Hutchings Hold'em!!

(The whole gang at Black Bart's, a resteraunt where the waiters and waitresses sing)My sister Alicia put on a GREAT Kent Hutchings family reunion this year!! The theme was western and western it was!! We went camping in Flagstaff AZ for 3 days!! (the nephews LOVING the camp fire)
It was dirty, but well worth it!! Since I am still single I got to be part of Kent's Kings (we were all cards). The other families were Cara's Clubs, Alicia's Aces, Mindy's Mavericks, Black Chad's (family inside joke), and Kelby's Jacks (only married families got their own names)!! We left on Friday, spent the night at a hotel, and then got there on Saturday afternoon and set up camp. Sunday we went to a local ward, played games in the afternoon, and then that night watched family dvd's (of what the families have been up to over the last 2 years) and had stations for playing games, making up skits, writing wanted posters and putting on western make-up!! Our skits were out of a bag and it would only be our family that would come up with some of the stuff they did!!! We are definitely CRAZY!!!(Alicia, Dan and Dacie on the ski lift)(the highest toilet in AZ)(Ryland and I on the ski lift)(the view from the top)(the view on the way up)
The next day we took a ski lift to the top of the highest mountain in AZ (they even had a ski trail called BooBoo) and then took a jaunt over to the Grand Canyon as no one in our family (besides our parents ) have seen it!!! It was beautiful and definitely GRAND!!! (the GRAND canyon)(my sister-in-law, AmberRose, and me at the Grand Canyon)( AmberRose, me, and Kelby and Mikelle's shadows at the Grand Canyon)(Me, Kebly and Mikelle, and AmberRose at the Grand Canyon)
On Tuesday we packed up and left and came home!! It was short, but well worth it to have all the family together and bonding and doing fun stuff!! I also think we didn't have any major battles which is a first in a long time!! Yeah for us!! I love being with family and doing fun crazy things!! Next reunion in 2 years!! YEAH!!!(AmberRose=Cowgirl, Mikelle=Saloon Girl, Kelby= Chief Massive Squat)(Brendon, Breanna, and I cramped into the back of the Truck on the way home)

EFY, had me a BLAST!!

Steady and Sure was the theme for this years EFY program and that is exactly what my girls were!! For those of you who don't know what EFY is, it stands for Especially For Youth!! It's a week long church camp for youth ages 14 to 18. They get to got to talks by amazing teachers (Brad Wilcox was one of them this year), do service projects, have dances, go to banquets, play games, have a talent show (which was called the variety show), make up a cheer, do a banner for their company and so much more!! I was a counselor, which means I was in charge or 12 girls and making sure that they participated, were safe, and having a BLAST!! My age group was 16 to 18 year olds!! We were in a company with one other group of 10 girls and 2 groups of boys (6 in one and 10 in the other)!! We had the BEST group!! They were all so into it and so accepting of each other and just having a good time!! I was soo proud of them because for a few days we had a 13 year old in our group (his brother was originally in our group so they threw him in with us) and our company took it in stride and totally accepted him and made him feel welcome. When they told him he was being moved to a younger group he was kind of sad because he loved our group soo much!! My co-counselors were AWESOME as well!! My girls thought that one of them (Spencer) and I should get married so he fake "proposed" to me and then we took fake "engagement" pictures!! Our company loved it!! I actually lost my voice that week which NEVER has happened to me before!! And it happened on the second day!!! I wore a pair of pink pants I owned the second day and everyone loved them soo much I actually wore them all week (don't worry. I washed them). I was affectionately know as "pink pants" or "the pink panster"!! Crazy kids!! I learned soo much from theses kids and love them with all my heart!! I miss them soo much!! I also grew soo much closer to my Savior and loved the chance that I had to intensely study his gospel and teach others what I learned!!! It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done and the closest to being on a mission that I have come to thus far after serving one!! My girls had such strong testimonies and truly taught me what it means to be saved for the latter days because they truly are!!! I get to leave in 3 days for my second session in Rexburg ID and then in the middle and end of July and beginning of August I get to do 3 more!!! I can't wait!! Yes it involves a lot of sacrifice (no steady job for the summer for sure) and travel, but soo well worth it!! I never understood why everyone made a big fuss over it and tells everyone else they need to go, but now I think I understand!! It is an experience for these kids that they will never forget and one that will help strengthen them for the rest of their lives!!!
(Pictures in order but not in order of when they happened: Spencer's and my fake "engagement"photos, the sexy boys in our group, the last dance on Friday night, fun with face masks on the last night, the banquet, our whole company sitting pretty, me and my girls, some of my girls and me and class, the crazy co-counselors, our whole company at game night, our company name and banner "Not of this Fold", some of us being crazy at game night (see the pink pants?!), service project of looming hats, game night, pizza night (that was a story in and of itself. The boys wanted to buy our girls their pizza, but Spencer forgot to order them, so they spent the night rounding up extra pizzas for us!! OOOPS!!), the first dance, and one more picture of game night)

I'm Baaack!!

Famous line from "Independence Day." Back in town, and like my sister wrote in her comment, I am more tired than I have ever been!! I am slowly catching up on sleep though!! Have realized time doesn't stop when you leave and neither do the responsibilities!! YIKES!! Wish I could hold up in some some rock and never leave!! Internet is down at my house, so I have to use the parents. Will post AWESOME pictures from EFY week soon. In the mean time I get to get ready to leave again this weekend for a family reunion. Does it ever end?!

EFY, Here I come ready or NOT!!

With NOT being the operative word!!
Packed- half a check
Tired-check
Excited-check
Nervous-check
Stressed-check
Prepared- NON check!!

New York, New York!!

