When John's family gets together...

This post is all about the things we did while vacationing in Coeur d'alene with John's family.    We packed an awful lot into 6 days, it kinda makes me tired just remembering it all!

John's family is all about traditions.  (cue Tevia and his fiddler on the roof rendition)
Truly though-  when John's family gets together, there are a few mandatory events/ criteria that absolutely must exist in order for it to be a success.

For example:

"When John's family get together"....PLAY TIME is taken VERY seriously!!! 

On Tuesday, we loaded up the kids and drove the 20 minute drive to Silverwood theme park. When they tired of that- we simply hopped on over to Boulder Beach for another 5 or 6 hours of excitement!

  Abby, of course joined all of the older kids and they immediately set out to tackle the big kid rides and roller coasters.   John and I had fun with the younger group taking them on much smaller rides.    (I don't know if I'll ever get over feeling like a dork when I have to sit in these dumbo chairs, but oh well:)

I love the picture in the top right of Jessica with 3 of her new friends.    One day in- and we knew these four cousins were going to make quite the team!

  

"When John's family gets together..." they like to EXPLORE!

 The resort we stayed at was nestled deep in the Idaho woods.   We took a short pre-dinner walk one day that let us up this hill, and it felt good to get out, but I quickly realized how out of shape I am.    I was glad to get back to the lodge so I could chill out in a hammock or do something less exhausting;)

"When John's family gets together...." there must be guns, rockets, and remote control planes!

I lump all three of those into one category because they are all things that I don't necessarily appreciate on the same level that John and his siblings do.   Still though,  it is quite funny to watch them when they get the chance to play.    They never go flying without having some sort of fun story to share, and word on the street is that John has a pretty decent shot!

Another thing that is required "when John's family gets together"....  is Sand!  

And when I say sand, I really mean that it must come in the form of a BEACH!    We spent two days this past week at a couple of different beaches near Coeur d'alene and the kids had an absolute blast!   Abby (but mostly her Aunt Kristin) caught a fish (a catfish perhaps) with their bare hands.    Some of the kids wandered up and down the beach more then others, and I tried to enjoy it all underneath the beautiful shade of an umbrella.

There was lots of sand in my van on those days- that's for sure!

Perhaps most importantly, "when John's family gets together"... a motor boat is required!

I'm pretty sure that any family reunion from here on out is absolutely, undeniably going to have to be held at a location where motor boats can be used.     Some of our nieces and nephews learned to ski for the first time ever this past week!  Abby was fearless on the tube,   Nate finally consented to sitting IN the boat and going for a ride, and John reminds me a teensy weensy bit of Don Johnson whenever he got behind the wheel.  

Apparently, a boat makes EVERYONE happy!  

"When John's family gets together"...they always organize a fun family carnival!

It's just automatically part of the reunion schedule, and of course, how could it not be with all the fun it is?    This year the kids had fun with various arcade type games, a relay where they had to dress up as babies and be fed pudding by someone else, a search for gold and then the breaking of golden pinatas, a shoot out, and a fun photo booth!    Soo much fun!   (And soooo much Candy!)

"When John's family gets together"....the eight of us Moms always, always  ALWAYS steal away for a   little bit of "girl time."    

(You know, without planes, and rockets, and things that explode;)

This year, Sarah found the most charming location for us to hold a "Favorite Things" party.    She took us to an old Mansion overlooking Haden Lake, and it was AMAZING!

We chatted as the sun went down,  and we dined on Seven Nut Pie,  Cheese cake, and Shirley Temples!   We each exchanged gifts with everyone (our favorite things) and walked away with our arms full of delightful treats and trinkets, and hearts full of love!    

That probably sounds cheesy-but it's true.   I really did feel such love for these amazing woman!

This evening was definitely one of the highlights for me.    

Now, if you were to ask my kids which evening they enjoyed most, they'd tell you it was the night of the "Family Talent Show!"   You know, just another one of those mandatory things we do -

 "when John's family gets together!"