We haven't been to my side's family reunion for a few years but this year I was in charge and so I put the location in between us in McCall, Idaho. It was between 6-8 hours for everyone and I found the perfect house that fit us all.
We made a big trip out of it and took a few extra days to divide up the travel. On Wednesday we traveled to Lewiston. On our way our first stop was in Vantage, WA at the Gingko Petrified Forest Interpretive Center. It is this small museum right on the Columbia River. We got to see a whole bunch of different trees that became petrified and had our picnic there.
Our next stop was at Palouse Falls- it was an amazing waterfall to see but it was super hot outside so we didn't last long. And to make things worse I led us in the wrong direction and we didn't realize it until we had gone about 40 miles the wrong way. So we backtracked a lot and got to Lewiston way later than we wanted to.
We finally made it to Lewiston to our little home for the night. Derek and Amy and their family were kind enough to drive about 3 extra hours to stay an extra night with us. It was great to visit with them and Paige loved her entire long weekend with lots of cousin time.
After dinner we drove to a park that is right on the river. It was a great park and the view on the river was beautiful!
The hill was a great hill for the girls to roll down over and over again.
When we got back the girls got ready for bed and spent some time outside star gazing before bedtime. The three older girls were in a room together and it took them awhile to fall asleep. They were too excited to see each other and be together again.
Group shot in front of our cute house before heading down to McCall
Our amazing house for a couple of days! It was perfect for us- the view was incredible, it was only 15-20 minutes away from the lake and downtown McCall but you felt like you were alone, the kitchen and dining areas were huge, the rooms were decorated so cute and plenty of space for everyone, lots of bathrooms, and the kid's room was a hit and had 6 bunk beds and a SLIDE!
The kids stretching out their legs and popping bubbles while they waited for dinner.
The garage was stocked with so many fun things for the kids- bikes, scooters, balls, and even some water things that we took to the lake.
The first night after dinner we all played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
I brought some beach balls to play some games with and Nate helped me carry all the balls out. :)
Beach ball games
Then we brought the parachute out and enjoyed playing with that for awhile
Each night for the kids that were still awake Grandma read some bedtime stories.
Friday after breakfast we went to Ponderosa State Park which is on Lake Payette and spent the day there. We went on a short hike first. I gave all the kids brown paper bags with a list of nature things to find while they were hiking. They all seemed to enjoy it and the hike was beautiful besides the mosquitoes. We got attacked and we all had lots of bites.
Then we drove to the tip of the peninsula of the park for a beautiful view of the lake.
And a few family pictures- I didn't get everyone but the ones I did are pretty great.
We drove down to a small beach area and had a picnic. We got a quick picture of Grandma and Papa with all their grand kids before eating and played at the lake.
The lake was awesome. Our small beach area was perfect for us and all the kids had fun playing in the sand and in the water.
Sleepy, cute babies.
Warming up on the hot inner tubes after playing in the water.
When we got back we played some family reunion bingo. I made the bingo cards with everyone's pictures. It was cute to watch the kids' faces light up when it was their picture.
After dinner we went outside again and played with some water balloons. We first did a water balloon toss.
Then it was time for the water balloon fight. It was a lot of fun and I loved seeing everyone enjoy themselves and get wet and just have fun. I would yell an adult's name and all the kids would attack that person and get them soaked.
This picture makes me laugh- Erika determined to get Derek with the water in the cooler.
Then it was the human pinata. The kids enjoyed getting all the candy and it was a fun activity to end the night.
I stayed up super late with Erika, Brian, Karlton, Michelle, and my mom. We talked and played some games. It has been a long time since I have done that with some of my siblings and I really enjoyed it though by the end of the week I was super tired.
Saturday morning we all got up and had breakfast and checked out of our house. Then we drove into McCall to Charlie's Garden. It is a beautiful, hidden oasis on one side of Lake Payette. I loved everything about it and if I ever go to McCall again I would definitely go again.
Then we drove into downtown McCall and found a little park on the water to have our lunch.
And our last stop was Ice Cream Alley. It is a great little stop and is awesome prices for as much ice cream as your get.
Saturday evening we went to Palouse to stay with Nate's aunt and uncle. His cousins were there to and it was great to visit with them. Here is our view as we were leaving there. It was really pretty! Then we stopped and saw Aaron and Rachel and their family and visited with them for a couple of hours before heading home. It was such a great long weekend and I loved every minute of it!
I don't get to see my family that much and I miss them a lot. I love the times that we get together and as I look at these pictures it makes we wish we could get together more often. I loved visiting with them and seeing Paige have so much fun with her cousins (Baylor will get there as she gets older- though Bria and Baylor were pretty cute together and one day will be great friends). I loved this fun reunion and all the fun things we got to do together!
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