Safari Park

We headed out to Escondido today to go to the Safari Park.  It is part of the zoo annual pass that my mom got for us.  It was a great day for it and actually nice to experience a little warmer weather.  La Jolla has only been getting up to the high 60s & low 70s.  We had a great time and Grandma got some quiet recovery time.    Lexi & Jordan's favorite part was the petting zoo.  They used to have deer in there, but now it is just goats.

Grandma's Surgery

Grandma and Papa had to get up early yesterday morning and go the hospital.  Grandma had surgery.  It took most of the day.  We ran a few errands and stopped at the San Diego temple.  The kids asked to go there and it is near Deseret Book, where we went to get Grandma a get well card.  They were quite worried about Grandma all day and were relieved to see she had made it through just fine.  

We spent the day in the hospital with Grandma.  She was anxious to get home, but it took a while for the doctor to show up to release her.  When he did, he made sure that she knew she had to rest for 8 weeks to recover, which she will not do.  She also can't drive for 2 weeks.  Good thing we're here to take care of her and keep her entertained.

Last Leg of RV Trip

Today was the last day of our little family reunion/Utah trip.  Even though it takes longer to drive the RV, I am glad that we got to travel and stay in it.  The kids were strapped in, but there is more of a sense of freedom. It is nice having a portable potty, so they could jump up and go without having to pull over.  It was also great being able to get fruit out of the fridge for snacks.  Probably the best part was "camping" at the reunion.  The people who stayed in tents suffered from a few rain storms.  Maybe Lexi would say that the best part was bringing Travis on vacation.   

What Happens in Vegas

Last night, we stopped at my friend Annette's house.  We stopped there on the way up to the reunion too, which was nice because we don't get to see her & her wonderful family nearly enough.  She lives near the end of a cul-de-sac.  There are no houses around the circle, so it was a perfect stopping spot for the RV.  There are also lots of trails for walking Travis and letting the kids run around.      

This evening, we made it to Vegas.  We decided to stay in the RV park at Circus Circus.  We went into Circus Circus to have dinner.  Lexi ordered spaghetti and meatballs.  Suddenly, she realized that her tooth had fallen out.  Fortunately, she didn't swallow it.  I told her that Vegas has a strict rule - What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.  She put her tooth in my purse & we hoped to smuggle it out.  I told her that I had a feeling that the tooth fairy pays less for teeth in Vegas.  She is better holding out for a town that has a better economy.  She decided to take that gamble and bet on San Diego.   

Family Reunion Day 3 (Last Day)

It was our last day at the family reunion, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.  I think most people were tired of camping, but we had such a good time with everyone.  Two years until the next one and we just hope we can go.  We all ate breakfast together.  Above there is a picture of Lexi with Alma's daughter (Eden).  

Grandma Margie with her siblings (Uncle Dixon & Aunt Sue) 

Lexi with Miriam

All the girls

All the kids (1st, 2nd & a few 3rd cousins)

Lexi with my cousin's daughter, Aurora

Our little family (only picture of me from the reunion)

 Lexi & Jordan with Clayton's daughters

Grandma Margie took her family to lunch for our last day & Corban's birthday lunch 

Family Reunion Day 2

This morning, we had breakfast with Alma and Clayton's family at the camp ground.  Afterward, Grandma brought out the hula hoops to get the kids to practice for this evening.  There is a family talent show and we signed the kids up to hula hoop to music.  We didn’t choreograph a number since they all live in different states and wanted to spend the family reunion having fun.   

Eden (Alma's daughter), Lexi & Miriam (Clayton's daughter)

Mid-morning, Chris and Julia showed up just in time to head out to the ice caves.  I wasn't able to go because I had to work on my proposal.  Fortunately, my mom took pictures.

In the afternoon/evening, we all gathered for the talent show, which was mainly put on by the kids.  I guess very few of the adults are talented.  ;)  We saw dance routines, gymnastics, magic shows, jump roping, musical instruments, and singing.  By the way, I had no idea that Lexi was going to wear her swimsuit for the performance.  I had her put it on this morning under her skirt and t-shirt in case we ended up in the lake.  I guess she saw several of the girls in their dance costumes and stripped down.  Here are pictures and a video of Lexi & her cousins performing their hula hooping:  

The kids watching the magic show

We all gathered for a family dinner.  Everyone contributed something.  

There aren't any pictures, but that night most of us gathered around the campfire to make s'mores and tell ghost stories.  Lexi was completely fascinated.  She had never experienced that before.  Of course, most of the ghost stories were the silly ones like "I gotcha where I want ya, now I'm going to eat ya" and "when the log rolls over we're all going to die."  The kids were all giggling.  Then, some of the kids begged my Aunt Beverly to tell the "Thump, thump, swish" story.  When she finished, we realized it was getting a little scary for Lexi, so Grandma, Lexi and I left.  The next morning, we heard about the story after that told by my Uncle Dixon and we're pretty glad because the older kids got scared too.