We had such an awesome family reunion in Island Park. For the second year in a row we went up a day early to spend some extra time with Derek and Amy and their family. Our first stop was in Ashton for lunch at Big Judds.
Then we made it to Island Park and went to see Johnny Sack's Cabin and where Big Springs starts. It is fascinating that this large river literally just starts and seeps out of a mountain/hillside. It was pretty windy but it was so beautiful and the water was SO clear.
Then we went to look in the water some more and to see all the big fish waiting to be fed.
Next we went to the cutest cabin that Amy found that fit us all perfectly. Two bedrooms downstairs for the adults and the bunk room upstairs for the kids. It was such a relaxing evening. We loved sitting on the front porch rocking away and enjoying each other's company.
After dinner the girls played outside and explored. They loved the hammocks and we had some smores.
We realized that the big house we were staying at for the reunion was just down the street so we took a little walk to go see what it looked like. It was cool to walk down this gravel road and look at all the different houses. Paige and Juliette were excited about finding all sorts of different rocks and it was truly just a beautiful evening.
In the evening the adults visited downstairs and the older girls watched a movie before bedtime. I was wondering what the 2 younger ones were doing and so I went to investigate and it was the sweetest thing to find them playing with the potato head together on one of the beds.
The next morning we checked out of our little cabin and we had to figure out what to do for a good part of the day before we could check into the other cabin. We drove to West Yellowstone, MT and found a fun little park for the girls to play on for a little while before lunch time.
We walked the streets and wandered through some shops before getting our lunch. The girls really loved one store that we stopped at that had a huge collection of rocks to look through.
After lunch we went to a little history museum about West Yellowstone. It is in an old train station and was small but good for the girls to do some learning though most of the time we were chasing Baylor around and trying to keep her from being too loud.
Then on our walk back to the car we stopped and got some ice cream!
We still had a little bit more time to kill so we stopped at Henry Lake State Park. It was so gorgeous! I could have stayed there for a good part of the day. The water was clear and Nate and the girls found some great skipping rocks. I was impressed with Nate's rock skipping skills and the girls also found some more cool rocks to keep. The view was stunning and it was such a fun little stop before starting the family reunion.
We all gathered at our big house for the next couple of days. We roasted hot dogs and had smores for dinner and just stayed up late visiting. There was a bunk room for the older kids and we were all excited for this time that we had to get together and spend time with family. Paige was especially excited about all the cousin time!
Thursday after breakfast we started our day off hiking Upper Coffee Pot Rapids. The hike was along Henry's Fork River and the views were beautiful. We were a big group and the cousins had fun with each other and we made quite a few stops to enjoy the view and climb on some big rocks.
Baylor got carried most of the way and even fell asleep for a little bit. All the fun had worn her out!
Then that afternoon while some of the little ones were taking naps and I was preparing dinner, Amy planned a couple of fun relay races for the kids to enjoy.
One part of the relay race used some popcorn kernels and afterwards the kernels were everywhere but the kids sure had fun with them and it kept them busy.
The porch was such a perfect gathering place. It was nice to sit out there and enjoy the breeze and visit with family. Grandma and Poppy played some dominoes with some of the kids after dinner. And the adults just sat out and talked while the kids kept each other busy playing outside in the dirt and on the basketball court or playing inside. I really don't know what they did most of the time but that's what was perfect about it is that they kept each other busy and had so much fun spending time together.
During the down time Nate took some great pictures of a lot of the kids. It was so fun to go through them afterwards. I have some cute nieces and nephews and love them all so much!
She sure is a silly one and makes some of the greatest faces!
These three are so close and love spending time together!
Every night Grandma would read the grand kids a bedtime story.
Friday after breakfast some of us went to float down Big Springs. Sharolyn and her 2 boys were in a canoe with my dad, Michael, Josh, and Joseph were in another canoe, and Amy, Charlotte, and Juliette were in the third canoe. We brought an inflatable boat for our little family to go in. It was beautiful and very slow paced and relaxing. Those in the canoe were much faster than we were so we got left in the dust. Amy and her girls would occasionally wait for us to catch up and visit for a bit. It was lot of fun and I would totally do it again. I was fine taking our time. Baylor fell asleep for about 3/4 of the ride which was awesome since she was the harder one to contain and just sit and relax in the boat.
Once we got home and had a late lunch, it was just a relaxing afternoon of more visiting. The older kids had some fun with the Wii downstairs and my parents played a couple rounds of pool. I'm glad we added the extra day this year to have more time to relax and visit.
That evening before dinner we had a little family devotional that was low key and we talked about the importance of remembering our blessing and being grateful. Paige had decorated the poster for Grandma before we came to the reunion and everyone put their blessings on the poster and we hung it up on the fridge. I loved reading what everyone put and trying to guess who wrote it.
Then we took some family pictures. I love being in Idaho and spending time with all of these people! I love family reunions and the time and memories we get to make together and that my girls get to play with their Peterson cousins for extended days since they don't get to see them that much.
I love all these weirdos!
Where it all started! :)
Nate took some more pictures of some of the cute kids running around.
More faces for your viewing pleasure!
It was the cutest thing to watch these 2 with some Cheese Whiz! They both loved it so much and Baylor wasn't the best at sharing but it was sure funny to watch Bria being persistent in getting some of that cheesy goodness. Paige was helping them at first and then once a person was done helping them they would take it to the next adult to help them get more. It went from me to Nate and to my dad. There may have even been more who they wrangled into helping them get their cheese fix. :)
Then that evening we celebrated Emmett's birthday. Sharolyn brought a pinata and had another fun candy game. It was fun seeing how excited he got over each present that he opened and we all got to enjoy some yummy birthday cake.
Last night together- Grandma read the kids another bedtime story and most of the adults stayed up late laughing and talking. It was such a fun reunion!
We got all checked out on Saturday morning and then we all stopped at Grandma Walker's house to eat our lunch that we packed and to let the kids play in her flooded yard. The kids had so much fun just running around and splashing and chasing each other. It was a fun way to end the reunion and it was amazing to see my Grandma and visit with her.
It was such an awesome reunion~ It was so relaxing and I loved all the time we got to spend together and the fun memories that we made!
We already can't wait until our next reunion!
