Getting used to our new home

It is hard to express how blessed I feel for moving into our neighborhood. It is a great place and we are settling in nicely. There have been hard moments with the transition...we really miss Michigan in many ways, especially during the fall but overall, it feels great to be here. A few things we have been up to:

Watching Michigan games and BYU games on our phone or listening to them on the radio. Not everyone's favorite option, but in an effort to save money we are opting out of a TV this year. Hopefully we will have cable by next football season (or Jace really might die).

We are absolutely enjoying eating dinner with the family every other Sunday. Such a treat for us all!

I love that every time I drive into our neighborhood, this is what I see. I love nature and the outdoors and a beautiful day with beautiful surrounding makes me incredibly happy. We picked the right spot!

This boy is loving his new found freedom, but had a sharp learning curve about being in the street (living on a cul-de-sac makes you a little less careful). The other day when I told him to get out of the street, he sat down instead.

We had such fun meeting my mom downtown for lunch one afternoon. Temple Square was still in full bloom and we loved every second of our afternoon out.

Jace was over the moon to get an autograph from one of his very favorite authors. The kid who won't wait for ANYTHING, happily stood in a 2 hour line for Brandon Mull's autograph. I love that he loves books.

We love walking to church every Sunday and moseying home watching this little guy discover the world. 

There is a cat in our neighborhood that Pierce loves to find.

We have been focusing our Family Home Evenings on preparing the boys in every way to serve missions. It has been a fun theme! One night they worked on repairing a chain. 

We love driving up to Snowbasin to see the leaves and the mountains up close. We are so grateful it is only a 20 minute drive. We love it!

Cutest picture ever!

Cullimore Family Reunion, St. George!

It's interesting to me how sometimes it is the little things that keep families close and sometimes it is the big things. As people get older and there continue to be more and more people to gather, I am so grateful that Gummy and Gumpy have always tried to make something big happen to bring everyone together. Being on vacation with one another is a special thing since everyone gets a chance to leave their regular life behind and focus on being together.

I am so grateful for their desire to keep us all close, to them and to each other. We got incredibly lucky this year to be in town for the rather impromptu Cullimore Family reunion in St. George over Labor Day. It was 3 full days of fun, games, and togetherness that we were so happy to be a part of. Thank you Gummy, Gumpy, Kathi, Laurie and my Mom for all the hard work. planning, and money that made for such a fantastic weekend.

Our family got to my parents' house before the festivities began and enjoyed some of our favorite things about St. George!

Tubby time with cousins...

Snuggles from Grammy....

Uncle Mitch....

and lots of sunshine and pool time!

Everyone gathered with us for a little BYU game watching. We are united as a family in our support for BYU and our love for Aunt Laurie's homemade salsa!

We had lots of great times at the pool and in my parents' backyard. It is so great to see all these second cousins having a great time together and creating new friendships.

I love having a sister. What would the world be like without one?

There was a lot of football watching going on :)

hot dog roasting and marshmallow roasting. Love us a fire pit.

There was just the right amount of ALL togetherness and time for separate families. The first night we took over The Pizza Factory in St. George for a large pizza buffet. We let the kids sit on their own, which my not have been the best idea ;).

Everyone took a long time to finish eating as they watching the BYU game from a few smartphones, so we took the littles out for a stroll. How cute is this picture?

After attending church on Sunday, we took the opportunity to go to the visitor's center and tour some of the church history sites in St. George. My mom set up private "shortened" tours for us and it was an awesome and HOT afternoon. 

What a group!

Standing on the staircase in the St. George Tabernacle built my Miles Park Romney. So cool!!

This picture may sum up how the adults felt after touring church history sites with literally a million kids :)

Brigham Young's house and farm

Eating fresh almonds. Yum!

Grape tasting

After the church history sites came the highlight of the whole trip for most of my family, the catered BBQ at the park and all the fun and games that happened too. My kids could not stop talking about their awesome afternoon and evening, and the dad's totally got in on all the fun. Such great memories together!

The whole crew!

The family that started it all

So fun to have Luella join us for a bit. Sure do love her!

The boys watching the dads in a pretty serious flag football game

Little boys turn!

It was so cute to watch this all happening

Nancy came for a quick appearance too. I love having the influence of these awesome women in my life!

Fun "minute to win it" games for the kids to earn Cullimore cash for the store!

Serious ball going on and serious sweat...we did not want any of the boys to ride home with us :)

On the last day my mom put together this super awesome store for all the little kids to shop at. It was the Cullimore Mercantile Store, just like my great-grandpa had. The kids had been earning Cullimore Cash all weekend for good deeds and participation in family events. Such a fun idea and they all ended up with a bit jackpot on Monday!

A quick good-bye pic

Thanks to everyone who made it such a fantastic and memorable weekend! I love being part of such a great family!