A visit to family and friends

Mike's Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Rexburg Idaho and we didn't want to miss it. We flew into Salt Lake and drove with Mike's mom to Idaho for the festivities. My sister Kathy was kind enough to loan us her minivan (Mormon assault vehicle) for the trip. Since the kids fly so often, they are always very well behaved on the plane. We are often complimented on our "well behaved" children. We have yet to get any such compliments in a restaurant.

Waiting for the luggage.

We spent the night with Bill and Mary in Idaho Falls and then headed to Rexburg the next day. The kids adore Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary. They especially loved their tractor rides. I was a little nervous when it was Katie's turn because I have seen her drive a few race cars at the arcade and it is terrifying. She drove it pretty well though and not just because Bill had his hand on the wheel the whole time.

Bill and Mary's children had rented a beautiful lodge for the anniversary party. It was the perfect setting. Bill loves to hunt and their were elk heads on every wall. It really was nice. It was very warm and cozy like you were in a home but it was big enough for everyone. Even with kids and a huge dog running around, (and Mike threatening to just dig in because he couldn't wait any longer) the cake survived. It tasted just as good as it looked. Here's the happy couple. Wow, 50 years! The kids made a terrific slide show of their lives together. Mike's cousin Shae is an amazing singer and she played the guitar and sang a few songs which fit the occasion perfectly. I was so impressed. All of the grandchildren shared their favorite memories of their grandparents. What a wonderful life they have built together and what wonderful people they have to show for their love.Mike's cousin Matt and his wife Laura have a cute little boy named Christian and this adorable little baby named Aubry. Here she is with her grandma Sue.

We told Tommy their would be a little boy for him to play with at the lodge. Thankfully, Christian delivered. When they found this four-wheeler that belonged to the lodge, they told us they were going to go for a ride. I thought that sounded really safe and reasonable. I told them they should probably take Katie and Aubry though, just to be really safe.

St. Anthony Sand Dunes of Rexburg Idaho. These were so fun! We all had a blast playing on these hills. Mike kept running and jumping and I sat, burying myself for a while. I was really impressed at how many times the kids would run up the hill. It is actually quite tiring in that soft sand.

Misty used to belong to Mike's Aunt Carol. She passed away a year and a half ago so Bill and Mary took Misty in. She herds Bill's cats now. The kids loved to play with her. We always wondered who would get worn out first. I decided they are all tireless and I'm glad they had each other.

We were all sad when it was time to go.

We loved spending time with the family and our amazing view of the Grand Tetons.

Then we went to Logan, Utah to visit my friends from college, Chad and Rachel and their family. We walked into their home and Chad's son Logan saw Tommy's Lego Starwars shirt and they were immediately friends. They got out the light sabers and Aniken and Darth Vader costumes and they were off. Carli and Emmali eventually helped Katie warm up as well. She sometimes waits until it's time to leave before she realizes how much fun she could be having. Their baby, Ryan is so cute and has more hair than Tommy and Katie currently have. We really enjoyed visiting with them all and found it very hard to leave.

I don't know why but for the longest time, I have wanted to drive a bobcat. Well, Chad owns one and so you can see the excitement on my face when he let me drive it. He even let me pick up rocks and move them around.
Mike, of course, had to show me up. He looked like a pro...he's so competitive!
Finally, we spent some time with my family. We hadn't planned on staying in town very long but the planes were pretty full on the day Mike had to leave for Chicago so the kids and I just stayed with my mom. I'm glad we did because I got to visit with more friends.

Katie tucked in her Little Einsteins and Ariel when it was time for bed. She is very cute. I like listening to her talk to her toys when she doesn't know I'm listening. It is very sweet. She was pulling a yo-yo around the other day and told me it was her pet. I asked her what her pet's name was. Usually her names lack a little creativity. If it is a stuffed bunny, it's name is...bunny and the same always goes for cats, dogs, etc. So I was pretty curious to see what the pet yo-yo's name would be. She said, "Sparky". The next day at breakfast, she brought her pet to the table and tied him to her chair. She said, "Sparky is wild". I am still amazed she is only two.

Katie is playing better now with my sister's son Stockton. She used to try to beat him up because he was the only person smaller than her. He's catching up now, so she has learned to be a little nicer.
Stockton and Jaxson are dunking their mom. She can use this picture to blackmail them later.
It was so nice to be with family and we had a great time. As soon as we got home though, Katie asked if we could go to Grandma's house.

I fixed the comments so you don't have to have a google account to post a comment, so....