Utah! This is the Place

So another weekend of fun has come and gone. My side of the family had our First Annual IFR (Immediate Family Reunion). Basically, since we are so spread out all over the place - Utah, California, Missouri - and there are no weddings or big special occasions coming up, my four other siblings and I decided we just needed to get together. We've been planning it for a couple of months and there were some interesting moments getting the whole thing arranged, but it turned out really great.

On Wednesday, my husband, brother and I drove into Southern Utah. We made pretty good time, only stopping for Starbucks and a potty break. The trip went by surprisingly fast and that was a relief. That evening we all hung out, ate pizza and watched some REALLY old family videos. I broke away from the pack to have a heart to heart talk with my Mom and we cleared up some stinky business that had been lingering for a long time. I'm telling you people, if there's something you want to get off your chest, just do it! It is so much better in the long run. I don't usually have the balls because I don't like hurting people's feelings, but I'm working on speaking my mind more. And luckily with family they HAVE to be understanding. Don't they?

Thursday, we all planned to go to Sand Hallow Lake. It's a really pretty red-rocked lake close to my Mom's house. So after a hearty breakfast of Finnish Pancakes, we gathered up all our inflatable water toys and made our way there. The weather was great and after nearly passing out from all the inflating we had to do, we finally had a chance to hit the water. It seemed warm at first, but the further out you went, the colder it got! After everyone had sufficiently frozen their toes off in the lake/baked their shoulders in the sun/fished to their hearts' content, we left to get ready for a fancy steak dinner. Mom and Stepdad treated us to Wildcat Willie's Steakhouse in Zion. It was sooo good. And we had some fun there. My nephew was so entertaining, I couldn't focus on adult conversation. I just kept laughing at him.

On Friday, we all got an early start and drove out to Bryce Canyon. My stepdad borrowed one of those huge 15 passenger vans so we could all go together so that was a lot of fun. And the canyon is so beautiful. Its really like nothing else you'll ever see. I've been there a few times before, but Hubby was so impressed. He liked the hoo-doo's even more than the Grand Canyon. We got some great pictures and had a blast out there. We were in the car long enough that we were a bit delirious on the ride home, but all the better for some laughs.

That night, we had a little bonfire in Mom's backyard. We talked a lot about our childhood memories and laughed at the fact that we turned out so "normal" despite being around such strange people all the time! Haha. I don't think we went to bed until after 3am that night. But it was so great to spend that time with the family and sort of get reaquainted with everyone after so many years of brief visits and rushed weekends. Truly can't wait for the next one.

Pics: http://paulpeltekian.com/fotoalbum/IFR2008/