Steve's parents were generous enough to rent a lodge for all of us to family reunion in. They called it a cabin but I think mansion better describes the 6 bedrooms, bunkhouse with ping pong table, vaulted ceilings, sweeping decks, huge deluxe kitchen, tv that rose out of a cabinet, loft full of toys and many bathrooms. It was incredible and nestled in Brighton with picturesque scenery, lakes and mountains, we had a wonderful week.
To his delight, Henry found the place teaming with rocks, sticks and pine cones. All of which he could throw into the stream that cut through the property.
All of Steve's siblings and their families came which made us 23 in all. Most of the days were spent relaxing, hiking and playing games. One girls day into Park City for shopping was particularly fun.
Here is Henry and his fellow toddler cousins enjoying lunch al fresco on the deck. Don't worry, that carrot is a toy and he nibbled on it continually all weekend. But it did excite him enough to eat a couple of actual carrots.
We traded off cooking and cleaning responsibilities. Each family took one day which made it nice to just sit back on the other days. Overall we ate really well. I do love me a hot breakfast everyday. Favorites were a yummy lasagna soup and marinated grilled chicken. Henry really didn't want to eat the chicken and demonstrated his first "I'm not eating that" willful act. I told him he had to at least try it, when he finally put it in his mouth, he immediately threw up in my hands. Nice.
Yes, my fake carrot must accompany me on my hike around the lake.
Silver Lake
One day we all hiked (okay walked on a kid friendly paved path) to a small waterfall. Another great place to throw rocks into the water.
On our way home Steve spotted a moose just walking along the side of the road. I jumped out and snapped a couple of pictures. The area was full of wildlife. Between the whole family we saw: mama moose with baby, male moose, beaver, martens, deer and one sneaky mouse in the living room that had us all screaming and jumping onto furniture and our brother in law crafting a trap out of cheese and a bowl.
One morning Steve, Henry and I snuck away to visit some friends in the valley (and to eat lunch at In N Out.) I was so happy to get to spend some time with my friends and their kids. Sorry you are all blurry Whitney, I don't know what happened.
One evening more family came up to spend time with us from Salt Lake. This is almost everyone minus some babies. Overall it was a fun week with lots of family, relaxing and getting to know some of Steve's family that I hadn't ever really spent time with before. Already looking forward to the next one!
Next stop, Washington!
