Our 2013 Summer Highlights

Big Sister went to Heber Girl's Camp

Big Sis went to Idaho with a friend.

The girls played in the summer rain!

We went up the canyon to explore Cascade Springs and had a picnic.

We went to the Redwood Drive-In to see Turbo

For our 16th Wedding Anniversary, John and I went to Firebird Pizza and Pasta and had cupcakes for dessert at Alisha's Cravings.

The girls went to Seven Peaks Water Park!

Roughing It Outdoors Layouts

A Camping We Will Go, 2002

Credits: The layout is by me. I used the "Happy Camper" kit is by Dani Mogstad and SBC Courtney's Journal for my font.

 Gone Camping, 2004

Credits: The template is by Cindy Schneider. The papers are by Kaye Winiecki and doodles are by Kate Hadfield. As for the fonts, I used pea amy sue and lima bean.

Worthen Family Reunion, July 2011

On July 1-2, 2011, we attended a huge family reunion on my husband's side of the family in Beaver, Utah.  Our family was in charge of everything this year (food, games, activities, clean up assignments, etc).  There were a total of 29 Frees representing our side of the family.  That is surprisingly a small number this year; however, we enjoyed being among every single one of them as well as mingling with the extended family members!

We arrived early on Friday afternoon to set up camp and got ourselves organized.  John and I were in charge of preparing dinner that night.  So we spent a lot of time in the kitchen making frog eye salad, chopping veggies, warming chili, and later that evening John helped with frying yummy scones.

Friday Dinner Crew

Justin, Keli, John, Nita, Me, and Marilee

Friday Night Entertainment

The Friday night entertainment included the following: the Worthen siblings talking about their favorite memories growing up with Grandma and Grandpa Worthen, playing card games, getting into groups reading/doing skits about our ancestors, eating scones, while kids played on the see saw, trampoline, and playground. 

 We "roughed it" in a tent that night and slept comfortably listening to the sound of crickets in the dry desert among juniper and sage...  We woke up around 7:00 AM ready to do some service projects, eat amazing food, and play games later on!!!

Saturday Morning Service Projects

There were three service projects, which John's brother Matt set up.  John, Matt, Keli, Justin, extended cousins, and I picked the least popular one picking up garbage on the side of the road.  Our daughters helped paint a white fence with Dave, Kristin, Jessica, Madison, Jeremy, Elena, etc, while several other family members went to the rest home to perform a patriotic program (singing and musical instruments).

Fun Family Reunion Activities

My brother in-laws (Joe and Dave) thought it would be cool to engage in type of activities that were around when John's grandparents were married in 1927.  Many people played several card games, made some crafts, jump roped, played marbles, ping pong, golf, horse shoes, tether ball, had potato races, and ate cotton candy.   We had a lot of fun interacting with many cousins and doing many simple activities.

Crafts: Sling shots and Clothes Pin Dolls 

Let The Games Begin!!!

The Worthen siblings: Aunt Leola, Granny Free, Aunt Carlita, Aunt Shelia, Uncle Dick, and Uncle Claire!

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From left to right are Rich, Marilee, John, Jen, Grandpa, Matt, Grandma, Joe, Diana, Dave, and Kristin.

 

4th of July Paragonah, Utah

We decided to stay at Granny's house until 4th of July.  We spent a lot of great time with Joe and Dave's families.  There were 19 of us at Granny's small house.  We were outside in their trailer, while several bodies slept on the floor, couches, etc.  Joe set up a tent for his family in the back yard.  We went to church with all of them on Sunday.  We had a peaceful Sunday taking naps, reading scriptures, and taking a walk.  The next day a couple of us went jogging for 30 minutes (Jessica, Dave, Josh, Andrew, and myself).  I was the slowest but they were sure patient with me!  Next, we showered and ate breakfast.  Then headed over to Parowan to the 4th of July parade. It was a simple parade.  There were tons of candy tossed, loads of trackers, and farm animals.  What we liked best about the country folk parade is the fact that we were able to show up 15 minutes before it started, got great seats, and were home 10 minutes after the parade was over.  Now that is my kind of 4th of July parade! The Provo parade is over rated!!!  We left granny's house after lunch so that we could make it home in time to have a BBQ with Uncle Duane, Matt's family, Justin, and Keli.  Around this time frame, is when my dear sweet mother passed away and I was not notified until the next night.

