Birthdays and Island Park

July has been a whirlwind! We've been loving these summer days. The kids were so excited for birthday week and it finally came!

We celebrated our sweet Allie's 8th birthday! Goodness, time really does fly. She's excited to be getting baptized in a couple weeks.

All she wanted was stuffed animals so we decided to go all out and get a four foot tall giraffe! She named her Gigi and it was love at first sight. We had lucky charms for breakfast and then went to the Denzil Stewart Nature Park.

Allie spent the afternoon making a purse that Aunt Mary and Uncle Cam gave her. It turned out so cute! She also got a diamond painting craft and some new Yoto cards. Later in the afternoon we went to Hyrum Dam as per tradition. The kids had a blast playing at the beach. It was a wonderful day!

We finished up the running club. The girls ran a little over 20 miles and Hudson ran 15. Jace didn't want to be left out and put in 6 miles. It was so much fun and we're excited to do it again next year.

Grandma and Grandpa Peck gave Allie some money for her birthday. Of course she went for a stuffy!

Birthday week continued with Jace's on Friday! He absolutely loved his new basketball hoop/soccer net. This boy loves his balls and has some serious dribbling and shooting skills. It's been a wild and busy two years! We celebrated at the splash pad with Kristen and her kids.

Loren made some birthday pudding.

My parents watched the kids so Loren and I could go on a date. Mom filled up water balloons and set up a slip n' slide. They had so much fun!

I was in charge of my family reunion this year and booked a cabin in Island Park. We were planning on leaving Wednesday but Hudson threw up the night before so we decided to wait 24 hours. We were all sad knowing our family was already up there and not knowing if we'd be able to join them. Merlin Olsen Park was a nice distraction.

The next morning we left bright and early and made it to the cabin around noon. When we walked in the cabin it was seemingly empty and quiet. We thought everyone must have been outside. As we made our way to the open living room, we were surprised with shouts of "happy birthday!" and balloons flowing over the side of the top railing down into the room. Knowing I could spend my birthday with my family was the best gift. I love them so much!

That afternoon we floated down the Buffalo River. It was the most relaxing, fun thing I've done in a long time. I had Jace with me, Hudson with Loren and the girls had one together.

Addy's boat tube was the cutest!

When we got home Cam and Mary made me a birthday dinner to remember. They had amazing crostini appetizers and then the most delicious chicken artichoke lasagne I've ever had. When you want to be happy on your birthday just have Mary make dinner. It was so tasty!

After dinner we took an evening bike ride. It was so beautiful and felt so great to be back on my bike again. Loren, Tyson, Brayden, Nate, Jamie, Emily, Mom

The next morning we left bright and early for Yellowstone. I bought an itinerary from my friend who used to be a park ranger and it worked out beautifully. It was nice to have a plan and I feel like we missed a lot of the crowds by following it. Our first stop was Gibbon Falls.

Hudson (5), Jace (2), Allie (8), Grandma, Lucy (3), Lydia (10), Addie (4)

Our next stop was Artist Point and it was stunning.

My siblings: Jamie, Brayden, Nate, Cam and Em. We found out Todd will be home in December from his mission in Australia so we're excited for that.

Next stop was the mud pots and boy did they smell! But we saw a bison super close which was amazing.

We stopped for lunch at a pretty picnic spot and saw this cool blue bird.

After a drive around the lake we made it to Old Faithful! We walked around the back of the geyser and found a great view with much less people. It's still faithful!

Our last stop was the Grand Prismatic trail overlook. It was about a mile hike up to a beautiful view. Unfortunately there were lots of people so we couldn't get a great photo but I was proud of the kids for making it up and back even though it was hard.

Dad, Mom, Cam and Nate went to get a close up view.

And that's when mom lost her hat. Guess we have to go to Jackson again to get another one!

Yellowstone is such a beautiful place. I was so grateful we were able to spend a day admiring the wonders of nature.

The next day we relaxed at the cabin playing games, biking, tie dying shirts and eating good food.

Sunday came too quick and it was time to head home. Allie, Greyson and Em were the winners of the candy jars. The candy jars are a tradition my family has had since before I can remember. If you can guess the correct number of candy in the jar you take it. Searle reunions were never complete without the candy jars. I remember one time there was a huge jug of candy and unbeknownst to us, my uncle had put a roll of toilet paper inside it. So we were all guessing these huge amounts when it really wasn't that much. It's always been fun.