Family Reunion

In August we made a trip out to Utah to meet up with my two brothers and their families. While we were there we also saw Dusty's brothers and their families. It was a great week and we had a lot of fun times. And amazingly the drive out there and back went pretty well.

We went to some awesome water parks while we were there. I wish Oregon had some nice outdoor water parks, but then again, it rains so much here that they don't seem practical.

Here are the little boys waiting for their dads and uncles to go off the high dives.

The "guys". You cannot consider a gathering of our family a true "Blunck Reunion" without it including some sort of physical challenge. This year it was the Air Force Challenge. David came in first with an impressive score, Dusty was next (I think), and Stephen was just a short ways behind. Great job guys!

Stephen going off the high dive.

Me going off the high dive. I just ran at full speed and jumped off. I knew if I thought about things or walked to the edge that I would chicken out.

Dusty, who is VERY afraid of heights, even joined in on the action.

David must be experienced in this area as evidenced by his form.

We all hiked up to the Timpanogos caves. All the kids did great on the long, hot hike.

Stephen and Shara...what a beautiful couple. They are awesome with all their nieces and nephews and very patient.

Yes, Rita is there. She is just chilling on Dusty's back. People might consider our family the "craziest" one out of the bunch.

David, Sheri, Benjamin, Hunter, and soon Preston (Due October 8th) Blunck. Benjamin is a really good hiker and Hunter is a very patient little boy.

Of course on any hike you need to make sure that you bring along lots of "power snacks". Here are the cousins enjoy theirs after traveling through the caves.

And a family reunion wouldn't be complete without a temple trip. Here are all the couples outside the Jordan River temple. Thank you to Shara's parents for watching our kids. I think the word they used to describe the four boys and Rita was "busy".

We missed Mom, Dad and Lynette who are all in Peru, but Mom made sure to send us all something to wear in memory of them and their missions. Thank you Mom and Dad!

While in Utah, Rita discovered stairs and had so much fun climbing up them. She would laugh so hard after she climbed up each step. It was a delight to watch her discover something new.

On or drives to and from Utah, we stopped in Hermiston to see Grandpa and Grandma Hawman and other family. And on our way back we stopped by Grass Valley and the boys were able to ride in the combine with Cousin Nick and ride in the tractor with Uncle Alan. Phillip, our little tractor man, was in heaven. Unfortunately I couldn't find my camera to capture those moments.

We had a great time visiting with everyone and as always, out trip ended with me in tears as we said good-bye. I guess we'll just keep the phone lines and g-chat busy until next time.