Family Reunion

The Friday before last our family drove down to Manti with my parents to watch the Manti Temple Pageant.  We had homemade pizza at the house, and in Manti, we ate some yummy ice cream.  The girls liked the Superman ice cream they ordered.  The pageant was nice, too, but unfortunately, Matt and I came down with colds while we were in Manti, which made it more difficult for us to enjoy the experience.  On Saturday we were both beat from being sick and staying up so late in Manti.

Kirsten and Reagan with some Lamanites and pioneers

 The following Friday we left we went to Idaho for our family reunion.  The drive went smoothly, and we got to stay at a nice hotel thanks to Matt's dad and all his travel points.  I love staying at the Hilton Garden Inn when we go to Idaho.  Everything is so comfortable, especially the temperature.  I love that I can set the thermostat to 69 degrees, and it doesn't cost anymore for me to stay there than if it were set to 76 degrees.  It's not great for the environment, I suppose, but man, I feel comfortable.

Aside from the comfort of the hotel, we had a great time with Matt's family.  On Friday night we went swimming in Uncle Steve's and Aunt Heidi's pool and ate Papa Murphy's pizza.

Kirsten found this wig upstairs, and the girls got a really big kick out of it.

 The next morning we woke up and walked along the river trail next to our hotel for a bit.  The weather was surprisingly beautiful.  It was in the 70s for the first two days we were there!  Kirsten and Reagan held hands to "make it fair," meaning no one got to hold Mommy's hand except Daddy.  I thought they were adorable.

Holding hands

 After lunch we met up with Uncle Drew and Uncle Jake at the MK Nature Center in downtown Boise.  The Nature Center was really neat.  There were taxidermied animals inside, and outside we got to walk along the river.  We saw a sturgeon that was 7 feet long and weighed 2,000 pounds.

Reagan, Kirsten, Drew and Jake with a bear

Matt, Kirsten, and Reagan as owls

Reagan and Kirsten watching the fish through a panel of glass that looked into the river

That afternoon we went over to Steve and Heidi's place again.  The whole family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, etc, was there.  I realized later that I didn't take any pictures, which makes sense because I spent most of my time swimming and playing holy board.  We had a great time seeing everyone, despite the lack of photographic evidence.

On Sunday evening we said our goodbyes to most of the extended family, but we stayed around another day, so that we could spend time with just Marc, Beth, and Matt's brothers.  On Monday morning we went to the Discovery Center and really enjoyed all of the STEM-focused exhibits.  I was able to turn on three lights using a circuit board, which was a victory for me!

Reagan and Kirsten were fascinated by centrifugal force.

Kirsten and Papa did the weather report

Reagan and Benjamin walking through a tunnel made of packing tape

Kirsten making a bubble wall

Daddy and Kirsten sending scarves through a suction tube

 Monday afternoon we went back to Steve and Heidi's place and went swimming with our smaller group.  The girls played with Benjamin and Daniel a ton.  I'm excited for them to get to play together again at Hilton Head in September.

Benjamin, Kirsten, and Reagan

 Tuesday morning we slept in and took our time getting out of the hotel.  Then we went for another walk along the river trail before we met up with Drew, Marc, Beth, Grandma Shirley, Kade, and the little boys for lunch at The Schnitzelgarten.  Kade, Matt's cousin, works at the restaurant as a cook, and yes, it is a German restaurant.  The food was very authentic and delicious.  I ate a Zigeunerschnitzel with Spaeztle, and for dessert we all shared an Apfelstrudel.  Yum!

Uncle Drew with Reagan, Daniel, and Kirsten.  He was a kid magnet.

 After lunch, we were all full.  We said our goodbyes and got in the car to drive home.

On Wednesday morning we went to Melanie's house for a brief visit.  Melanie's family is moving to Texas on Saturday, which is really sad.  It's just starting to hit Kirsten that her best friend is moving away.  We played for an hour, and Melanie gave us some pork ribs and London broil steaks from their deep freeze that wouldn't survive the trip.  If I had my choice, I'd forgo the meat and keep my friend close by, but since I don't have my choice, I'll enjoy the meat.  Fortunately, we'll see them again tomorrow.

Kirsten, Reagan, Amielee, and Sadie doing origami together

Today we went for lunch at my parents' house.  I love living close to my mom and dad.  They are such great company.  They went garage saling on Saturday and found lots of ponies, which the girls enjoyed a lot this afternoon.

Kirsten playing with ponies

Reagan playing with ponies

Well, Quiet Time is over.  So, I'm going to go wake up Reagan!  Tata for now!