We took our annual trek up to Utah to visit the Sagers family. This trip was a little more busy than those in the past. Instead of just a SAS (Sagers Annual Shindig) gathering, there was a wedding and 2 soon-to-be-missionaries preparing to depart mixed in. And that was just from the immediate family. Add in visiting extended family (missionary homecoming, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, and so on and so forth) and it's one busy week. Busy equals fun, right?!
There is always so much fun to be had at Gma and Gpa's house! Elizabeth found her place right away...on the baby doll bed.
She was only slightly too big for it, but small enough to be super cute and play on it.
She entertained us all with her cute antics and faces.
A favorite of all was her "Oh!" reaction. It was also pretty fun watching what we would all come up with to make her react.
We took a small break from the busyness to spend some time at the cabin in Scofield. Our kids had been asking and begging to go back to the cabin for almost a year, and since we felt the same way it was pretty easy to make plans and get away.
We love relaxing and playing at the cabin!
We went on hikes...
And even had to wear jackets! (Totally a foreign concept to us since we only need them for about 1 month at home).
We played at the swings...
...and had contests to see who could swing the highest. (Some under protest since a fear of heights is completely real and plaques a few of us.)
Smiles all around!
Bryan took the bigger kids on a picture scavanger hunt while I stayed back with the napping littles. It was fun to see their imagination at work finding things from the list we had written. They even found a few extra things...just for fun.
It feels so great to be outside in nature without the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Abigail collected some wildflowers to decorate our table. What a sweetheart!
They made the perfect centerpiece.
After a good time at the cabin, we packed up and headed back down the mountain to join the rest of the family. Little did we know that a 12-hour stomach sickness was catching up with us. Turns out the entire clan was hit with the bug. We almost called off the wedding. Not really, but it did postpone and cancel a few activities that had been planned for the week. Blessing in disguise to get us to slow down? I'm not convinced. I don't know that I can ever call such misery a blessing, but maybe someday? Enough of that...
We did get to spend a fun day at Seven Peaks playing on the water slides and we did get to play on the trampoline and other fun toys and projects.
The night before all the wedding things started, we had a dinner with Jeremy's family. It's fun getting to add to a family and getting to know everyone. We also practiced a surprise for the bride and groom while they were off getting the food. Uncle Phil had choreographed a dance for us all to do. Now...you know...most of us can't really dance. But we have fun trying and that was the whole point for this surprise.
The dance was performed at the wedding luncheon and our kids still do it. Success!
More faces from miss Liz.
Too cute!
We had so much fun playing with Gma's sand.
So much fun, in fact, that it was usually out before the thought of getting dressed even occurred to us.
The wedding reception! Look how cute/handsome/adorable/fantastic we all were! Not trying to brag...but kind of. We tried and tried to get nice pictures, but are still more than pleased with what we actually got.
Smile! Grimace! Just look at the camera!
Hold still! Smile Elizabeth!
Or jump on your sister...that works too! Elizabeth...stop trying to pull my shirt off!
Dad...let me go! No really...
Stand up straight! Smile! Look at the camera!
I love you!!
Abigail was given the very important job of holding Aunt Natalie's dress so it wouldn't drag on the ground and get dirty.
She took her duties very seriously and stood next to the bride all night long! We had several comments made saying how adorable she was and what a sweet girl to want to help her aunt and such. She truly is an amazing little girl!
The nieces!
The sisters!
The nephews!
All the young 'uns!
The family! We were so excited to add Jeremy to our fun family. He's such a great match for Natalie.
Too cute for words! I guess all it took to find a smile was taking off her headband. She was walking around all night melting hearts all along the way.
Good food, good visiting, music and dancing made for a very fun evening. Since we were in charge of the reception, it was a party combined with working. It went very smoothly (everyone did more than their share and took the stress out of the night) and before we knew it, the night was over.
Thanks Natalie and Jeremy for getting married so we could party!
The family + the temple. True joy! We are so glad to know that we can be a family for eternity. It just makes this thing that we call life worth it!
More fun with cousins and sand.
Elizabeth and Carsten had so much fun on the trampoline (at least when the big kids let them have a turn).
I love watching babies walk around on a trampoline. Instant smiles!
Since we were in Utah over Pioneer Day weekend, we did some fireworks. There may or may not have been an explosion, but any fires that would have resulted from such a thing were put out immediately and no damage was done.
Sunday was a special day for Aunt Rachel. She got to speak in church in preparation for her leaving on her mission to the Philippines the following Wednesday. Uncle Erick didn't leave until September, so he didn't have to speak yet. We enjoyed listening to her share her testimony and insights.
The kids enjoyed having lots of family and friends join us at Gpa and Gma's house afterwards for food and visiting. All in all...the trip was a success. All the essentials happened and most of the non-essential fun things happened as well. And...nobody keeled over from stress or exhaustion. Bonus!
Maybe next time will be a little more chill. But then again, maybe not. Only time will tell.
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