The Draney Family Reunion

Me and Grandpa Draney

 

Yesterday was The Draney Reunion! It was held up at the Spruces and we had a great time.  It is always nice to see all the family and get caught up on everyones life. I rode up with my Mom and Dad and then Kort, Russ, and Kendall met us up there.  We made it up there for dinner and hung out for a couple of hours.  Kort and Me were in charge of dessert, so I made little fruit tarts and chocolate rolo cookies.  I was super excited because it seemed like they were a hit.  I do not bake much, so I get really nervous when I have to.  After dinner we stayed and chatted with everyone.  Aunt Trudie had some games for the little ones to play and it looked like they had a good time.  I wanted Nik to feel like he was not forgotten, so I got a clean paper plate and started a note to him and then had the rest of the family join in :) .... Hopefully he will enjoy it and know how much the Draney Clan loves him!



Will and Kendall




Mom and Dad




Kort and Russ




Britt and Taylor




Uncle Kyle and Aunt Suzie




Sydney




My cousin Nick




Kory and Mike




The Grill Masters.... Tyler and Uncle Scott



Jack and Cash



Aunt Trudie and Will




Kimo and Me




Tyler, Holly, and Will




McCall, Brandt, Aunt Debbie, and Ryan




Ashlyn and Camry




Jack




Uncle Dee catchin some zzzzz's



Uncle Trent



Aunt Trudie made a fishing game with prizes for the Kids.... They loved it!




Brinlee getting ready to go fish




Me and Britt



Russ and Kimo playing games



Kort and Britt




Kids decorating cookies... and Yes Uncle Trent I see you in the back!




Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dee




The Fam!

  Well it was a great weekend with lots of loved ones and a nice opportunity for us to remember those great times that we have created with each other! If you know me really well my family means everything to me! I am so grateful for them and am so thankful to still have such close relationships with my cousins.  I am so glad that we all keep in contact and make an effort to see one another!  Two years ago my Grandma Draney passed away.  It has gone by so fast and hard to believe that she is not here with us.  I know that she is with us in spirit and is looking out for us from above.  She loved us all so much and was such a great example to us.  She taught me many things and one of those is to love others no matter what.  I will always miss my Grandma, but I will always be her Kandus LaLa.  Love you Grandma! :)



My Dear Grandma Draney



This last week....

 So I have not blogged in a little while and thought I should share somethings that have been happening.  This last weekend was really nice.  I ended up hanging out with Nik's family for most of the weekend.  I am so grateful to them for including me in all of there family functions.  I know that Nik would be so happy to know that I am still hanging around them and keeping in touch with them.  They have truely made me feel welcome and have made me feel loved.  What a blessing this has been in my life, especially while Nik has been gone. 
 On Sunday I had a meeting with Brother Terry in my Young Single Adult Ward.  I was really nervous about it thinking that I was going to get a calling in Relief Society because they had just visited me the week before.  So I assumed wrong..... He wanted to call me to be a Ward Missionary! Me a Ward Missionary????! I never thought that I would get a calling like that.  I have not served a mission and do I really know how to do missionary work? I try and teach by example, but have never really been the type to just bare my testimony whenever.  So even though I was way nervous for this calling I know that Heavenly Father wants me to do His work! I accepted and we had a meeting this last Sunday.  Scott the guy who is over the Ward Missionaries told us how excited he is about this calling and that he knows that we all have been called for a reason.  My head was spinning at this point and wondering what Heavenly Father wants me to learn from all of this. Then Scott began with his Testimony and said that he had been given the ward directory and knew none of us.  He had prayed and prayed and kept coming back to are names and that he knew we were suppose to be called to this great work.  I felt the spirit so strong and could not deny it! I was like, ok Heavenly Father I will do as you ask and not question you!    I think that this will be a great thing for me and that it will help me to have some experiences that I can share with Nik as well.  I just wrote Nik and told him about it..... I am sure it will put a huge smile on his face :).
  This week I also got a letter from Nik.  He is doing so well and learning so much.  It is amazing to see how much a person can change in such a short amount of time.  It is so cool to see how close he is to the spirit and see how much his testimony has grown! He is such an amazing person and I am so lucky to have him want to be apart of my life! The nice thing to was that he said he missed me! Sometimes I wonder if he misses me, so it is nice to hear once and awhile that he misses me as much as I miss him.  We are both being so blessed while he is gone serving his Mission.  The Lord truely knows what is best for us and will help guide all of us.  It may not be easy at times, but the load may be lightened if we put our Faith in our Savior Jesus Christ! I am so grateful to have this knowledge and am so happy to know that I can turn to Him in my time of need! Another week down and a lot more to go! :)

