Las Vegas & A First Flight...

We took a little family vacation and went to visit Cory's parents in Las Vegas. It hasn't been very long that they have been gone but we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go say hello!

It was the first time flying for all four of the kids (Brig has been in a small private plane before) and we were quite a spectacle! We got all kinds of attention and comments in the airport. Brig was a little nervous for the take off but they all did great and really enjoyed the flights.

As fun as the quick flight was- getting to Las Vegas and seeing Grandma and Grandpa was much, much better! It felt like it had been much longer since we had seen them and it was quite a happy reunion!

We kept the itinerary pretty low-key and spent a lot of time at the near-by park on the splash pad because it was quite warm!

 

One night, Cory's parents kicked Cory & I out of the house and we went for a little jog and ran some "sprints"  at the park. It was fun...even if I haven't sprinted since Jr. High and I am pretty sure that my running wouldn't even qualify as sprinting. However- Cory was pretty quick!

The next day we drove up to Red Rock Canyon and saw our first cactus and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the red rocks...I loved them and want to explore them a little more when it isn't quite so hot next time. There was a little visitor's center that we walked around and Grandpa got Ty a cool little hat so that his bald head didn't match the color of the rocks by the end of the day.

We miss Grandma and Grandpa...but I think their absence is the most obvious on Sundays when we really miss sitting by them at church so it was lots of fun to get to spend the Sabbath with them.

Great Grandma & Grandpa Jensen...

In August we visited my grandparents. It had been quite a while since we had seen them- in fact they had never met Jase or Ty. It was a quick visit with Grandma Madsen & Aunt Taylor surprised us there too! The kids were spoiled by Grandma as usual and by Great Grandma too (it must be hereditary!) Great Grandma insisted they each get to pick out a toy...and then just a few hours later insisted they go pick out ANOTHER one! It was good to see them and have them see our kids again!

McCall with Grandma & Grandpa Walker...

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Walker in McCall. It was pretty low key and pretty great. We love McCall! The weather was a little cold and rainy which actually made it a really ethereal experience. A few of the high lights were the awesome cabin with a hot tub (the kids could have lived in that thing!), walks with grandma and grandpa, fishing at Brown's Pond (where Cory fished when he was a little boy...and it wasn't just a little chilly while fishing- it was freezing!! But our kids can be die-hard when it comes to fishing and even though they couldn't feel their fingers wanted to stay because they were catching so many fish!!) and hiking and climbing along the north shore and then exploring Boulder Lake which was covered in snow!

It was really nice to spend some time with just our little family and Cory's parents before they leave on their mission.

Walker Family Reunion 2015...

Labor Day weekend was our annual Walker Family Reunion...which is basically our excuse to play for an entire weekend. The past couple years we have based from Grandma and Grandpa's house and had most of our activities center around the house (which works well for napping kids and babies).

One of our favorite things to do it go find a secluded sand bar and let the kids dig and splash and play for hours. This year was no exception...despite the chilly wind's best efforts!

 

 

 

The goggles were a pretty big hit with the kids and a pretty great source of entertainment for the adults!

 

 

Ellie did get cold pretty quickly and wanted to snuggle up in her cute new towel (from Grandma) for most of the beach time...so she made her way into a lot of these pictures!!

 

 

 

 

 

I was lucky to get Brig to stop for any pictures at all. You see, the big boys have "The Nature Club" (I need to post more on that soon...it's kind of a big deal!) and that pretty much governs all they do. So while they were at the beach, Brig was super excited to catch some little fish. He was even more excited to take them back to Grandma's and study them...and then dissect them with his beloved pocket knife. The same pocket knife that he used that evening to cute up some pears he found and cook over the campfire.  Oh boy. I tried not to think about it too much. He was in heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

One highlight was when Grandpa surprised all the kids with their own watermelons. Each of the 12 kids had their very own melon to indulge themselves. They loved it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's hard to see in this picture but the theme of the reunion this year was to Be The Good and Believe There Is Good in the World. A great message to remember!

 

 

Another fun thing was taking the boat out- this is the first time that some of the grandkids went on a tube and everyone had fun! It was pretty cold again so a lot of the moms weren't even planning on getting in the water but it just looked like such a great time that we all had to give it a shot...and we all ended up getting pretty wet! It was great!

 

 

There are so many other moments that I just didn't have my phone or camera to take some pictures...

piñata, tin foil dinners, the dad's hike, the kids hike, playing in the sandbox, making skirts for the little girls, lots of food, lots of toys, new towels, laughing, learning a new game, cousin time, grown up "time out" (aka...the giant tote of candy) and lots of fun!

Thanks for the memories Grandma and Grandpa!