We spent 8 days in Utah/Idaho at the end of July. It was a nice vacation although 4 out of the 7 of us came down with a stomach bug which wasn't too fun. We still tried to make the most out of our time out west.
We spent some time exploring some different college campuses while out there for Abby. Jason's sister Jennifer showed us around Utah Valley University where she teaches.
We all really enjoyed these stained glass windows at the UVU library.
Then we headed down the road to our Alma Mater...BYU Provo. We had lunch at the Cougareat and visited with Cosmo for a bit!
Then browsed around the BYU bookstore before taking a quick tour around the campus (it was really HOT!)
We also had the opportunity to visit Jason's Grandma in Draper. She is 97 years old and lives in an assisted living home but she really enjoyed our visit.
On Friday, July 23rd we visited "This is the Place" park in Salt Lake where we all enjoyed learning about pioneer living.
Nolan, Maylie, and Hudson were all able to go on a pony ride. They really enjoyed this experiences, except for the part where Nolan's pony stopped everything to pee for quite a while!
The kids really enjoyed mining for gold at this little creek, especially since it was in the shade (another HOT day!)
That afternoon we drove up to Ammon, Idaho to spend time with Jason's sister Alicia and her family. We all enjoyed a pancake breakfast for pioneer day on Saturday, July 24th. Later that day we were able to tour the BYU Idaho campus with a girl from our ward in Maryland that now attends school there. It was probably Abby's favorite school of the four we visited that trip (we also visited Utah State briefly on the way back to the airport from Bear Lake.)
The next day we drove down to Bear Lake for the Call Family Reunion.
We spent time exploring all the different shops in Garden City and were impressed with all the different soda options!
Our favorite day was Tuesday where we all rented a pontoon boat and took turns riding this inflatable tube behind it. The kids (and adults) had so much fun!
Hudson wasn't interested in the inflatable raft, but he did enjoy Cheetos on the beach!
On Wednesday we went on a short hike in the mountains nearby. Here are most of the grandkids (25 total!) during a rest break along the trail.
I loved this little view of Maylie helping her little brother along the trail!
We were also able to get a family shot in along the way!
It is such a beautiful world that we live in!
A gorgeous view of Bear Lake on the way back from the hike. It was quite smoky while we were there from some nearby fires, but it was still beautiful!
Another huge highlight of the trip was this pool and waterslide. The kids spent several hours playing here each day!
Right before everyone started leaving for home on Wednesday evening, we took some family photos. We are missing one grandchild who was ill, but here is the rest of the group (13 adults and 25 grandchildren!)
Grandma and Grandpa with their children and spouses (My sister-in-law is pregnant with her 5th child and very ill. She is on an IV and completely bedridden so it was a small miracle that she was even able to make it to the reunion at all!)
The original 8...
And the ones who started it all!
The night before we left we made a stop at LaBeau's for their famous shakes. It was a sweet ending to a sweet trip. We felt so fortunate to be able to spend so much time with Jason's family. A big thank you to Jennifer for hosting us in Sandy, Utah, Alicia and her family for hosting us in Idaho, and for Jason's parents for renting the home in Bear Lake!
