And everything in between

In between the Peach Cobbler Cook-offs, Reunions, and Spanish Fork, we managed to squeeze in some other fun activities. We celebrated my dads birthday and Easton showed up in his pirate attire. Of all the grandkids, he has grown the most since we were last here. Reagan got lots of hugs from her cousins and aunts.
I got to spend some time with my mom. Matt was so good to watch Reg's while she and I hit the crafts stores, boutiques, Tai Pan, and made wreaths. All the things Matt cannot stand. Thank you to Matt for giving me some time with my madre!
Matt hates that I don't have much of a fashion sense, including wearing tops and bottoms that look horrible together. I really am not seriously wearing this for the day, but I did tease him some when I went out walking one morning in it. My workout clothes were dirty, so I sported this outfit. He cringed over and over.

Reagan crawled all over Loni while playing Matt's packman game.
Lindsey took Reg's down the Barnes park slide. This slide used to scare me when I was a kid. It was so big! Now it seems so small.
I just like this photo of her.
No trip to Utah is complete without Cafe Rio. And more than once--we ate there 3 times!!
One of Mom Rasmussen's best traditions for when the family gets together is to order a huge sub from Subway. It is the best. The white and wheat bread are braided together and it is the most refreshing and tasty lunch ever. Mel also enjoys the subs, too.

Mom and Lindsay enjoy the patio and subs.
We got to spend some time with Lori and Robb and their two too-cute-for-words kids. We even got to stop in and see their brand new home that they moved into. It is gorgeous and got me excited for the distant day when I will live in my own home!
Many World Cup games were played on the X-Box. I suck at this game and I don't have a very good temper when I play video games, so I tried to avoid it at all costs.
The only thing missing was time to spend with Amy, Bryan and their family. We missed them a lot, but are looking forward to seeing them this Christmas!

Tearing it up at Pineview

The biggest and baddest bash of the year took place over Labor Day weekend. The Roundy reunion was held over the 3 days and some wild and crazy times were had by all. We spent Saturday up at Pineview Reservoir in Ogden Canyon. Mom and Dad rented a couple of waverunners, got up there bright and early to catch a good spot on the beach and we were good to go. The weather was perfect and the water was choppy, allowing for some serious turns and dives in the water. Here is a photo of Loren and Kelly getting ready to head out on a waverunner. Landen and his little gal Emma. He actually didn't take her out on a waverunner, since she isn't even a year yet, but he did enjoy sitting on it with her and pretending. I thought this was a photo of Lance and KT, but there is a glare on the head of the driver, making me think it just may be Loren. Hmmm... not sure. I didn't get too many photos of the waverunners because half the time my camera was up at the picnic site. The beach and picnic site were just yards away from each other, but the angle between them was seriously steep. For the rest of the Roundy bash, our bums hurt hard core from walking up and down that steep beach.
This is Loren getting ready with his oldest daughter and first Roundy grandchild, Alyssa. It was funny to get all the reactions from the grandkids as they went out in the water. Easton, age 6, would not let anyone go over 5 MPH. Autumn, his younger 4 year old sister, accused Matt of not driving fast enough over the bumps. It is achingly funny to see how all the personalities differ.
Grandpa Roundy took all the "older" grandkids out on a fishing raft. This thing turned out as fun as the jet skis. It came complete with oars and all. Can you tell my dad likes to fish?

Easton, aka Cap'n Jack Sparrow, rows along as Matt wades out with Reagan. I really didn't get in the water at all. There are fish in it and I HATE fish! Plus, my dad warned me of a certain type of fish that lives in this reservoir and has a mouth huge enough to swallow my foot. Oh yeah, and it likes to bite. So, yeah, I didn't quite make it in the water, except to get on the waverunner.
Reagan sported her now famous Einstein look, which is a result of sunscreen in her hair. Here, Alyssa plays with her in the sand.
I don't have too many photos of Roland, my newest brother in law, so here he is.

Reagan is amused by someone here, I think it is Grandma Roundy.
Reagan and Emma enjoy the sun, sand and waves. Not pictured is Eli, who pretty much completes the trio. All three grandkids were born within 4 months of each other last year. I gave Emma a sporty look as well, using sunscreen in her hair. It is hard to spot it, but it is a mohawk, kind of like the one Anjelina Jolie gave her kids at one time.
My sister Lindsey. Easton is looking on in the background.

Matt playing in the sand. Can you see the steepness of the hill behind him? We walked up and down that all day. My gluteus maximus has never had such a workout before.
Reagan tried to eat the sand. She has a nice goatee from it.
My other sister Loni, relaxing in the shade and daydreaming about her boyfriend(s).
Here is Loren with one of the biggest highlights of the day. He will probably kill me for posting this on the blog, but his son Max pooped in the water. Loren was totally disgusted. Those of you who know him well know that he is a germaphobe and cleanfreak. Really, that is exactly what he says on his blog. It turned out fine. Kelly sucked it up and cleaned up Max's mess, but not before we laughed at the closely hugging, TMI couple making out in the water right next to where Max pooped. I think Loni has photos of Max in the water after his mess, she will probably eventually put them up on her blog.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day at Pineview. The sun and wind from waverunning wiped all of us out. That night I came down with a 24 hour flu bug that kept me bowing down to the porcelain princess all night and into the next day. It was horrible. It got passed around the family, one by one, all week. Our last day in Utah, Matt had it and I think Reagan even had it a little bit. On Sunday, we had a progressive dinner where the family showed off their cooking prowess. I was unable to really enjoy much of the food because of how my stomach felt, but everyone else enjoyed a yummy appetizer-chips and 7 layer dip-at Landen and Cait's. Next was a salad at Lindsey and Rolands, where Dad raided their fridge for more food and ended up eating all the rest of Lindsey's muddy buddies and twinkies. Ouch. Next stop was Mom and Dad's, where Loren made a delicious chicken cordon bleu in the crockpot and his homemade sourdough garlic bread. I actually was able to eat a tiny bit of this because I was feeling somewhat better by this point. We relaxed, played some kickin' volleyball at Gailey Park, then ended the night with dessert at Lance and KT's with peanut butter bars and devils food cake. I don't have any photos of this day. I was feeling too sick to take any.

