We haven't all been together in one place at one time for several years, in which time the family has just continued to grow in wonderful ways. Last time we took a family photo, it didn't turn out so hot... basically everyone looked like they were on the verge of death. SO it was pretty exciting to be reunited once again and to be able to take some new pictures that turned out awesome, thanks to Uncle Vince!!
Enjoy!
I am so lucky to be tied to these folks for eternity!
The Scott and Karen Perry clan, est. 1980.
I'd say the friendships and fun only continue to improve with the years :)
The Tyler and Kirstin Kenealey clan, est. 2000.
The Kevin and Carli Perry clan, est. 2007.
The Rob and Diane Perry clan, est. 2011.
Jannette and Matt, the dating couple who just had some cute pictures taken :)
Mom and dad with all their grandbabies... many of whom are not so much babies anymore! Its been 12 years since a little boy joined this family. Brayden needs a guy cousin!
And then there was that attempt to get me with all my favorite kiddos. Can you say struggle? It was time to give up and just say, "okay, everyone cry as hard as you can!"
This was feeling a little too boring for me (the only sib left without a spouse), so sue me for needing to mix it up a bit.
I happen to really enjoy my brothers and sister. I also happen to really enjoy what happens when the four of us pose for pictures together.
Sadly missing the Nettleton fam and a couple from the Summerhays fam, but grandma couldn't pass up the chance to snag a photo with those of us who were there: many of her grandkids and all but one of her great-grandkids!
AND THEN... there was dancing.
And Amelia candids, which no one could ever possibly get sick of.
What is it that makes sneaking pictures of sleeping people so satisfying?
Well friends, in the last year i've traveled home to Seattle six times I think... and four of those trips were made by car. Can you say yikes? Well, this last weekend I made the trip on wheels yet again. But this time, my cute boy came with me!! We were supposed to leave on Friday mid-morning, but Matt surprised me last minute on Thursday afternoon by telling me that he got work off on Friday and we could leave that evening, so we did! We drove all through Thursday night and made it home early enough of Friday to join everyone else for a fun family trip to the zoo!
Mmmm, nice fresh salmon anyone?
Little Quinny was more interested in her nap than in some of the animals. Valid, I suppose, for a baby.
What the animals see... yes monkey, you're right, it IS a zoo out there.
Paige trying hard to communicate with a goat haha.
Little miss blue eyes! Can never get enough of her!!
We decided (slash it just sort of happened) to recreate some old favorites from trips to the zoo!
I love my Rae Rae always and forever ♥ Think she'll let me hold her like this when she's a teenager?
With our WHOLE family reunited (meaning mom and dad, their four children, their three children-in-law, and all eight of their grandchildren) for the first time in seriously forever, mom and dad's house was a zoo enough with everyone squeezing under one roof and planning activities for so many people! But the weekend was a fantastic one. Along with our trip to the zoo, we packed in family pictures, playing at the park, playing LOTS of card/board games, movie watching, running on the Burke-Gilman, church, and a Seattle trip all in just a few days.
In other words, stay tuned for more picture-filled posts about how happy my family makes me and how fun it was to show Matty around our beautiful city :)
My grandfather purchased a motorhome for the Summerhays family many, many years ago.
It has traveled far and wide... okay well mostly to Utah and back in its early years, and then to the family property and back in its later years. But still, this puppy has covered a lot of miles. Even more remarkable than the miles are the memories that are cram packed into every corner of that motorhome. We've had our good times, along with our fair share of disaster with this money pit. I'll never forget the family trip to California when we had three, yes I said THREE, of the tires all blow out at different times along the highway. Yeah... that was fun to sit on the side of the freeway for hours on end waiting to be rescued. Or how about when the microwave and fridge both repeatedly took their turns ceasing to work. Or every time you turned a corner and all the dishes came flying out of the cupboards. What a joy! But i'll be honest, there are a LOT of fantastic memories that outweigh the bad. Laying on the beds in the back and flying three feet in the air every time we went over a speed bump. Countless trips to Leisure Time for family trips and birthdays. Nights at the property. Counting down the minutes until we got on the freeway so we could pop a VHS into that tiny little TV. That time my 8 year old best friend almost choked on a shock tart and didn't calm down until it slid down piece of watermelon. And who could forget the fit of giggles everyone got when under the "If you smell gas..." warning label someone scribbled in pencil, "it was probably Rob." With the thousands of hours I have spent within its walls, I could go on and on about the SMRHAYS beast.
Last week, that same motorhome had its last hurrah.
For the Summerhays family, this is the ending of an era.
