen that many people in one hot tub?
The best part of the day was when my parents opened their mission call. I had three siblings who were unable to come, so my parents skyped two of them and called my brother who is currently serving a mission. We all cheered when they read they would be serving in "Panama City, Panama". So awesome! My parents will be speaking Spanish!
On Thursday we enjoyed a 'Getting to Know You' video that my sister made. It included every member of the family. I learned some pretty interesting things about my family...
Later that day we rode horses. A Flake reunion wouldn't be complete without them! In this picture I am racing Greg. As you can see, he is just a hair ahead of me but...
Not for long!
Riding horses was definitely a highlight at the reunion.
Even Emily tried getting on a horse. She's a natural!
Later that day we played some volleyball. We played the in-laws against the out-laws. As it turns out, my family isn't very athletic...
On Friday we hiked up a mountain. It was not an easy task, especially with a heavy baby and baby backpack. My sister, Cassidy pulled me up the steepest parts of the mountain. I couldn't have done it without her. It was totally worth it when we got to the top. Just take a look at the beautiful mountains!
That evening we went to an outdoor theater to watch a musical and of course stayed up late. On Saturday afternoon we all headed home, but it sure was an awesome reunion. I sure miss my family, especially my great parents: Elder y Hermana Flake!
It's always hard to get back to "normal life" after a fun vacation. On Monday we went to story time. It was Miss Heather's last day. After a year of faithfully coming to her story time, we took a picture of Emily's favorite (and only) teacher!
It is also fun to visit with friends once you return. Here is a picture of our friends Chris, Wendy, and little Bruce. Such awesome people!
AND I almost forgot, while in Idaho we visited my Grandma Emery. As you can see...Emily LOVED her! We sure love our family. Can't wait to visit again!
On Saturday, May 25 we drove up to Mt. Charleston (about 45 minutes away) and hiked to Mary Jane Falls. The weather was perfect and we loved being in nature!
It was Emily's first hike and she really enjoyed it. Maybe she liked it because Greg was carrying her the whole way...
When we got to the falls, there was hardly any water. It was more like a spring. I guess that's what we get for living in a desert!
We hiked a little further, past the falls and came to a cave. It was pretty awesome.
Now that we know Emily likes hiking, we'll have to go again!
On Memorial Day we went to the Springs Preserve. We saw some cool animals, a cactus garden, a ton of displays, and even got to see the Nevada State Museum at the end. It was over a hundred degrees that day...that is why we are both squinting in the picture!
Emily loved the moving rock. Look at how red her face is! Poor baby.
On Friday, May 31 Rachel came for a quick visit. We had some nice talks and ate some great food...including blizzards! Yum! Emily even warmed up to her before she had to go.
Emily loves 'balancing' on our cookie rack. She is so cute. She thinks she is so far from the ground. We love watching her stand on it. Don't worry, I washed the rack after she lost interest.
Our pretty little princess. Next week Emily will be 13 months old. Time flies!
We are so lucky to have such a cute baby girl in our lives. Her smile brightens up my day. And yes, she is playing with her socks in this picture...
Last fall and spring semesters we attended a young marrieds institute class over at UNLV. It was every Friday night and dinner was provided. We made some awesome friends and had a great time. This picture shows some of our great classmates.
On Saturday, May 4, Eric (Greg's brother) and some of his buddies drove through Vegas on their way back from California. Although they were in pain from being sunburned, we all had a great time!
Emily LOVED seeing her Uncle Eric.
Last week my cousin and his wife asked us to watch their kids for a week while they went to Jerusalem. This is what it would look like if we had five kids all under the age of eight.
My favorite part of the week was when we put the kids to bed and Greg would tell them stories. I loved listening to his stories about "Grey the Penguin". My husband is so cute.
Emily turned 1 on Friday, May 17. We decided to get her a cell phone for her birthday. I know you're all judging us now, but look at how happy she is...
I loved watching her open up presents with one hand. She got some good stuff!
Here is Emily with her cake that says Happy Birthday Little Em! She had a hard time blowing out the candle, because she wanted to touch it, so we helped her out.
Then she ate her very first piece of cake.
Since it was Emily's day, we went to the park. She really liked going down the slides.
She even liked the swings. I guess you could say her first birthday was a success!
My birthday was last Wednesday, but since last week was so busy, we celebrated it on Monday. We had a fabulous dinner and we even got some visitors (Greg's parents!)
Greg made me a cookie cake and put 29 candles on it. That's right, I'm almost 30. All I have to say is 29 has been pretty awesome so far!
Emily is 11 months old now. She has two little teeth, crawls everywhere, is learning to walk and loves to read books.
She is a good little eater too. Isn't she cute?
On Sunday, March 31 we had an excellent Easter. We had ham, potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn, and bunny cakes. When I was a kid, my mom made bunny cakes every year for Easter. This was my FIRST time making them and Greg liked them so much that we will definitely continue the tradition.
Here is a closer look at the bunny cakes.
Happy Easter!
Emily loved playing with the plastic Easter eggs. Just look at that face!
Daddy daughter time
On April 2 we celebrated our 3 year anniversary. We are still very happy and in love.
April 15 was Greg's 29th birthday. I told him I would make whatever he wanted for dinner. He chose homemade macaroni and cheese, peas, and dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. Sounds more like something a Preschooler would want, but hey, it was really good!
The birthday boy! Wow, look at all of those candles!! I'll be 29 soon too...
A closer look at the birthday cake.
You're 29?!?! That's pretty funny!
Sweet little Emily
Today I got to see my parents during their layover in Vegas. They are on their way to Virginia to go to Whitney's college graduation. They just happened to have an hour layover here. When you live far away from your family, an hour in the airport is totally worth it.
Plus, my dad got to see his favorite grandchild!
