How I spent my Summer Vacation, Part 2

And so, as my sister's sweet boyfriend, B, drove my exhausted children and my shell-shocked self back to the northern-ish parts of Utah from whence he came to rescue us, I pondered if this Fred-death thing was an omen.
You know... A portent of doom lurking over the horizon of our planned fun. (Am I the only person who does that? I get so caught up in the fact that things have been good, so that must mean it's our turn for the bad stuff now...)  I migrained hard when we arrived at my in-laws. I cried at the thoughts of what might have happened because of that deer (and thankfully did not!) And I missed my husband.
 With some perspective now, I am happy to report that our fun was not harmed in the making of this vacation.
This leads us to event #2!
I was able to rent a car for the monkeys and I to use. (Note: do not try to rent a mini-van on the fly in Utah over the 4th of July weekend, or any weekend near unto. Don't do it. It cannot be done. Reserve that mini-van at least a year in advance. Two if you want to play it safe. Ahem) Our full sized car worked out well. The kids were not too squished in the back and only a few screaming battles erupted, so we are optimistically calling it a success.

AND SO
Event #2:


Family Reunion in Star Valley, Wyoming

For those who do not know, (and my heart breaks a little if this is you) Star Valley is the nicest little place you could ever hope to go. For reals, though!

Are you seeing this!? These are the sights of my childhood. Dream land. My soul was healed by returning to this place. (You literature buffs know about a hero's journey and the need to return home again, right? Oh, yeah)
Despite my not-so-secret love of Target, I am a country girl at heart.

 We traveled in tandem with my brother and sister, and we enjoyed a weekend of cousins, food, fun, and mountains all around.

Me and my sister (my sister and I?)

My kids played so hard!

Pencil loved Michelle. Mostly he loved her crutches, because he liked to shoot people with them.
She was left hopping more than once. Thanks, 'Chelle for being such a good sport!

My cousin's husband, Bobby, drove this 'train' and the kids had a blast! I was sweating bullets though. (Especially because the back cart had a wobbly wheel) and I did wish aloud that my emergency trained husband was around, just in case.
I have personally met this same gravel head first, and I know it's a fun killer.

Everyone survived and had a great time. Emergency services were unneeded. Whew!



 My kids and some of my first cousins.

This is my awesome Grandma and Grandpa. They're making dutch oven chicken in this picture.
It is a family staple, and SO very yummy.

These are all of my first cousins (and some spouses) minus 4. The if you added in great grandkids there would be 14 or 15 more.

Stay tuned- there are more stories to come.