Munns Reunion

The Saturday following Island Park, we had another reunion with my side of the family! We were packing in as much fun as possible! In the morning there was a carnival for the little kids with all sorts of games.

The Balloon Dart Board.

I like the intensity Hallie shows. Every kid loved this one. "Wait, I get to throw something really sharp as hard as I want"?

A very creative "bear hunt".

Tin can toss.

Jess and I ran the fishing pond, let me clarify, the pretend fishing pond. When the kids realized there was a REAL fishing pond on the other side of the grass, we were out of business. We didn't stand a chance.

What more could a kid want??? Hmm...maybe a wagon ride?

Done.

 The carnival was amazing! Thanks to everyone that organized it and pulled it off!

The big kids modified the carnival games to their liking. The winner of each event wore this snazzy "Sheriff" badge.

Bryan basking in his glory after popping THREE balloons while throwing darts going down the slide.

Yep, he's A-L-L mine. :)

 My favorite modification was the football toss. The contestants had to throw at the target while being pulled across the lawn on the wagon, next came the "long bomb" over the canopy, followed by a boot-leg play. Bryan is responsible for all of the football terminology, I sincerely thought he was making those up.
 

In the afternoon, the world's largest "slip-n-slide" was set up.

My niece, Katelyn, being brave and going head first!

Another cute niece, Aubrey, slidin' down with Luke and me.

Luke enjoying the slide in his own way.

I loved this slide!  I'm still trying to think how and where we could do this in Colorado.

We had quite the surprise in the late afternoon when this guy buzzed overhead.

It was the candy bomber! I grew up attending a family reunion where candy was dropped from an airplane for all the kids to collect. It was so fun as a kid that when I realized what was going on I had to keep myself in check and remind myself that I was now an "adult" and needed to step aside while the "kids" ran for the candy. How I missed those "good ol' days" in that moment. :)

The true surprise was when the airplane looped around for another "bombing". We weren't planning on that...TAKE COVER!

All of the fun and family togetherness is because of this incredible woman, our grandma.

Her and our grandpa have always set a great example of the importance of families. She is one amazing lady.

Island Park Reunion

Last week we went to a cabin in Island Park, Idaho with Bryan's immediate family. We had a wonderful time. There were rivers to float, trails to ride 4-wheelers on, delicious food to inhale :), gorgeous scenery to admire and great company to enjoy!

On the way up, we stopped in Rexburg. I attended BYU-Idaho and LOVED it there! We showed Luke around the town, it's never to early to start persuading. :) They have since built a temple in Rexburg, it is beautiful.

The cabin we stayed in was very spacious. We had plenty of room for the bounce house and...

 the newest addition to the Nielson Family, "cheep-cheep." 

We definitely kept busy with our time that we spent together. Here are a few pictures to share all the fun that we had!

Old Faithful in Yellowstone

Target shooting off of the deck.

4-wheeling/driving to gorgeous summits.

Floating the river.

Cousins having lots of fun together.

All of the excitemtent eventually led to this...

:)

 

We drove up to Big Springs one evening, it was beautiful. 

Bryan took these photos when he was out and about with his brothers and dad. It would not be a true Nielson Reunion unless the men in the family are all taking the same picture to upload onto a computer discuss later. :)

We had a wonderful time and are trying to adjust back to "normal" life.

However, Luke is pretty bored around here and wondering, "Hey! Where did everybody go"?



Let Freedom Ring

This 4th of July we made our way to Snowmass Village, which is about 10 miles outside of Aspen. It is about a 3.5 hour car ride without the infamous I-70 traffic. We managed to get caught in that traffic mess going up, however, it was definitely worth it! We enjoyed majestic mountains, raging rivers, and fantastic fireworks. It was a fabulous weekend. The only thing we might change when we go next time is to stay longer so we can squeeze in some road biking as well as a rodeo, yes, a rodeo. Luke is going to be in the "Mutton Bustin' " one of these years, we need to start him young. If you're not sure what "Mutton Bustin' " is, shame on you.

What better way to celebrate our Independence Day than by driving up "Independence Pass"?

It was a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l day!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

We enjoyed several hikes along this stretch of road. Luke was pretty "wide-eyed" during the hikes. Bryan kept things interesting for the kid...he was strapped in at all times.

 
 
 

Luke was exhausted with all of the hiking, but kept in good spirits.

We rewarded him with his very own plum and a few "360s" courtesy of Bryan.

Luke loves "360s".

 This is where we paused on our journey because Bryan swore that he saw Lance Armstrong. To quote Bryan, "I guarantee that is Lance." Well, we should have placed a bet, because on Luke's closer inspection it turned out to be an impostor...I could have made some serious moo-lah.

Ahhh, The Maroon Bells.

We did a little fishing at Ruedi Reservoir, gorgeous.  We love to fish. I love to "reservoir" fish, Bryan is more of river and stream guy. I love my type of fishing, because I am ridiculously lucky. This trip did not let me down, "FISH ON"!

Bryan thoroughly enjoyed watching me reel this big lunker in. Besides letting the entire reservoir know that I had a fish, I completed my catch with a victorious fish dance. I think this is my biggest catch yet. I know it isn't huge, but to me, it felt gigantic. :)

Luke's reaction to how his mother acts when she catches a fish.

We caught the fireworks in Aspen to complete our holiday weekend. Happy 4th!

P.S. Two of my favorite, random pics from the trip...

Busy Day

Today felt like one of those whirlwind days for me. Bryan pitched in and "put dinner away" before he had to take off...

 

... it just made me chuckle. :)

Mmm...Mmm...GOOD!

I tried Cinnamon Roll Pancakes this morning for Sunday breakfast. They were delicious! Click here for the recipe. I substituted with a pancake recipe that I like, but I'm sure you could even use an instant form and they would turn out great. Check out the original recipe. The previous sentence will make more sense.