Summer vacation, part 1

As challenging as it is to travel with two smallish children in tow, we decided to go ahead and take a two-week trip earlier this month. We were excited to see family, see two weddings, and generally have a change of pace for a while. We were reminded, shortly into the trip, that being squeezed into a row of airplane seats with a toddler is less of a joy and more of a burden.

The boy was weighty as he fidgeted on our laps, but despite a series of delays putting us in Utah well after midnight, we made it to our destination and started the first leg of our journey. We got up to our family's cabin on Saturday, just in time to ride on the teeter-totter and see a slew of cousins. Edie was thrilled to get a chance to show off her toys to all the girls.

Marty was thrilled to see, well, stuff he could cram in his mouth.

All eight of the grandkids on my side were at the cabin this year, which was hilarious, since they're all five and under. My mom put together a bunch of games for them to play, and while a couple of the older ones valiantly tried, most of them just ran around the park and screamed at each other, which was pretty great.

We had an egg hunt, we splashed each other with water, and generally had a fun time running around outside.

The cabin is a lot of fun for the little kids, and not just because there are plenty of fragile items on the shelves to grab and destroy. There's the aforementioned teeter-totter, which everyone loved.

You can bake in the kitchen.

If you get lucky, you can see wildlife, like these two moose that are definitely in this picture. (They're far away, and we didn't care to get too much closer.)

There's Yellowstone, which not only features spectacular natural beauty, but also a gift shop with a stuffed bear.

And there's a big couch which is perfect for naps.

We got to spend four days here with family, and everyone had a wonderful time. Sure wish we got to see cousins more often.