The next morning, I felt better. And I was so lucky I did, because Mom and Dad made a killer breakfast out on the back porch. It consisted of apple wheat pancakes, crisp bacon and sausage, egg/hashbrown quiche, and OJ. Yum. We ate up.

Lance is enjoying his plate of food.
Some of the gang.
Matt and I are sporting out Roundy Reunion 2007 shirts that Mom and Dad had embroidered. Even Reagan got one.
A good time was had by all. A big thanks goes out to Mom and Dad for planning pretty much all of it and we are definitely looking forward to 2008 reunion!!

Hey now!

Check out the guy smack-dab in the middle of the lecture, looking like he is about ready to fall asleep!

Matt was really tickled to find that in the new and remarkable Gordon B Hinckley building on BYU campus, is a framed picture of one of his classes at BYU. A friend took a picture of the framed photo and that is how we ended up with this not-as-clear shot of the class. Cool, huh?

Good Times at Mel and Aaron's

Mel and Aaron were nice enough to have us over for a night while Matt turned in some time at BYU doing recruiting and handing out ice cream. Do you want to know who the most popular kid in Spanish Fork is? Here she is... Miss Whitney! Honestly, she is the light of the neighborhood and we had a blast with her, eating spahetti and playing "outside." Jeff, Selly, and Lindsay stopped by from BYU to hang with us and play. Mel and Aaron have a pretty souped up yard, complete with an in-ground trampoline, two basketball hoops and many, many kids bicycles, most of them provided by the neighbor kids who like to park them there. The peach celebration continued with Melanie making some fantastic homemade peach ice cream. That was good stuff. I haven't had homemade ice cream in who knows how long.

Jeff and Selly are getting married on December 27, one day before Matt and I celebrate half a decade of marriage. We are so excited for them!!!
Lindsay continued to play ball with Reagan.
Mel showed us some of her sweet trampoline tricks. It was fun to watch her and Aaron do something, then see Whitney try to imitate. Little daredevil!! The pic is a little blurry, but that is Mel landing a pretty sweet flip off the driveway and onto the tramp. Reagan was exhausted from all the fun at the end of the night and it was fun for her to cuddle me.
The next day, we got together with some of our friends from our BYU days, Andy and Merri Hicken, who we haven't seen in years. It was just like old times! We got to meet their two beautiful children and we played some good volleyball on the neighbors outdoor net. That was some seriously good fun. Matt and I love to play v-ball together, one of our passions. Just like old times are the Riv!

Millions of [Utah] Peaches...

Aunt Lindsay is so playful! Reagan loved playing around with her and playing outside. Our little gal has a sporty side; kicking and throwing balls around the yard proved to be great entertainment for her. Who knew Dreyers made a BYU ice cream? Man, why can't I find that up here? ;)
We celebrated the ripe Rasmussen peach trees by holding our first Peach Cobbler Cook-off. The peach cobblers were provided by myself and Lindsay and the ice cream was provided by Dreyers BYU. It was a tasty night. Grandma Rasmussen played with Reagan a lot. Many people have commented that Reagan may get her hair color from Grandma Rasmussen. Matt and I usually just nod in agreement ;)
Prior to the arrival of nibbling mosquitos, the evenings were a fantastic time to be outside and enjoy the beautiful area and mountains surrounding us. Reagan especially enjoyed the evenings, frolicking around in her favorite outfit: a diaper.

Best Toy Ever

I think Reagan pushed this cart around one night for about two hours. She was obsessed with it. She continued to push it around on and off for about three days. Then we stopped at Aunt Lori's and she had one, then Aunt Melanie had one, too. Score! Reagan got her fill of shopping carts and we will see later today how she enjoys sitting in them and not pushing them!

I repeat...do NOT have a happy birthday!!

Yeah, that is a quote from Michael Scott himself and I have The Office on the brain since it is just days left until the Season 4 premiere. Feels like an eternity, let me tell you. However, I just wanted to say a big Happy Birthday to all our family and friends that were born in the month of September. There are many. Mom and Dad Roundy, my sister Loni, Matt's sister Lori, nieces Alyssa and Emma. And, of course, Matt is celebrating the big 29 on the 19th of this month. And my friend Jenn is going to welcome her little girl this month, too. I guess a lot of of people were busy during the months of December/January, if you know what I mean. I probably shouldn't have posted about this because I am sure I am forgetting somebody really important and now I will look like a big jerk. Oh, well.

Scariest Toy Ever

We are very proud of the fact that our child isn't scared of anything. Sometimes, when it is too dark outside and stuff, I take Reagan for protection because that is how tough she is. She will battle anything and everything. She SERIOUSLY does not get that from me...or her Uncle Lorenzo ;)

So we were pretty surprised on this last trip to the land of red vs. blue that Reagan became truly scared of this innocent train toy that my mom has. She freaked out. It chugga-chugga-choo-choos around the house on a battery and has a cute little face painted on the front. Every kids dream toy, especially those with a train fetish.

My rough daredevil of a child--for the first time ever--really let me down. She screamed like a hyena and hid behind the couch, occasionally peeking out at it to make sure it was still there and not an inch closer. I felt bad that we were kinda teasing her over it, but it was hard not to laugh at that one.