Alpine & Other Reunions

The day after my siblings hit the road, we hopped on a plane up to Salt Lake and drove straight to Alpine. Alpine is close to sacred ground to me because of all the happy memories there- My mom was pregnant with me for the first Alpine reunion, and we were there every summer growing up. Being there feels like being home. It was so cool being able to bring my own kid there and have him love it every bit as much as I always have.

Airplane rides are super easy now that he wants to watch TV non-stop.

Grumpa was waiting with chocolate donuts when we arrived

Wandering around the bonfire sing-a-long

Mimi made sure he was well coated in mosquito-repelling stickers (which are apparently a thing. Technology these days!)

Elliot ran up to join Breezy and Clint when they led "Princess Pat"

But completely refused to participate

Lumberjack Blake at the bonfire

He had no shortage of attention from his grandparents and aunt and uncles. Not to mention a hoard of second cousins!

Our young capitalist quickly grasped the concept of the Alpine Store- although his money was earned more through indulgent grandparents than completing chores as was intended

His loot included a yoda head, coloring book, magnet letters, playdoh, watercolor paints, and more!

Art with Mimi

Alpine had all the classic activities- trash talking volleyball, swapping stories with my favorite relatives, songs around the campfire, dirty kids running wild, and the best milk on earth. We shared a cabin with my mom and dad. Elliot had no problems sleeping at night, but he did boycott naps. I slept well despite my late night bathroom trips. Dad gave a great presentation about Kirsten Pedersdatter, a recently discovered ancestor of ours that crossed the plains. Aunt Cecelia put together a PowerPoint with a bunch of pictures of her hometown in Denmark. My mom later called it a "multi-sensual experience" while trying to call it a "multi-sensory" experience much to everyone's amusement. Our family's assignment this year was running the program. We did a fun family feud game that went well.

 After we wrapped up, we drove to Idaho Falls for another great tradition- Uncle Jerry's fish fry! You couldn't ask for better food or company. Uncle Dave's house on the farm is one of my other favorite places on earth, and I'm glad we got to stay the night. There is a dead end road leading to the house. It was unpaved until fairly recently. My dad would let us sit on his lap and drive down the "rocky road" every summer. Elliot was THRILLED to carry on this particular tradition.

He still talks about it even now and will sporadically declare that it is his turn to drive the car again

I have beautiful siblings

And a very graceful son

We went to sacrament meeting in Idaho Falls, then drove back to Salt Lake to briefly meet up with Kristy and Laura before catching our late flight home. Both of them are predictably doing awesome at life.

Roommates Reunited! There are few things I love more than catching up with old friends

I didn't take any pictures at the cool restaurant Laura took us to, but here's one of Elliot being way more bold than I wanted him to be on a trail behind the restaurant. Why does he only hike when we aren't actually going hiking?

Our already late flight was delayed several hours. We ended up not getting home until about 2 am. Elliot did not fall asleep in the airport or on the plane despite our best efforts, but he was kept happy and calm through the power of movies on cell phones until we made it to our car.

One neat experience that came from our delayed flight is that I was able to help a lady having an anxiety attack. I was walking to the bathroom at about 10pm in the Salt Lake Airport when I noticed a woman sitting down by the wall with two airport workers huddled by her. One was shouting angrily into a walkie talkie- I think he was trying to get transferred to someone who could help her. I later found out he was a night janitor. He gets props for stepping up to do something, but I could tell that he was making the situation worse by shouting and getting all riled up right in her face, demanding answers to questions about her age and situation to pass on. I sat down next to her, started holding her hand, and told her about how my mom gets anxiety attacks around heights. She had lots of the same symptoms- shaking, sobbing, etc. I was able to get angry janitor guy to back off and her slightly calmed down by the time the paramedics got there. This was especially neat for me because I was helped in an intense situation by a stranger in an airport last Christmas with a screaming Elliot on the plane. I felt like this was my chance to pay it forward. We late night airport people need to stick together!