Reunioning {Elwoods in Oakley}

Summer means reunion time and I love it.  We had an awesome time with the Elwoods for a long weekend from July 23rd through 26th.  We started out in Hyde Park for the traditional 24th of July parade (which we used to ride in as youngsters but now just watch and collect candy from).  Then we caravanned to Oakley, Utah, where after a few wrong turns thanks to a bad GPS coordinate from the VRBO site, we finally found the cabin we rented for the event.  We had a jolly good time visiting and playing games and reading stories and eating (delicious!!) food and riding bikes and fishing and walking and kayaking in Smith and Morehouse Reservoir (which was just a few miles up the road and was oh-so-beautiful).  My grandparents even came up for a night and we had rooms and beds for everyone.  Cal and Gregg camped out in the backyard in a tent (she was soooo excited to sleep in a tent and Gregg was such a good Dad to humor her).  And we even saw a moose!  What a great time with my great family! 

Cal putting her hand on her heart (close enough)
as the flag went by.  She thought she had to keep
it there for the whole parade and couldn't figure
 out how to pick up the candy we were telling her
to get, while simultaneously holding her bag and
keeping her hand here.  I think she was relieved
to get it all straightened out.  :)

Lovin' the parade with my peeps.

Evelyn wanted to hold Baby Sam (who is
almost as big as she is!).

Splish splash I was takin' a bath . . .

. . . long about a Saturday night.

A tub full of squeaky clean fun, I say.

Pretty tight quarters, though, for three kids, two
moms and a grandma in that itty bitty bathroom!

Dessert on Saturday night was an epic Oreo tasting. Everyone
found the most unusual flavors they could and we tasted them
all.  I personally liked the Cinnamon Bun.

Ky in Oreo heaven.  (She's a big fan, to say the
least.)

A little after church s'mores playin'.  This is a fun and easy
little card game Heather has had for years.  Callie especially
loved the cards with ant-eaten chocolate.  Fun for the whole fam!

Gregg, Sam and I took a little walkie on Sunday
afternoon.

Pretty nice view up there!

Here's the back porch of our cabin - we ate and played games
and made ice cream and visited back here.  It was so cute
and so perfect!

Stepped back to see the whole thing.
It was rather rustic and had a lot of character, but there were lots
of beds and lots of blankets and we were cozy.

Cal loves her aunties.

And I love my sisters for loving my kids so much.

The men build us a fire.

We found this broken Connect Four game on a
shelf in the cabin.  Cal was a big fan.

S'mores and sisters.

Finally roasting mallows after a loooong game of Bang!

Just a little Monday mornin' fishin' in the brook
next to the cabin.

Note this is Cal's pole with no hook or bait, but
Gregg was successful a few feet downstream
in snagging a good-sized trout a few minutes
later.

Story time with Uncle Nate.

Lake time!

This guy loved the rocky beach we found at
Smith and Morehouse Reservoir Monday
afternoon.

Ky Ky and Cal testing out a kayak.

Ev liked to bounce on the backrest.

Such a good sport, that Ky.

It really was such a lovely little spot.

This pic cracks me up because it looks like Heath is sailing
a big ship in a storm or something.  It did get a bit windy at some
times so the hand on the umbrella was necessary.

Climbing, climbing.

Kayak cousin time.

Even Sammy got a turn in the kayak with Mugs.

Cal so much wanted to be like the big guys and use a paddle.
I told her if she was going to use a paddle she had to wear a life
jacket, and the only ones we had were adult sizes.  She was not
deterred.  She thought for sure she was heading out into the open
water and doing all by herself.  I love her zest for adventure
and trying new things.  I hope it stays with her always.

Ready to catch up to Dad in the middle of the lake.

Dippin' our toes.

A little grandma-Ev time in the shade.

Fun to have my grandparents join us for the day.

Sleepy baby (babies? Maybe Baby Girl Olsen was sleeping here,
too. Cal was so interested in what Heather's baby was doing at
all times. "What your baby doing now?" she'd ask Heather
multiple times a day.)

Gregg sweet talked Ev into reading stories with
him.  They're pals now.

Dessert on Monday night (after yummy Dutch oven enchiladas)
was homemade ice cream and Dutch oven cherry cobbler!
Bam!

Grandpa had two super cute helpers with the
ice cream machine.

I love that this old machine has been going strong for 30+ years!
(My parents got it either as a wedding present or for a first
Christmas present!)

Just waiting and visiting in the cool of the evening.

Good mornin' big fella!  On our last morning
we got to see this guy right in our backyard.

Kinda fun to spot a big ol' bull moose outside our
living room window first thing in the morning.

Little Moose-Bum sees his first moose.

And he's outa here.

Cal had to teach Ev how to line up the checkers
to slide into the Connect Four tray, but once
she got the hang of it, she was a huge fan, too.

Showing Uncle T how it's done.

Story time with Grandma.

Everyone's dressed and has their hair done and Connect Four is
still the game of choice for the under-three crowd.

This time they have a great-grandma audience.

Thanks, fam, for humoring your big sis and taking a family pic
before we all departed.

Ky and Sam selfie sendoff.

So much fun to be together in the mountains!  We can't wait for next year with two new little cousins to add to the fun.  Here's to family and here's to summer!