 Although we had a wonderful 4th of July this year, this holiday will never be the same for me since my Mom passed away on Independence Day.  In the years to come, I will always remember the great memories of my mother.  May her spirit rest in peace.  I love you, Mom!  XOXOX

Family Traditions:Memorial Day Weekend 2010

It is a yearly Free family tradition to visit a tiny town in Nevada called Panaca. Many Free decedents gather together at a campsite. We try to make an effort of going whenever our work schedules allow it and if we can afford the gas. Some people say, "Where on this earth is that place and why would we want to camp in the middle of the desert?" My children's grandfather Joseph Free grew up in that small town and have many ancestors buried in Panaca's cemetery. Little do most people know, Panaca is a little piece of heaven on earth!

Panaca is a small quaint farming town nestled near mining towns and ghost towns. There is one grocery store, one school that holds K-12, a few gas stations, a cafe, and one LDS chapel. From a distance, you can see fields of lavender plants. We set up our tents or trailers at a beautiful campground called Cathedral Gorge State Park.






The scenery is absolutely breathtaking to those who appreciate the beauty of the great western culture. There are clay like canyons that are seen from the campsite about a 1/4 mile away. Near the campsite, one of my children made the mistake of picking a brilliant red cactus flower! The children love to catch lizards, frogs, or non poisonous snakes. The gorgeous canyons have many cliffs that are easy to climb onto as well as many caves to explore in. Being in the dry desert can shock our bodies! It gets really cold at night and very hot during the day.







There are several exciting attractions to do in Panaca over Memorial Day weekend!

1. Hike or bike the beautiful desert scenic trails near the campground.






2. Climb and explore caves at Cathedral Gorge.







3. Play in the sand dunes with four wheelers, SUV's, or bucket/shovels.



Eleven year old with cousins Justin and James jeeping at the sand dunes!






Playing in the sand with cousins Erika and Avery.



4. Swim in Panaca's natural spring among fish and tadpoles.



5. Go Shooting(usually a guy thing but this year 11 year old and I tagged along).








6. Enjoy a campfire eating smores made with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups!



Big Sister with Granny Free getting toasty by the camp fire!



Other things to do in Panaca are seeing the nearby mines, visit ghost towns, and search for trilobites in the mountains. We have made many fun memories in Panaca this year. Our Memorial Day weekend for 2010 included the following activities/ memories:

Friday- We set up our tent. Then my girls went on a jeep ride with their cousins Justin and James to the spring. John and the girls went swimming in the spring while I read a book. While carrying my youngest daughter to the truck, we slipped and fell. I got a nasty abrasion on my knee. Luckily my daughter survived with just a scare. That evening before dinner, my 11 year old and I went with the boys to practice shooting different guns. This was my first time shooting guns. I am not a fan of them but I gave it a try and hubby was proud of me! For dinner, we made foil dinners (meat, onions potatoes, and carrots) which we cooked in the fire coals.





Saturday- We had a rough night sleeping. It was very cold and windy. John woke up shivering in the middle of the night. We went to the spring again this time I went swimming. John and I went jeeping with James and Justin near the dunes and on some crazy cliffs... We went to see a huge cave in the middle of town. It is made with red sand and rock. We ate a dutch oven turkey pot pie for dinner. Then the girls and I took a very cold shower due to the many people who showered way before us! At least we got clean though!



Little sister was grumpy! She was hungry, tired, and ready to go back to camp!



Sunday-We all got up early to get ready for church attended all three meetings. The people in Panaca are very humble and kind. After church, we had free time to take naps or relax at the camp site. Later that day everyone went to the cemetery to place flowers on our ancestors' gravestones. Then we went for an evening hike to the Cathedral Gorge Caves. For our night activity, we met with our extended family members Uncle Duane and Aunt Rhea's families for a devotional around Duane's campfire. We sang some songs, ate smores, and listened to my father in-law and Uncle Duane share memories of growing up in Panaca.

This is everyone that went to the cemetery. John's cousin Vickie, Little sister, and I were at Aunt Rhea's on a bathroom break when this photo got taken.



Monday- I got up around 5:30 AM to go on bike ride with my brother in-law Rich. Then James, Justin, and our family of four went for another hike to the caves again. The boys had fun climbing to the top of the cliffs. We came back cleaned up camp and headed towards home. We stopped at the Dairy Freeze near my in-law's house for dinner and dessert. The girls and I slept most the way home.



Good-bye, Panana! We look forward to more Memorial Day adventures in the future!