Tuesday was a "free day", so most of us drove to Zion's, only about half hour away. Surprisingly I had NEVER been to Zion's before...even though I grew up in Utah....anyway, it was so pretty and just what I thought it would be.
You have to pay $20 to park your car (James and Sara let us caravan with them) and then take a shuttle up to the different spots you want to hike/explore.
I can't remember the name of the hike we did, but it was kid/stroller friendly and all the kids did great. There was a beautiful little waterfall at the end and the mist felt so good. We wanted to keep going but they were doing construction on the path, so we had to turn around and go back down.
I snapped a few pictures on our way back down...so beautiful. I could have stared at it all day.
The older boys went searching for a lizard while we waited for everyone to come back down, and Taylor got one! They are so fast...I don't know how he caught it.
We ate our packed lunches after the hike, then some headed back to the condos, while others stayed to keep exploring. We stayed and hopped on a shuttle that went more up the canyon.
This little chipmunk was so funny. We got SO close to it...like could almost touch it...and it didn't move. It was so concentrated on eating it's nut....kinda cute.
After another hour of exploring all the kids were DONE. We waited for the shuttle and road back down to our cars. On the shuttle down, at least one of the Mortensen grand kids was screaming at all times. I think we were quite the sight! We couldn't do much other than apologize and just laugh :) The kids fell asleep in the car before we pulled out of the parking lot.
Once we were cleaned up from Zion's, we ate dinner, and then had a lip sync/talent show. There were a lot who participated, sadly no talents from us :) But everyone did great and it was fun to see the kids perform. And Grandma Betty even did her Donald Duck impersonation...which was VERY good.
Wednesday morning was free time for the guys and playing/chatting time for kids and wives. Some of the guys went fishing early in the morning and then they all met for a movie and lunch after. We had lunch, napped, and then went to the Washington rec center. Marc and Betty reserved a room for us to put all our stuff in and had snacks to eat. The rec center was huge and all the kids had fun. Jake wouldn't stop moving...he'd even go down the little kid slides by himself. I pulled him out numerous times under water....crazy boy! Brooklyn was definitely more tentative, but warmed up to it by the end.
That night for dinner Marc and Betty came to our condo to eat. Then we had the usual family time followed by treats outside. My favorite part of the reunion was this time every night....Marc and Betty told the grand kids stories of them growing up/meeting/dating/marriage and it was fun to learn things about them I didn't know before. It was fun to visit, play games, and see all the cousins interact and have fun together.
You have to pay $20 to park your car (James and Sara let us caravan with them) and then take a shuttle up to the different spots you want to hike/explore.
some of the kids waiting to start our hike
Brooklyn was by their side ALL week long
I can't remember the name of the hike we did, but it was kid/stroller friendly and all the kids did great. There was a beautiful little waterfall at the end and the mist felt so good. We wanted to keep going but they were doing construction on the path, so we had to turn around and go back down.
Joe and Lisa's family
...missing Jake, who was asleep in the stroller
Sadie and Luke
Aleks and Jake
all worn out :)
cute Brynna
We ate our packed lunches after the hike, then some headed back to the condos, while others stayed to keep exploring. We stayed and hopped on a shuttle that went more up the canyon.
Once we were cleaned up from Zion's, we ate dinner, and then had a lip sync/talent show. There were a lot who participated, sadly no talents from us :) But everyone did great and it was fun to see the kids perform. And Grandma Betty even did her Donald Duck impersonation...which was VERY good.
Wednesday morning was free time for the guys and playing/chatting time for kids and wives. Some of the guys went fishing early in the morning and then they all met for a movie and lunch after. We had lunch, napped, and then went to the Washington rec center. Marc and Betty reserved a room for us to put all our stuff in and had snacks to eat. The rec center was huge and all the kids had fun. Jake wouldn't stop moving...he'd even go down the little kid slides by himself. I pulled him out numerous times under water....crazy boy! Brooklyn was definitely more tentative, but warmed up to it by the end.
..literally wouldn't stop moving
That night for dinner Marc and Betty came to our condo to eat. Then we had the usual family time followed by treats outside. My favorite part of the reunion was this time every night....Marc and Betty told the grand kids stories of them growing up/meeting/dating/marriage and it was fun to learn things about them I didn't know before. It was fun to visit, play games, and see all the cousins interact and have fun together.
How fun! Zions is awesome! So many fun hikes there. Glad you got to go for the first time! That rec center is fun - we have been to it before. I bet the kids LOVED being with their cute cousins.
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