Reunion marathon

We ended our extended vacation by being reunited with Daddy (YIPPEE!!!) and started off to Island Park for the first of 3 family reunions.
In Island Park we met up with Alan's extended family and rented cabins and brought motorbikes and 4wheelers and games and more food than any of us knew what to do with...fun for the whole family! For some reason we didn't get the camera out more than once so...we have a couple random pictures of a walk we went on with the cousins...
Though we didn't capture it on camera we had a great time. Alan's cousins taught him to ride a motorbike for his first time and I introduced Jake to 4wheelers:) We clung to my legs really tightly but no matter how fast I went he wanted faster:) He kept saying, "Go, Mama, go!!" and "Bump, bump, bump!" I guess maybe we NEED to get one:)

After a couple days in Idaho my dad came and picked us up for a rather long roadtrip to Oregon for a reunion with my sibs. We stayed with Uncle Norm and Aunt Judy for one night and went to church in the ward we attended when we lived there. We hadn't been there for 19 years!!! It was crazy to see how many of the people were still there and totally nice to catch up with some of them:) From there we went out to Fort Stephens on the coast and played on the beach in the FREEZING water and found all sorts of cool things in the tidal pools, took long bike rides, did a little hiking and swimming and camping and more games and more food...

The "big boys" and Mom rented surf boards and wet suits and hit the waves...One hit Jas back kind of hard and he took a knock on the head...we don't think there was any lasting damage:) but you never can tell:)

Next we drove on to Cle Elum Washington for the final reunion. This was with the extended family on my mom's side. I hadn't seen most of these aunts/uncles/cousins for 8 or 9 years. I got to meet their families and introduce them to Alan and Jake. It was awesome!

Jake got to eat watermelon right off the rind...happy, happy, happy...

And he got to hang out in tents...his new obsession...between the tents and all the cousins he was one busy and happy little boy.

On our drive back to Utah we drove by way of my old stomping grounds. I hadn't been there for 8 or 9 years either. We stopped by the cemetary where my mom and cousin are buried. We gave Alan a little tour of where I grew up.

By the time we got home we were EXHAUSTED, but so happy to be home!!! Poor Jake didn't recognize our house... :( ... and I cannot even begin to compete with the fun of tents and being surrounded by cousins, but we're trying to manage:)