Whilrwind part 2

Since school starts tomorrow, I figured I better get my butt in gear and finish blogging the last bit of summer. After our total whirlwind of a weekend, we finished it off with a trip to my parent's cabin and then a final fun goodbye to our cousins at Thanksgiving Point.

Sunday after church we drove up to Brighton and enjoyed a fun filled family dinner where we got to meet my sister's boyfriend for the first time. It was so fun to have (almost) our whole family there and for all of us to see my little sister and best friend so super happy. We all really liked her "man" and it was a great dinner. As per tradition at the cabin, we headed to Silver Lake's boardwalk--not one, not two, but three times in a one day period.

The first time was with my kids and half their cousins. The next time was with everyone--which almost didn't happen, but we pestered Greg and Cindy enough to make them stay. We had a lot of fun watching the kids buddy up and just truly enjoy each other.

It was also a great time of day for feeding the ducks and seeing and the third time was an slow walk and an extended photo shoot with my sister and her kids. It included one child peeing in the woods, one child crying too much, and one child landing flat on his back in the lake.

My parents have had their cabin since I was a teenager and I love almost everything about it--the bathrooms, blankets and bedding are somewhat questionable, but I'll take them because it's part of the package. It is such a beautiful place to go and be and enjoy. I love the relaxed feel that accompanies any trip up the canyon and the laid back lifestyle that is so abundant at the cabin. This trip my mom-of course-had a project for the grandkids to do. She brought up embroidery for the girls and they boys all decided that they would like to do some straight stitching too. It was so cute seeing all these little kids (ages 4-10) sitting around concentrating so hard on their individual sewing projects. Everyone has their stitching/embroidery on display in their rooms and they are so proud of themselves for what they accomplished.



Other noteworthy cabin events include

*Quinn & Abbey enjoying being fed by Sarah ;-)


*the chipmunk that kept stealing chips from the bag


*Feeding the ducks



*and the dad:



* A fun, impromptu photo shoot of some really cute kids:







*Being about 15 feet away from a moose:

*Crazy rock climbing

*And the kids favorite--riding in the "trunk: of Grandma's car:


After that we knew we only had one day left to see our cousins this year so we took advantage of $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point and enjoyed the gardens. The kids had a blast and a half getting wet at the Children's gardens and we all really enjoyed walking through the rest of the gardens. It was hard to get all of the 11 kids to sit still enough for a picture, so this is the best you get. And let's not forget my favorite picture--the boys trying to stay protected from the rain. Sadly, after the improvised rain hoods, we had to say a teary good by to our cousins and best friends and I will admit that we looked a bit like freaks as we all stood sobbing in the rainy parking lot. It is always a teary goodbye when we have to say it to the F's, because they really are my kids very best friends and we still miss them today. I guess its a good thing they are only a phone call or a Skype away!















And our final event of the whilrwind week was the fun 5K sponsored by the local police department. Andrew has been dying to run a 5K and since this one is free, we decided to make it a family affair. Madeline and Ben rode their bikes, Craig, ANdrew and I ran, and Sarah complained in the stroller. The plan was to have me stay back with Ben and let the other 3 ride ahead, but in my life, plans rarely go as planned, so as my stroller broke, I had to watch from behind as my 4 year old rode off on the course without me and then run as fast as I could pusing a stroller and holding a camera and three waterbottles to try to catch up. Let's just say it wasn't pretty, but I am so glad that I did catch up because I got to watch Andrew run his little heart out and be so proud of himself as he crossed the finish line in less than 30 min. I was also proud of Craig who ran his farthest distance ever. And of course Madeline and Ben were proud of themselves because they beat all of us! It was a super fun night that was topped off by Craig winning a gift certificate to our favorite local bakery so we ended the night in baked goods bliss!






All in all this 5 days was the perfect way to sum up our summer--jam packed, fun filled, exhausting, exciting, and absolutely wonderful! Really and truly, it was a fabulous whirlwind adventure that began a wonderful last week of summer, which I am sad to see go, but I have loved every minute of it!