After a quick trip to the property, mom and I followed in the car behind the motorhome and watched a tire blow. Again. It was the second one in two days! Plus it took out the septic tank (gross) and a storage compartment. And that, friends and family, was the last straw. It has got to go. Its time for SMRHAYS to go to motorhome heaven.
Hypothetical building plans for the property have been in place for many years, and we're thinking its time for those plans to become a reality! It'll be exciting to build upon the legacy of this place and make some fun, permanent changes. Motorhome or not, this will always be our special place where we love to spend lots of family time!
These two wonderful people deserve more than a fair share of credit for care of the motorhome and property. They have poured so much time and money and love into this all of this, and we are very grateful for them. Love you guys!
What do you do when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception? Lay in the middle of the road and take pictures, of course. Obviously the safest and most responsible course of action, despite the concerned cries from adults on the side of the road.
Growing up I never really cared for the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. I mean come on, who in their right mind would waste a perfectly good cookie on a mouse?! Welp... I am now guilty of doing exactly that.
Allow me to tell you the story.
When I moved out of The Colony right after graduation, I was fortunate enough to move in with my friend Kristin who lives less than a block away. With her hubby gone to California doing sales for several months, she wanted a roomie to share her little basement home with for the summer. Its been great living together again and seeing a lot more of each other, even though our busy schedules don't quite line up all the time :) Being a basement apartment, this place is prone to inviting a few undesirables... like spiders and beetles and now... mice!! We discovered our little visitor a couple of weeks ago when we started finding holes in our bags of food and the tiniest little terds sprinkled around the kitchen. The landlady lent us a mousetrap (one that doesn't kill, just imprisons) and after just one night of being left out on the kitchen floor with cheerios as bait (we knew from Kristin's holey cereal bag that it'd work), we caught the little fella. And then, being the sane and humane girls that we are, we let him free in the big backyard, sure that he wouldn't find his way back into our humble abode, especially with the cats that roam the property.
WE. WERE. WRONG.
Okay so this is where the cookie comes in. Last Sunday I wanted a chocolate chip cookie so bad I thought I was going to die. I needed it. Just one warm ooey gooey delicious cookie and i'd be satisfied. Buuuut we didn't have the ingredients or the time to bake them, so the craving lived on. Oh well. I left home to pick up Kristin from the airport and upon our return, I discovered a single chocolate chip cookie on the kitchen table with a note from my sweet boy who had snagged the treat for me from someone else's apartment. The craving was to be satisfied! ... Except all was not right with this cookie. It wasn't on the paper towel that he'd left, and a chocolate chip was missing off the top... and then we spotted more of those terrible tiny little terds. Mr. Mouse was back?!
All week the trap lay out, ready to capture him once again. Unfortunately he'd outsmarted us, and there was no sign of his return... until late Thursday night. Kristin and I were talking as we were winding down for the night, and while she was cleaning up in the kitchen she heard the little bugger scratching around in our pantry. We knew what had to be done. The madness had to end, and that could only happen by catching the mouse and taking the necessary steps to ensure it never returned again. The chaos that ensued was... well, lets just say it was a good thing the cute little old lady who lives upstairs had already removed her hearing aids for the night or else she might have been tempted to call the cops after the blood curdling screams that came from the basement. Which actually might have been nice because then they could have taken over our inevitable task of catching our mouse friend enemy. Kristin and Jannette: regular, unassuming girls by day, pro mouse trappers by night.
Its a serious business y'all.
We see you. And you're going down.
As if I could ever allow an opportunity like this pass by without documentation.
For your viewing pleasure, here is (most) of the midnight mouse adventures of Kristin and Jannette.
The beginning:
The big scare:
The victory:
I'll spare you all the details, but it is now safe to say that after much brain storming, planning, failed attempts, sweat, screams, and many scares, Mr. Mouse is gone. And he isn't coming back.
Mission accomplished.
If you have a mouse problem, call... anyone but us. I think we've had our fair share of adventures like this one for a while! Meanwhile, I never got my chocolate chip cookie. And apparently its National Doughnut Day, so imma go enjoy that happiness just like this winner of a pup right here.
Well actually if i'm being honest, I was feeling pretty weak and pathetic on my four miler this morning... so i'm making myself feel better by posting a few of my favorite running pictures from this year so far. Because yeah, somehow I turned into that kind of person who has a lot of running related pictures. Some of the beautiful places I go and things I see, some with my favorite running buddies, and some that are straight up braggy.
Run happy, my friends!
Matt's family's dog can run crazy fast, its way cool.
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