Family

It has been a crazy weekend at our house. Since Steve was going to be in the country for perhaps the last time for two years we decided to use this opportunity to gather the Jones clan together for a little reunion. We had 9 adults and 9 children in all. It was a loud, but enjoyable weekend. 

We spent a day at Seven Peaks in Provo. It was our first time there, but the kids had a BLAST... 

getting knocked over by the wave pool,

trying to drown uncle Steve,

and trying out new fashionable eyewear.

After five hours most of us were exhausted, some of us were sunburned, but all of us were happy. We met back at our house for a barbeque where Ian grilled up some chicken (which was delicious, hon) and we ate ourselves silly.

The next day we headed up American Fork Canyon and grabbed a beautiful picnic spot where we had a yummy lunch, were dive-bombed by hordes of wasps, and threw rocks in the river. 

After a stocking up on sandwiches, juice boxes, and ice cream cones (thanks, Steve) we got ready to hike up to Timpanogas Caves. 

Ian, Abby, and Lindy map out the route.

Ready to hit the trail!

Some people enjoyed the hike....

a little more than others.

Having a brood of kids made the hike a little more difficult and time-consuming than I think it would otherwise have been. By the end we no longer wondered why the lady selling the tickets raised her eyebrows when we said we had nine kids. 

Curtis chose to have a MELT-DOWN the second we got in the caves (can you say "echo"?) and I ended up escorting myself and a screaming infant out of the caves before we even got anywhere. He was fine as soon as he saw daylight and was happy the entire time we waited for the rest to be done the tour. 

The girls drank their weight in water and ended up taking MULTIPLE bathroom breaks (and no, there aren't multiple bathrooms available. Lindy learned to use the side of a trail for her convenience. She didn't like it.) The girls did GREAT hiking and we were so proud of them.

We were grateful to haul our tired selves back to our house once more and we spent the evening talking and simply enjoying one another's company. We had such a great time together as a family and look forward to when we can do it again. 

Rob & Stacey, we missed you. Hugs and kisses to you all and hope to see you soon!