Day 9: Family Reunion in Idaho: July 20, 2012

This was our very full family reunion day.  It was so wonderful to have every single person in the family there.  I am so grateful for the K family and how they have included the four of us and make us feel welcome every time-like we belong in the family.  I am so blessed.  Having the kids gradually getting older- the oldest is 14, I know that getting everyone together will become more and more difficult.  Us driving from halfway across the country also makes it difficult, but I want to do all I can to strengthen and cherish these family bonds.

 This cabin was right on the lake.  It was beautiful and the lake was a huge attraction.  All the adults took turns "lifeguarding" and watching the kids.  Grandpa K did it most of the time and I am so grateful for his watchful eyes.  Luckily, we didn't have any problems, but safety always comes first!

 Uncle K took the kids out on the boat and they got to be in the tube behind the boat.  They loved it, particularly C.  He is in the picture below.  Uncle K really tried to dump some of them (C included), but didn't get the right waves until the last day.  C and T were dumped out the next day.  I didn't get a picture, but they said it was fun.  Uncle K chose the right two cousins to dump.  They were so pumped afterwards.

 J loved being in the boat.  He didn't like being in the front or being on the tube, but he LOVED the boat and could have ridden in it all day.  Me, being pregnant, only rode in the boat.  It was fun!  J was right!

K and B took their turn in the tube.  They loved it, although they were a little more cautious than the boys.  

The little ones:  J, L, and S- all got in the tube together.  CK was the adult that was there to help.  J and S didn't enjoy it once the spray from the boat started hitting their faces.  It was a short-lived trip.

Another favorite thing was the paddleboards.  C loved them and I have dozens of pictures with him on the boards, paddling away.

Pregnant belly and life jacket-what a combination!

Here is CK paddling with A.  She wanted to ride.  I think she loved it.

A common mealtime site:  Many of the cousins gathered together, crammed on the benches to eat.

One thing that Grandma K brought to do was family bingo.  Here are the cousins perusing the prizes to see what they might want.  They all had a blast and they all came home with treasures.  Thanks, Grandma!

Ck was excited to water ski.  It had been a few years and he wasn't sure how it would go, but he got up on the first try and loved it!

The day was just beginning, though....to continue the water fun, we loaded up the tubes and rafts and went to the river.  It was a hot day and fun to be in the water.

The water was shallow and slow and so the kids were able to switch tubes and boats frequently.  A wasn't sure about this tube, but she has a smile on her face:  so it was fun!  I love white-water rafting, but I obviously cannot do that 7 months pregnant, so this was perfect for me, too.

That evening, Aunt K brought out Scattergories for all the older kids.  They had a blast!!!!  The youngers were a little jealous, but their time will come.  It is a new favorite at our house now.  The funny thing is that I really thought I'd given our game to Goodwill when we moved, since the kids didn't really like that game.  Thank goodness I did not.  It is a favorite here now!

Here are two of my cuties, cuddling before bed:  A and J.  How lucky I am to be their Mama!  :)

Day 8: Start of Family Reunion at the cabin: July 19, 2012

This morning, we woke up and did a little laundry and re-packed to head to the cabin.  

It took a few hours, but we made it there.  Once we got there, we unpacked and headed out to explore the lake.  It was gorgeous.  

 The kids also began making a movie with C as director and photographer.  It was so fun to see them work together on that project.  It helped strengthen the cousin bonds and gave them something fun to do whenever they had a spare moment.

This was the beginning of a great reunion!  We love our K family!!!

Day 7: Good-byes to Utah family and drive to Idaho, July 18, 2012

This day was difficult.  First, though, all the Utah family presented K, C, and J with presents.  Since we do not live close and K and C just celebrated birthdays, they thought it would be a great time to celebrate.  J's birthday is in two months, so he got his presents early.

 Now, for the difficult part:  good-bye.  Oh, how we love our family in Utah.  We love visiting, we love being there with them.  We hate, hate, hate the good-byes.  After saying good-byes and all the emotions, we were off----but, they surprised us with a new tradition learned in Boston:  The driver turns up the radio really loud and the ones in the car wave while the ones outside dance and run along the side of the car waving.  I wish I had my camera ready to document this moment.  It did bring on the waterworks nice and strong for us--especially K and I...we didn't stop crying for about an hour.  We love our family!

This was, however, a very bittersweet day.  I missed CK so much and I was excited to be reunited with him.  After the hour of crying, I switched to being excited!  Grandma K had planned a girls' night to include K.  As soon as we got there, the girls, including K and A went to work, crafting, playing, cooking, and eating.  It was a difficult transition for K, but all the girls and Grandma were so loving.  

While the girls were playing, the boys and I walked over to the school playground.  C and CK went and played catch and J "disinfected" the playground by scooting all the gravel off of the steps.  It was a beautiful night.  We loved the cooler weather.  Having nights actually cool off is awesome!!

