More Summer Vacation Fun

We had a great time in Island Park at the Harper Family Reunion.  We got to see lots of relatives we haven't seen in a really long time (some I had never met) and spend lots of time relaxing.  Besides visiting, we went swimming,

  and explored an old corral.

We made another stop at the river to throw rocks in and look for fish (you may notice I have an obsession for letting my kids throw rocks into bodies of water--I just can't help it...stay tuned...there are more pictures of that to come).

 It was beautiful.

After we left Island Park, we spent the next week in Utah.  We dropped David off at the airport (he had to go back to work), and then headed down to Provo, where I took Sarah to BYU to spend a week at EFY (Especially for Youth).  It was a great experience for her.  I took her to check in on Monday morning.  There were super long lines and it was really hot and muggy, and I had William and Kate with me, so it was quite the ordeal.  After checking her in, we thought we would get some lunch before going to her dorm, but everyone had the same idea as us, so the creamery was packed--we barely made it to her dorm in time (through the pouring rain--the storm causing the humidity finally came).  Sarah went without knowing anyone, and was a little nervous, but Sarah makes friends easily, and so it turned into a wonderful week for her. 

While Sarah was at EFY, we spent a week at my sister Karen's house.  We had fun hanging out with cousins and going on lots of fun adventures.  One day, I took some of the boys down to the nearby ravine.  Here is William and Zachary playing at the ravine.


Zachary and William are only three weeks apart, so it was fun to see them together. 

Tanner took Zachary on the swing.

Ben had to try the rope swing too.

We also got to see cute and tiny baby Emma.  She is a doll!

Another day I took all the kids to Jump on It.  It was a very fun place!

There were tramplines everywhere, even on the walls,

and fun bounce houses that William loved!  Look at the excitement on his little face!

The big kids got to jump into this foam pit.

Of course, Ben had to try some flips.

Here's the whole group.  Brave Sidney is forcing a smile after spraining her ankle. 

In addition to all this fun, Rachel went to volleyball camp with her cousins every morning that week.  We also went swimming one afternoon at the very fun Scera pool.  I had to get my fill of warm summer sun sitting by the pool.  I just don't get enough of that here in Washington.  The week went by way too quickly, and then it was time to drive home.  David flew back to Utah and drove home with us.  I picked him up Friday and then Saturday morning we had to get Sarah by 7 a.m. (why or why do they do that?).  After that, we hit the road.  It's a long trip home, that we spread out over two days.  It is always so good to get home after a long trip.