So the title might be a little deceiving, but with the costume my sister is wearing, I thought it appropriate!! We went to her final show of Rythmical Madness (the dance troupe at her high schoo) and I LOVED IT!! Okay, so I just loved her, but same diff. I didn't know my sister had soul, but after her hip hop routines she was supposed to be black!!! That probably explains why she got a mini solo in the African dance they did!! She rocked it!! She was the most energetic one out there and is a true performer (if you couldn't tell from the pics). I love my lil' sis and think she's a STAR!!

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear DADDY. Happy Birthday to you!!

So my dad's favorite color is blue, so this post gets written in blue writing!! My dad turned 58 this year!!! Weird huh?! I can't believe it!! Okay, it actually isn't that weird and I can believe it!!! I think I am starting to get old though too because 58 doesn't sound that old any more. Now 60!! That still sounds ancient!!
Anyway, my dad was lucky as we decided to celebrate his birthday twice so, it kind of was a week long thing. He wanted to go to the drive-ins for his birthday, so away we went. We didn't think everyone that was living here could make it, but we all did. We ended up watching Iron Man (my second time. LOVE IT!!) and 10,000 B.C. (which I really enjoyed)!! I think my dad had fun with all his kids and watching totally guy movies.
Then, that Saturday, we met up at Shaun and Cara and John's apartment complex and had a bar-b-que and swim party!! The whole family got together and just ate and played together. My dad even got in the pool and threw us kids off his shoulders like he used to do when we were little (his knee must be getting better). After swimming we went to Cara's house and had cake and ice cream (which cake I couldn't have because I made a New Year's resolution to not eat cake this year and I've actually done pretty good) and then Mom, Dad, Cara, and Brendon played Canasta while the rest of us either went home to sleep, slept at Cara's house, or went to go see Chronicles of Narnia!! I think my dad had a great birthday because most of his kids were there. And that's what he loves BEST!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

So I'm posting in yellow since that is my mom's favorite color, but that means you probably won't be able to read this!! Oh well!!
I'm not as good as my sister on actually posting the day things happen or the actual day of holidays, but I eventually post (maybe a month late) which is better than nothing. And to make my sister feel bad (since she is so much better than me at everything) the entire family was with her that day except her and 2 of my brothers. So take that Alicia.
It was actually a very nice day with most of the family attending my parent's ward. Then, the other children who didn't come to church with us, came over in the evening to have dinner and watch mom open presents. Then mom wanted to watch old family movies and we got really caught up in them and watched them till 11 pm. I don't know what it is about old movies, but I love to see the silly things you do as a child and to see a person grow up (especially if it is you or your family members). It brings back soo many great memories and smiles!! My mom and I are really the only ones in our family that like to do this, so we'll definitely have to have a date to do it!!
I love my mother more than words can express. She is the woman who gave me life and then taught me how to live it!!! She has been my best friend and confidant my entire life. When things take a turn for the worst, my mother's loving arms are the only thing that can comfort!! She has more patience than anyone I know (she has too since she has 9 kids)!!! She loves each of her children individually and knows what makes each one of them tick!! Although she's worked many times throughout her life, it has never taken her away from home and she has never let it!! I think she works harder at home than at her jobs though!! She has an endless supply of energy and enthusiasm!! She is organized to a T and fits more into a day than most people fit into a lifetime!! She makes everyone around her feel at ease and welcomed. She doesn't judge and cares deeply for others. She is the epitome of what I want to be when I become a mother!! I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Let's go fly a kite!!!

Or at least try!! We had a kite flying activity on the 10th of May for my young single adult ward. We were supposed to build a kite and then try to fly it and have a contest doing it. Well, we only had 1bout 15 people show up, there was NO wind, and only 3 people actually tried to make kites and fly them. My bishop brought his own kite though and flew that for a little while. It was a success though because people just had fun playing football, soccer, and catch. It was a beautiful sunny day outside and there was a lot of bonding going on. Overall, I think those that came had a great time. Too bad for those who didn't right?!

GOOOO TEAM!!!

(Our team in blue, Aaron going for the rebound)

(team huddle. If anyone is curious, the tall guy in the back with no shirt under his jersey was my make-out buddy)

( the other team going up for the shot and us trying to block)

So our men in our ward have 2 basketball teams. Usually I can't go to the games because they are on Thursdays during Institute or other days when I'm busy doing other things. But I have been able to go to the last 4 games. (Brendon showing off trying to dunk off my back!!)

They have even let my little brother Brendon play, so I've been taking him to the games with me. The 2 games we had last week we won and one from this week we won. Last night one of our teams got trounced 80 something to 60 something. We had plenty of players we just couldn't score!! This time Brendon played on the other team as it was our family ward team. The family ward team only had 5 players and one of them fouled out in the last 3 minutes so they played with four players and still won!! Kind of sad for our boys!! I was really supportive of our team (while yet cheering on my brother) until our team started to be poor sports about loosing and yelling at the refs and the other team and complaining. So I abandoned ship and started rooting all out for the family ward team!! Oops, but come on boys!! It's only church basketball!! I think our teams problem is that they are all good players, they all just seem to have the same strengths and weaknesses and everyone wants to be the superstar so they don't play as a team. Plus, we didn't really have a coach last night, so they had to call in subs and things on their own.(say cheese. Me cheering on the team)

(ashley, megan, and lelani (in the back) cheering on the team)(Jessica Pierce and Brent doing their share)I still have a blast cheering, being loud, doing cheerleading cheers, pounding the floor and screaming when the other team was shooting free throws, and doing spirit fingers when our team was shooting free throws!! We have about 5-10 girls who are the cheering section!! It makes for some fun times and a good break from the busy life of a single!!!