Summer Vacation: Moser Family Reunion

Tuesday was our down day. We didn't have anything 'planned' and that is exactly how I wanted it! Jordan and McKay went fishing with Grandpa Moser and I helped Kathy with some bookkeeping while Max took a nap. I don't think we got dressed until after lunch. :) Yes it was a much needed relaxing day!

Wednesday we went and spent a few hours at my Grandma and Grandpa Cardon's house and had a delicious lunch with them. Then they watched the boys while Jordan and I went to the Logan Temple with his parents, all his siblings and spouses, and his nephew and spouse who recently were sealed. (20 people total) It was lovely to be in the temple. Then we all went to Hamilton's Steak House for dinner. Kent and Kathy just thought we all were going out to dinner. They didn't know we had been planning for months (okay years) to do something to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We invited some of their closest friends and family for a surprise dinner. It was a fun evening.

Shawn & Yuri, Frank & Kim, Tyson & Mandi, Derrick & Kelli, Ira & Nicky, Lisa & Todd, Kathy & Kent, Me & Jordan, and Robin & Reese.

This shows things as they really are.

Kathy, Yuri, Me & Nicky

Jordan's sisters did an excellent job decorating with Kathy's wedding dress and pictures from various stages in Kent & Kathy's lives as well as baby/childhood pictures of the kids. Nicky also put together a slide show. :)

After the dinner Kent and Kathy were given several bags with various objects we each had picked to represent a memory with them and they had to guess who it was and what the memory was. It was entertaining.

We were later than we thought we would be so we got the boys ready for bed at Grandma and Grandpa Cardon's house and they both fell asleep on the drive home. I am so glad my boys were able to spend some time with my dear grandparents. I also realized I need to get more pictures (or at least post more) of Maxwell's curly hair since Grandma didn't realize his hair is so curly!

Thursday after lunch we went to Willow Flat and set up camp. The water from the spring was moving quite fast but McKay was pretty good (definitely not perfect) about not being near the water without a Mommy or Daddy there.

Nicky was trying to get all three boys in the picture but McKay was walking away so Kelli said 'Wink at Nicky!' And he did! :)

He and his cousin Desmond quickly became friends as they threw rock after rock into the water. They have met before but McKay wasn't quite 18 months old at the time. :)

McKay loved being on the 4-wheeler with Grandpa Moser. We needed to get to higher ground to make a phone call so we 'had' to go for a ride. Max was asleep so we took the opportunity to go.

Grandpa told McKay to hold on to the 4 wheeler while he took Nicky's bikes off her trailer for her. He was impressed that McKay never let go until Grandpa said he could.

After we made the call we went to the ice caves. We didn't think to bring a flashlight so we used the flash on the camera (of course I had that!) until our eyes adjusted. It was amazing how much snow and ice there was! By the time we left, McKay was shivering.

It was neat to see and McKay loved being there with us.

I realized as we were riding just how blue the sky really is. Now that we live in the 'city' I don't see the blue skies I grew up seeing every day.

Kamden & McKay

I think McKay ate 3 s'mores. He couldn't get enough!

That night was a terrible thunder/lightening storm. We didn't get much rain but there was so much thunder and lightening it was hard to get to sleep. It was also very cold. McKay didn't sleep well so I kept my hand on his chest and then he was okay. I also kept waking up to make sure Maxwell had blankets on. Then, sometime during the night Jordan & I must have been woken up by some loud thunder because we were both awake when there was a huge clap of thunder and a bolt of lightening at the exact same moment. My eyes shot open and I listened and looked intently to hear a tree falling or to see fire. It took a while to fall back to sleep after that!

Max woke up probably around 5:30 or 6 with the sun and was happy being with Jordan and I until he saw McKay who was still sleeping. He wanted to say 'hi' to his brother and was not happy when I wouldn't let him. So Maxwell cried and cried for a long time. I think McKay was the only one around who slept through it!

Kim brought these visors with tons of stickers for the kids. McKay loved it! He spent all afternoon working on one for him and then on one for Maxwell. Kamden spent quite a while working on his too.

McKay, Ryan & Kamden

Ta Da! I didn't take a picture of it but BOTH sides of the visor are covered with stickers. I'd say this craft was a hit!

McKay and Kamden spent a lot of time climbing on these rocks together!

As soon as I saw the clouds rolling in Friday afternoon, I decided Max and I would go home to sleep that night. As soon as we got there, I gave Max a bath and put him to bed. He slept GREAT and I actually had to wake him up in the morning to go back to Willow Flat! Jordan stayed up till 3 am that night playing Mofia, which killed his plans for hiking to Bloomington Lake at 5 am. :)

McKay went on another ride with Jordan on Saturday. In fact, every time someone went for a ride, he thought he needed to go to. Grandpa gave him a few rides around the camp site and Max got one short ride too, which he loved.

While Jordan & McKay were gone on the ride (with the camera) Maxwell and I hiked up to the spring with the rest who didn't go on the ride. It was beautiful. Max INSISTED on putting his feet in the water. If I had let him he would have jumped in. Silly boy!

Check out that grin!

Ryan, Daxon, McKay, Tannon & Truman

Jordan as been itching to go on a ride so I am glad he was able to go on a couple.

"Hey, did you see that sky today, talk about blue!" (Kronk)

Saturday night after dinner we had a fireside devotional and talent show featuring the Gurney flash mob dance and Tyson & Jackson singing 'Mean' by Taylor Swift. Maxwell was 'all done' so he and I spent most of it outside the circle with Max playing with various people. He has the personality that makes it impossible to ignore his grin and 'hi'; that and he'll keep saying 'hi' until he gets a response! We had everything all packed up and slept at Jordan's parents house that night. Then Sunday morning we started the drive home. Max was so done driving it wasn't long into the drive that he started telling us he was 'all done'. Poor kid.

We drove to Mesquite Nevada and got a hotel with a pool. McKay had fun practicing what he had learned at swimming lessons and it was fun to relax a little after having been in the van all day. We closed the curtains up tight and didn't get up until Max woke up for the day at 9 am. :)

It was wonderful to visit family and to see so many we hadn't seen for such a long time... but it was also nice to be home in our own space again.