I used to dream of my summer adventures. Just before school got out for the summer I would think about all the exciting things I was going to do. The one thing I looked forward to the most was our family reunions. When you have a HUGE extended family, it makes life so much more exciting! I couldn't wait for those reunions to come around every two years to be around aunts, uncles, cousins, and the most awesome grandparents in the world. Our extended family keeps growing and so each time we have a reunion, things just keep getting more exciting. Especially when you have kids of your own and they are excited for those same reunions!
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| Our Mark Ballantyne growing family <3 |
Our family reunions are epic! They have to be when 60 people come and that's not even the whole extended family! We had a blast for 4 days in Bear Lake Idaho with 60+ of the awesome people we happen to be related to. So many memories made, so many messes cleaned up, so many painful sun burns, and so much food eaten! Another amazing reunion for the books!
The 4 days consisted of hours at the beach at the lake, Olympic teams, flags, and events. Riding bikes, racing, raspberry shakes, lip syncing battles, talent show, cave exploring and late night visiting. The only time I saw my little boy was at bedtime which seemed to commence at 11pm every night.He absolutely loved having kids to play with all the time! Families are the best!
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| Just before exploring the cave. It was a nice break from the heat. |
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| Our little family inside the cave. |
Shortly after our adventures at Bear Lake, we had one last harrah with Jason before he made the journey to California. I was supposed to be running my second out of five half marathons, but the race was canceled and so we got more time with our friends in Logan. We love visiting the Sanchez family. They are our friends for life! We love them!
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| The kiddos taking a break from walking <3 |
After our adventures there, we had a sad goodbye to daddy for the next two weeks while he starts his adventure in California. I can't believe it! Him leaving made things so much more real and so much more lonely. We sure do love this silly man.
Of course Carter and I are never bored. Carter started swim lessons, I've started training for another half marathon, and we've been getting things done on our to do list before we can hit the bucket list items. Now the adventure begins of getting our house ready to sale. I think that this will be the most hard adventure with our move to come. We love our house, and it is so hard to say goodbye. On the other hand, we know there is something for us in California and only millions more memories to create!
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| Carter started swim lessons. This is the best pic I could get.... |
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| By our new home in California |