4th of July weekend!

  This was a great weekend! First of all I was not on call and actually got to enjoy it. I also got a letter from Nik!!! It seriously had been like 2 1/2 weeks since I had heard from him! I think my family was getting a little tired of me saying how much I wanted a letter.  He is doing great and learning so much.  He got a great trainer and has been working really hard! I am so proud of him and love him so much! The Lord is truely blessing us both!
  My cousin Britt also called me on Friday to tell me that they were going to induce her.  So we waited around to get the phone call to know when little Gavin was going to be born. Poor Britt labored for like 22 hours and then they finally decided to do a c-section.  So finally at around six thirty on Saturday night I got the phone call that little Gavin had made it here safe and that Britt was doing well too! I am so excited for them.  I am only Auntie Kandus to one other person and that is Jeanna's little girl Jocee. So I was thrilled to have another little one be born that would know me as Auntie Kandus! This is the closest I am getting to nieces and nephews anytime soon! :) So I have to of course spoil them!!! I went and saw Britt and the baby on Sunday morning.  They are doing well and it is so good to see everyone happy and healthy! Here are a few pics of Baby Gavin!

Me and Baby Gavin

Baby Gavin

  After visiting with Britt I went to my parents house for the afternoon on Sunday.  We were celebrating Kendall's 24th birthday! It was really fun... we had my Mom, Dad, Kort, Russ, Grandma Fisher, Hayley, and me all there.  We had a good time and played some games and just relaxed.  Dad and Russ also took a long nap in which there was a lot of snoring going on! There were a few times where they woke themselves up because they were so loud! We laughed and laughed at them!  
  I am so grateful for my brother.  Kort and I love to tease him all of the time, but deep down I love him so much.  He does so much for not only me but for my Mom and Dad.  He is such a good example to me and has shown me by how he is living his life.  It is wierd to look at him and think he is my little brother when he seems all grown up. I just want him to know that I love him and cannot wait to see what his future holds for him! He will do such great things!

Kendall with his yummy bday cake



Dad and Russ.... sawing logs in stero




Hayley, Me, and Kort on Kendall's bday

  After hanging out with my family on Sunday afternoon I met up with a friend later that night.  We went and played games at a park close by my house and then just went for a walk.  It was fun to be able to sit back and relax and not worry about anything.  It was a really nice evening and was really pretty outside.  The best part about this weekend was that I did not have to work on Monday!!! That meant sleeping in and staying in my pj's as long as I wanted.  I have not done that in awhile! :) Later that night I went to my sisters for a bbq for the 4th! We had a good time and laughed a ton.  That is one thing you can always count on in my family is laughing a lot! After dinner Kort, Russ, and me went down and saw the fireworks at West Jordan Park.  It was really fun! They were really pretty and it made me think of all those that did serve and are serving this great country we live in! We are so lucky to have the freedoms that we do.  Especially that of religion.  I am so grateful to live where we do and to be able to worship how we choose! I hope you all had a great 4th of July because I know I did! 

Kort getting things ready for the bbq




Kendall and Hayley




Mom, Kort, and Me



Dad is finally getting his smile back! Yay!!



Russ and Kort




Me rockin the curly hair!




Kort at the Firework show



Russ pulling faces

Me waiting for the fireworks!

Fireworks at WJ park..... They did a great job!



More fireworks!



What a great way to end the 4th of July!