On July 8-11 we went to Lava Hot Springs with my family. My parents and ALL of my siblings. It's the first family trip we've done since Brandon and I have been married (7 years).
We stayed in the coolest place ever called The Schoolhouse Inn. It is an old school house that has been converted into a hotel-type place for large groups to stay. So it had some random bedrooms, bathrooms, a huge kitchen, a living room, and then a gym. It was so perfect for us. I loved it!
In the gym this entire wall was a chalk board. This place was so perfect and fun for kids. It had an awesome shaded front yard and then a big huge side yard where we set up a volleyball net.
Mckinley only has two girl cousins on the Bishop side, Ella and Holly. Ella is 8 and she and Mckinley were best friends for the trip. It was so cute to watch them. They were glued to each other and just played so cute together. I didn't even have to take care of Mckinley while we were there. She is in love with Ella now.
Ian, Jens, and Jack. These are the three Iowa cousins that pretty much met all of us for the first time. We saw them once 3 years ago, and then 3 years before that, when they moved. Jack was a baby. We don't know them, and they don't know us, but we had a fun time hanging out with them this week.
A game of drip drip drop. So much fun!
Mckinley pouring a cup of water on my head.
Shooting up some random little helicopter things my Dad brought back from China.
Ezra and Bryant both celebrated their birthdays while we were there. Ezra fell asleep and they had to wake him up to blow out his candle.
He blew it out, and then took a bit out of it. Ha ha!
My mom brought a pinata for the kids.
My mom used peanuts as a "filler" and they were smashed all over the floor as the kids trampled on them to get to the candy. All the kids except Mckinley.
She loved the peanuts! Ha ha.
So much fun to play volleyball again.
Three cute babies all in yellow.
We went to the swimming pool in Lava Hot Springs one day. Unfortunately, Brandon got a 24-hour stomach bug so he was miserable laying on a towel in the shade the entire time. :(
My brother Ken and I decided to jump off the highest platform. It's 33 feet high but it feels soooo much higher than that. It was so scary! I used to love cliff jumping. I jumped off the platform twice, but I think it reminded me that I'm getting old. :(
The first time I jumped I got whip lash (but didn't realize it till later). This is the second jump.
The babies loved the warm kiddie pool. I loved that it was indoor and I didn't have to lather them up with sunscreen! Mckinley had a blast as well, and went down the slide in the kiddie pool with Ella.
She crashed later that day in the middle of the family room where everyone was playing video games. They had an old school Nintendo there with tons of games and we had so much fun playing Super Mario Bros 3.
Ah! Melt your heart cute. Ella drew this for Mckinley.
Snuggled up in a sleeping bag together watching a movie in the gym.
Kallie with Grandma's glasses on. This one is going in her wedding video!!!!
Playing Salon Nails together.
My brother Mark put together a scavenger hunt for the kids.
It ended in a pie eating contest.
These guys were so good and it was so nice to finally have some help with them! (My family is soooo good about helping.)
Tyler trying to open Bryant's cooler. :) Always looking for food that kid.
The next day Brandon finally felt better (wahoo!! Not my favorite thing taking care of a sick husband and three kids on vacation) so we went and floated down the river with everyone. It was so fun!
Brandon and I went first to see if we thought Mckinley would like it. Then we went down again with her on Brandon's lap. Their tube got a huge slash in it, at the very end luckily, and was completely out of air by the time they got out of the water.
We played some Minute To Win It games that night. The kids did cereal box puzzles.
Head bob with a pedometer.
Oreo game. The best!
Emily always has us play this game. I think it's called Funny Bones.
Mom, Dad, and all eight kids together for the first time in seven years.
This was seriously the funnest trip I have been on in a really long time. My family definitely has its quirks, but I love them oh so much. It was so refreshing to be with cousins who were so nice to Mckinley and with family who was so willing to help us with our babies! I don't know when the next family trip will be, but I can't wait!
