Family Reunion

Benjamin, Peter and I are in Utah now and are having a marvelous time! We even survived the non-stop, very squished flight on our own. Paul stayed back for a while, but will be joining us in a few weeks. We came out early for my extended family's reunion, which was over the Fourth of July weekend.
Benjamin has really grown up a lot since my family last saw him. He is not the same shy, reserved little boy that required Mommy to do everything for him. We went for a hike near my parents house, and he wanted to hold Uncle David's hand the whole way to the waterfall.

My Mom is really enjoying the chance to get to know Peter a little better. He was a tiny 2 month old with RSV the last time we were together. And yesterday, he cut his very first tooth!
My cousins Brennan, Kristi, Michael and Kelly came with us on the hike. I can't believe how grown up my youngest cousins are! They are all so much fun.

For dinner, we went to Five Guys, where David works. Benjamin really liked the giant stack of sacks of potatoes, and wanted to pose on top of them (Paul throws Benjamin around like a "sack of potatoes" every day when he gets home from work).

My sister Miriam's baby turned 1 on the fourth of July, so we got to be there for the celebration! We had a barbecue and games at her husband Marc's parents home. The kids really enjoyed playing together in the wading pool.

I got to meet my little sister Jeannine's favorite person there too. Jon is really a great guy!

Anna got her own little cake to destroy, which had bananas on it. The rest of us got the classic flag berry cake with homemade ice cream. Mmmm...mmm.

My brother Nathan is sure a fun uncle! He just started his new job yesterday, and we're all so happy for him!

Peter has figured out the "wiggle," which gets him out of my arms and into walking position in two seconds flat. He likes to walk like this all the time now, so here my Dad graciously gave me (and my back) a break!

Marc's dad raises bunnies, so that was where Benjamin spent most of the evening. I think Benjamin named this one "Snowflake."

The big family reunion started at the Tracy Aviary, where a bunch of the little second cousins got to finally meet. It's sad that this is the best picture I have of the group, but there were quite a few of us there!

Peter was pretty fascinated by the peacock's tail.

Benjamin enjoyed pulling Peter around in this wagon the whole time, and did a fine job at it!

After a nice morning at the Aviary, we walked over to the Liberty Park mini amusement park and had a few rides.

Later in the afternoon, we all met up at a park where the rest of the group joined us. Most of the group went tubing down the Provo river and on a hike during the morning. Here's Peter with his second cousin, Lincoln, who also just turned 1 this weekend!

My brother Bryan and his wife Jenilee came out too. Their two girls are very close in age to our two boys. It has been especially fun to see Benjamin and his cousin Sarah's friendship blossom! They were not exactly friends when they were 2 1/2, but I think being 3 has done good things to their relationship. Now they're inseparable.

If you can believe it, I would have posted more pictures if it hadn't been for the fact that my memory card on my camera was completely full and the batteries were dead. Yesterday, we spent the day up Big Cottonwood Canyon, just hiking and playing and singing around a big campfire. Oh, and eating lots of really good food! My Grandma and Grandpa have over 100 people among their posterity now, and most of them were there. I love my family!