Day 6: Downtown Salt Lake, July 17, 2012

Day 6 we went downtown.  L and I are such planners, but this was difficult to figure out all the logistics.  We had C working and then scouts and Young Women that night.  We talked forever to figure it out, but we thought we had it!  It didn't work out quite as we planned, but it was good enough.  :)

We took the Frontrunner train down.  It was so nice to be able to sit and chat and not worry about traffic and parking.  All the cousins seemed to enjoy being together as well.  :)

It was so nice to see them all together, particularly to see J and G as they have grown up.  They are almost the same age and they enjoy being together.

We get to see the Salt Lake Temple almost every year, but it still is such an awe-inspiring site, particularly for J.  He absolutely loves temples-all of them.  He loves to be around them and he was so excited to be there this time as well.  

 All the kids have electronic devices and they were all taking pictures.  When they weren't taking pictures, they were playing in the water.  It was a very hot day and very refreshing!

We took the opportunity to go up the Church Office Building elevator to view all of Salt Lake City.  It was cool to see the buildings on all sides.  We especially loved seeing the temple.  From this height, it looked so small.

 Here we all are:  

Front:  G, C, J, and CR

Back:  L, K, me, and S

 We were so blessed to see Mami and Papi (XDH's parents).  I can never express adequately how blessed I feel to have them still in my life.  They are amazing people and there would be a huge hole if we were not still in contact.  It was difficult to see them only a couple of times this trip.  These pictures were when it was almost good-bye.  That was difficult.  :(

 Before good-byes, we went over to the Church Museum.  Papi is always full of fun and silliness, including wearing a skirt to dance!

 Then, we walked over to a new mall there.  I loved this picture with K taking charge of all these cousins.

This new mall has a couple of fun water features where the kids can play.  Since it was a hot day, they LOVED it!  :)

 Finally, headed home after a busy day.  JM, K, and I took these four little ones with us.  We enjoyed them and JM and I enjoyed some needed adult conversation.  

 And thus the end of a crazy busy day.  I am so blessed to have so many families that I love so much.  This family is absolutely amazing.  Their faith and dedication to the gospel, their families, and each other is amazing.  Their love for me and my children is a huge blessing in our lives.  We wish we lived closer and were able to see them every week instead of once a year.  How blessed we were on this trip.  So worth all the miles.  I would do it again-pregnant or not-so worth it!

Day 5: Enjoying Utah family time, July 16, 2012

 Monday, we had a plan all worked out to go downtown.  Then, a big storm came through-right during the time we would have to have been driving.  We watched the weather and tried to decide if we were okay.  After talking to Papi and Mami and hearing about the weather they were receiving, as well as watching the news, we decided to safe and stay home.

Luckily, we had already had all day with the cousins playing together, working on their movie, and S practiced facepainting, since she was going to help Z (sister-in-law) with her thriving business.  They did a great job and J really wanted to be a tiger like last year-and he got it!

 Then, we took the kiddos out for ice cream, just to get out of the house.  We had a great time.  This picture is not great of the three of us, but I love these women soooooooooooooooooooo much that I had to include it!  How very blessed I am!!!!!

Day 4: In Utah, church, and family time, July 15, 2012

 Cousins after church.

 The cousins always make a "movie."  Here they are rehearsing-see the camera ready to film!

 The youngest four didn't fit at the big tables, so they got their own.  They enjoyed it!

 K with two of her cousins, C and S.

 And, here are the boys.  C with his cousins, S and CR.

Finally, part of why we all got to meet together Sunday afternoon is to celebrate the birthdays of these two ladies.  On the left is L, a dear family friend that I was grateful to see again on this trip.  On the right is my dear sister, L.  She had just had a birthday a couple of days before and it was wonderful to gather together and celebrate.

Total for dinner that day, we had 9 adults and 10 kids.   It was a fun and wonderful full house!

Day 3, Drive to Utah, July 14, 2012

From Denver, we drove through Wyoming to get to Utah/Idaho.  We had to work to plan my walking stops to be able to stop at Little America, but, as the kids said, "It's TRADITION!"  So, we stopped.  It was great to have a walking stop where I could walk around the hotel buildings and not just a gas station.  The kids loved being able to stop and play on the playground.

 A favorite part for K and A was that it rained a little while we were there!  They got to use K's new umbrella!

When we made it to my Sister-In-Law's home, we got to rest for a bit and then CK's parents came to get he and Aubrey to go spend four days in Idaho.  It was so hard to say good-bye, even for such a short time.  It was so worth it, though, to spend time with this part of our family!!!  I love my sisters-in-law and my parents-in-law and even though XDH and I are no longer married, we still have the bonds of family that bind us together.  Our kids love each other and enjoy "cousin time," and we love each other and the challenges of the last few years have brought us all closer together, rather than creating a wedge between us.  What a blessing!