Memorial Day

We got to go to the cabin for Memorial Day weekend. I was a little apprehensive about traveling with a three week old and staying in a cabin FULL of people, but Molly was an excellent traveler and was very easy going. And all of her aunts and uncles and grandparents were super happy to hold her and help out so it really wasn't too bad. It was so fun to be in the lush green outdoors and breathe in the fresh air and fun to watch the cousins play and to laugh my head off with my family. It was a pretty great weekend.

My dad hung up a rope swing from the tree when we got there. I need to get some pictures of the kids on it to post. They had a great time.

I'm obsessed with this kids cheesy grin. He hitched a ride on Tim's shoulder for our walk up West Fork.

Molly spent a lot of time in the wrap attached to my body. Neither of us minded :) This was on our walk to West Fork. We go the back route from the cabin and it's pretty over grown, but very lush as you can see.

The whole gang!!

A shot from the West Fork bridge looking over the creek. This place is seriously BEAUTIFUL!

 We decided to forgo our traditional walk to Butterfly Garden Inn due to all the holiday traffic and we drove there instead. The kids were all pretty happy about their ice cream treats!

We set up badminton and had a good time playing....and making fools of ourselves.

Logan came down for the weekend which made everyone happy, especially his namesake! Peter is such a lover! 

Piper and Cody hanging out before breakfast.

Crepe making and fruit cutting going on in the kitchen and Whitney teaching my dad to say "boo ya" after a perfect crepe is made.

Cousins making "potion" and the traditional after breakfast tootsie pop. That's been a tradition since I was a kid.

Peter hanging out with Crew. These two have a sweet bond. Peter thinks Crew is the bee knees!

Logan and Whitney think they are pretty funny...and they are! They are making "crepe faces"...so creepy yet hilarious!

We went on a walk to the crossing after breakfast. I was holding Molly and Oliver was riding on Tim's shoulders when Peter insisted on being held. Tim is super dad and decided to oblige. Peter then proceeded to go limp and make carrying him as difficult as possible.

Claire brought supplies to paint rocks and make rock pets. The kids loved it!!

 Peter made his rock pet a turtle and slept with it the next two nights. He loves it!!

Oliver painting his rocks.

Oliver got flicked with mud....

He was a good sport about it. There is something about little boys and mud that makes me happy...in the appropriate setting of course.

Oliver and Rhett fell asleep on the same bunk bed. So sweet!!

Early morning screen playing. At one point they were all on different screens playing Minecraft connecting to the same land and playing together. This screens generation is so different from what I grew up with. Heaven help me as a parent with all this madness.

This is a blurry picture of a puzzle we did. Whitney and Claire did most of it and I chipped in a little towards the end. Three cheers for Disneyland!

 The kids played in the creek while Cody and my dad worked on building up the dam. Hopefully we'll get some fish living in the pond this summer. 

Cody found a snake while playing in the creek. Tim helped the boys hold it. Peter just looked...

Max and the other boys were brave enough to hold it.

Oliver held it, but as you can see it kinda freaked him out!

My sweet boys. Oliver did a great job rock hopping. Tim and I were both impressed with his balance and coordination.

Peter fell asleep one afternoon around 4 and then we couldn't wake him up to save our lives. He was out cold. He then of course he woke up around 6.....he had a hard time falling asleep that night.

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs for dinner on Memorial Day. It was seriously SO GOOD!

We had such a great time despite lots of feuds between the kids and lots of chaos. The adults were able to play games every night after the kids went to bed and it was so funny! One night after almost everyone had gone to bed (it was only 9:30 so you can tell we're all getting old ;), Whitney, Cody, Claire and I played with an LED balloon (a balloon that glowed in the dark). We turned off all of the lights and tried to keep the balloon from touching the ground. You probably had to be there, but we were dying with laughter. It's good for the soul to laugh that hard and to be around all these fun people.

I feel especially grateful for all the men and women who have sacrificed so much to provide me with the freedoms that I enjoy. It's nice to have a holiday like Memorial Day with family to appreciate all of the freedoms and the blessing it is to live in America.