Camping, cousins, and family time

We went camping last weekend for (another) family reunion with Daniel's family. It was a lot of fun, even if we did get there late and had to pitch our tent in the dark. (I think the most disappointing thing about that was that I didn't get to make our dutch oven dinner, which I was really looking forward to.) But I got up early and made breakfast, we sat around the fire for a bit, and then enjoyed the whole big family group.

Lynny was so excited to get in her sleeping bag, and wanted George in with her.

In the tent, about to get ready for bed. George lost a sock in the sleeping bag when he was in it with Lynny.

The little girl who has always risen with the sun slept in almost an hour after everyone else was up. She also talked a ton in her sleep with a few choice exclamations during the night, including "Mommy!," "Cars? Cars?!," and "Meemo?" (Which means Elmo. That one's my personal favorite.)

George, just hanging out.

He's the smiliest boy I know. I can't get enough of him!

Daniel, breaking up kindling for the fire.

Me, making breakfast.

Lynny, still a little out of it.

This is at the actual reunion part of the day. Lynny carrying paper towels to the picnic area. Lynny insisted on being carried around by her grandpa (who she LOVES), until he asked her to "help." Anything for Grandpa.

And Daniel's cousin made this cool cake for the reunion. It has their grandpa's house, the sweet peas, white picket fence, broken walkway, broken down jeep (which transported the grandkids anywhere they wanted to go), the giant inner tube that they used as a trampoline, the mountains, and fish lake (which is where we were camping). It would have been Grandpa Hatch's 100th birthday this year, thus the number. There were some more details on the back of the house as well.

 Lynny's birthday was the same day as the reunion, but we didn't really celebrate much. We'll have a real family party when everyone gets back from their trip to Iowa (Daniel's sister just moved out there and everyone went to help with the move.) But she has gotten a few things already, and she loves them!

Lynny's new baby and high chair. She's "feeding" the baby bananas, of course, because that's what Lynny likes most of George's baby food.

This doesn't really have anything to do with her birthday or anything. I just thought it was a cute picture. She did that herself.

She got a big bag of stuff from Grandma Lynn, and her favorite (by far) was the bright pink crocs she sent. She has insisted on having them next to her pillow at naptime and bedtime ever since she got them, and she won't take them off during the day.

A souvenir from Great Wolf Lodge in Virginia: wolf ears. They were a big hit too.

When I asked Lynny what her baby's name was she said "Baby Nim." I think she was just repeating me, saying "baby's name." But Nim stuck.

Lynny put the ears on George. He loved it.

 And BIG BIG news: My sister, Molly, and her family are back in Utah! Hooray! I get to see her again, and Lynny finally gets to know her cousin, Olivia, a little bit better. So this week we've seen each other a few times, and we even went over to swim with them at Olivia's Grandma Jean's house. (It turns out that's a good activity for them because they don't have to share anything. Two-year olds aren't very good at sharing.)

Lounging in the pool. Again, smiling. What else is new?

Lynny doesn't remember swimming at the beach last summer, so this was really cool to her. I'm ecstatic she liked it. What kind of river guide's daughter doesn't like the water though?

Olivia has a little more practice at swimming than Lynny, and she was actually able to steer herself. I was quite impressed, but not surprised. Water runs in her genes, cus Charles was a river guide too.

Apparently floating is hard work. He crashed.

The girls also had a chance to jump on the trampoline. Olivia wasn't quite as comfortable as Lynny and preferred to bounce from the security of her bottom.

 And we broke out the camera at bedtime that same night for a few quick pictures. I realized this was the first picture I've taken of me and both kids since right after George was born.

Lynny is wearing her new jammies, also courtesy of Grandma Lynn.

The Library

I love going to the library. We go once a week, usually on Tuesday mornings, and we love every minute of it. We walk, and it's about a 40-45 minute walk, one way. So Library trips are a long ordeal. We walk there, take our time finding books (our library has a great kids section, and it even has a whole board book section!) and usually pick out one or two Sesame Street DVDs for the week. Then we check out, eat a snack, and walk home. (The snacking part is kind of crucial.)

By the time we're on the last leg of our walk back, I'm usually pretty bushed. It's just slightly uphill most of the way back, so I'm always so relieved to get home. I'll grab some water for me and Lynny, sit down to feed George and let Lynny look at her books. Sometimes we'll eat lunch then go down for a nice (long) nap; other times we'll sit and read for a little bit first. I love that time with my kids. And they love it too.

Summertime means family time!

When Daniel started back into school, he said he was going nonstop until he finished. Two semesters of full-time school later: complete burn-out. So Daniel took the summer off. And frankly, I'm glad. He's not driving the school bus right now--just working 9-5 at the dealership--so we actually get to eat breakfast together in the morning and spend time as a family in the evenings. It's only been a few weeks, but I'm loving it. I've missed having my whole family together. Here are some pictures of one fun evening we had at home.

We were looking for the aloe gel to put on George's freshly sunburned legs (we took a long walk to the library and I forgot to put sunscreen on us). Well, the aloe was in my drybag with all my river stuff (I haven't been burned since we were in Jackson) including my shortie wetsuit. Lynny tromped around the house in it for a bit until she decided it didn't quite fit right. 

Summertime is also family reunion time...at least for Daniel's family. (I haven't been to a Meppen family reunion since the summer I graduated from high school.) But Daniel's family has several each summer. And today was the first one: The Larsen reunion, or Daniel's maternal great grandpa's family. Everyone lives close by so they just sent out invitations to everyone to come play games at a park, bring a lunch (a birthday cake for Great Grandpa was provided for dessert...even though he's been dead a long time), and visit for hours and hours. I loved seeing everyone greeting each other, passing hugs around, and commenting on the growth of each kid. I imagine that's what it will be like in heaven someday. Everyone greeting each other, no matter how long it's been, just so excited to be reunited. I can't wait.
Here are some pictures from that.

The old man in the middle is Uncle Dewayne. He's the oldest living Larsen right now.

A tender moment between sisters, Aunt Karen and Aunt Edyth.

All of the Larsen kids, circa about 1930. The little boy playing caboose is Uncle DeWayne and the baby boy is Garth. They're the only two still living. And the second tallest girl is Bessie, Daniel's grandma. (Did you notice the duct tape holding the picture up? Love it.)

So, now, I'm thinking the Meppens need to get together for some extended family time. I'd love to see you all again, and frankly, there aren't too many of us so how hard can it be? How's about we get a family reunion in the works for next summer, or the year after?