Some of us arrived on Saturday, August 4 and all of us were home or headed for home on Wednesday, August 8. In our 4 days together, the 15 of us packed in all kinds of fun, including games, crafts, tons of good food, S’mores around a beautiful campfire, watching movies, and sharing memories.
Ed and I arrived late on Saturday morning following the Ririe High School class reunion in Idaho Falls the night before. Kelly and Gary arrived in the late afternoon with their car packed “like we’re moving to another country.” Kaytee and Josh traveled 150+ miles from Anaconda in his big pick-up truck because they needed room for everything Kaytee felt they needed to bring, arriving mid-afternoon on Sunday. Michael and his Mrs. who celebrated their 1stanniversary this weekend, got to the cabin early Sunday evening.
In addition to the beautiful Yellowstone National Park, all or part of us visited the Johnny Sack cabin (on the National Registry of Historic Sites) at Big Springs. We also enjoyed the spectacular Mesa Falls; and walked a very narrow trail overlooking the Snake River (almost) to the end of the Buffalo River Power Plant Nature Hike. After our nearly 4-mile walk – with 3-year-old Thoryn and the Postma family pup Copper bouncing all through the forest - we cooled down in the south fork of the Henry River. M&J waded across to the opposite side while Kelly and Gary floated a fair distance on inner tubes … all agreeing it was painfully cold even on an 80 degree day!
Here’s what we learned about our family:
1. Mrs. Mike has an absolutely stunning singing voice.
2. Kaytee’s husband Josh is all kinds of fun and knows all the words – and sang them - to most of the songs in “Fiddler on the Roof” … the movie about a man raising three difficult daughters.
3. M&J have come a very long way in blending their sweet family.
4. I should have done a better job at communicating ahead of time what everyone’s food assignments were because everyone brought everything. As a result, we had more food than we knew what to do with (or room for) … except for ice cream!
5. A log on the forest floor can serve as a bathroom, if necessary!
6. Cousins have LOTS of fun together even when they've only just met.
7. There’s no such thing as too many pictures of trees, rivers and family members.
8. A cabin reputed to “sleep 20” doesn’t necessarily have kitchen table / refrigerator space for 20.
9. A beautiful roaring campfire every night makes every vacation day memorable.
10. There’s always room for marshmallows cooked over a beautiful roaring campfire.
11. People are stupid when it comes to chasing grizzly bears through the woods to get the perfect photograph.
12. Quiet hours and a fun craft projects for the kids (thank you, Aunt Kelly) are very, very, very welcome at the end of a busy day.
13. 600 miles is not too far for us to travel to be with our kids and grandkids!
14. “Let’s do it again next year” from most of our family members means our time together was a success.
There was no drama, tears (except when it came to time to say goodbye) and it appears everyone had a fun time. The only thing which could have made our weekend together more fun was having Kris, Stacy, David and their families with us, too. Maybe next year.
There was no drama, tears (except when it came to time to say goodbye) and it appears everyone had a fun time. The only thing which could have made our weekend together more fun was having Kris, Stacy, David and their families with us, too. Maybe next year.
