Summer Vacation - Chapter 1 "We are in the middle of nowhere & we're lost!" - Chapter 2 A Mini Family Reunion

So for summer vacation this year we decided to make a giant loop of it & see family. We picked up the rental car on a Thursday night & headed out on Friday once everything was loaded. The big kids we a great help in getting things loaded & Kassie fell asleep on the way to the ferry, which made getting to Seattle a little less crazy than could have been. Dan had gone into work so the kids & I picked him up at the office, took one last potty break, grabbed some lunch and off we went. We made it about an hour before Kassie woke up, decided she had enough & started to scream (not cry SCREAM) about 30 minutes later we finally had a place to stop & take a break. It didn't take us long to realize that there was no way we were going to be anywhere near our ideal travel time table. After a short leg stretch, potty break, a drink & an ice cream bribe we set out again - to Kassie screaming. After about a half hour she chilled out to a cry an about 45 mins to an hour after that she was asleep - we decided to get as many miles done as we possibly could while she was sleeping. We made a short stop in Pendleton, Oregon for dinner shortly after Kassie woke up & on we went again. Nate & Abbie did great & Kassie did better until about half an hour outside of Twin Falls, Idaho when Nate woke up her up with his crying - the GPS wasn't talking, it was dark & you couldn't see anything, he was convinced "We're lost, we are in the middle of nowhere & we're lost." He was extremely upset! We felt bad for the poor guy - we had a hard time convincing him that we weren't lost, I'm sure our side-splitting laughter didn't help - but it was soooo funny. We were in the middle of nowhere! But we weren't lost. We got to Twin Falls about 2 am local time - it was a long hard day of driving, but we survived it.

The next day was a much shorter drive to Bountiful, Utah - we pulled into the hotel parking lot at 2:59 - check in was at 3 - PERFECT. We unloaded the van, got the room set up & off we went to see Grandma & Grandpa Radeke & Aunt Lorraine. We relaxed for a bit & visited while Nate & Abbie checked out Grandma & Grandpa's place (mostly their exercise equipment). We all went out to dinner where Uncle Michael met up with us - after dinner the promised swim at the hotel pool was in order - where Aunt Becky, Uncle Jay, Christopher, Chelsea & puppy Greta came to see us & meet the kids.

Sunday morning we went to church with Grandpa & after a quick change of clothes we went back to Grandma & Grandpa's for a family reunion of sorts. It wasn't long before most of the family was there. We were missing 3 of the cousins, but other than that everyone was there. Dan's sister Lorraine figured out that it had been about 27 years since all of Dan's siblings had been together - way too long. Plans are already in the works for the next get together - in way less than 27 years this time! We had dinner together with lots of fun conversation & laughs - it was nice. I really appreciated getting to know family that we don't see near enough (well maybe for them it's enough - but growing up in a small town with family all around I really miss it some times) & my children really liked meeting their cousins, even if they are significantly older.

Here is the collection of family pictures - the best ones that were on my camera anyway. Notice to family I have quite the arsenal now of blackmail pictures, none of which are pictured here - YET (yes I can be bribed)!

One of Kassie's new "boyfriends" - cousin Riley
The girls - notice I'm in the picture - I can't take the blame for the less than stellar lighting here.
The boys (missing 3 cousins)
Nate & Aunt Becky & Nate's new favorite puppy Greta.
The Grandkids with Grandpa & Grandma Radeke
Michael, Lorraine, Patti & Russ
Gerald, Yiler, Riley, Patti & Russ
Dan, Krista, Patti with Kassie, Russ with Abbie & Nate
Jay, Becky with Greta, Chelsea, Christopher, Patti & Russ
Gerald, Becky, Dan, Lorraine, Patti & Russ (my flash wasn't fast enough I guess - the ones where the lighting is better isn't as flattering to those in the photo so in order to keep in the good graces of those individuals I went for the bad lighting - sorry)
Another attempt

PS - The pictures are shown in random, this is how the blog loaded them order, I didn't hassle with switching them around. Funny thing to note that in the middle of picture taking - Nate, who was tired of all of the pictures let us know without any doubt or hesitation that he was tired of us torturing him. His exact words..."Why are you torturing me?!" I'm pretty sure he wasn't the only one who felt that way, but he was the only one who wasn't afraid to voice it. Blunt honesty at it's best.

Becky & Gerald's family both had to get back for work & so their stays were really short & they left Sunday night. We were/are very grateful they made the trip to be there when we were there - we know it wasn't easy, but it sure meant a lot to us! For this we are grateful!