Malan's Peak

 Probably the only time that the kids weren't fighting with each other is when they all banded together around Oma's iPad.  I think they were watching Ever After High.  I still haven't seen that show but somehow they all have songs and lines memorized from it so it must have happened somehow.

And speaking of fighting.  Ike and Gray are the best of frenemies.  They love love love each other and also beat the crap out of each other.  They are like a couple of puppies fighting for their place while at the same time really appreciating each other.

 We went to Brandon's high school reunion.  For a couple of weeks before the date he spent all of the time that he wasn't applying for jobs catching up with old friends on Facebook.  It was pretty neat to see how the Layton High class of '97 has turned into a bunch of kind and lovely adults.  I didn't know them as high schoolers but they were classy and supportive.  The high school reunion has kind of taken on mythic proportions due to movies and media.  There are even diets that are specifically meant to prepare you to show up looking hot and successful.  But once we got there it just seemed that everyone was really hoping the best for each other.

 We had a chance to tour the school which the kids pretty much thought of as a huge obstacle course.

 People ask me all the time if the girls play with Ike like he is a doll.  The answer is yes.

 Splash Pad!

 One thing that I didn't take pictures of was all the time we spent with our siblings.  We went out to lunch with Becky and Caleb, which did produce this gem.

 I didn't catch the lovely night we had at Eric and Debbie's when she made Cuban food, or the night at the park where the kids all played and the adults got to catch up, or the Sunday dinners, or watching fireworks in my parent's backyard, or the rave.  One thing that was hard about leaving Eugene is that we have so many great friends there and I was grieving that loss.  Every time we got together with our brothers and sisters it filled that gap.

We also had some really good eating.  I love to cook but whenever I go home I remember how good it feels to walk in to a meal prepared by a loving mom.

 We got all these early birds up to hike Malan's Peak.  The last time we did this hike Ike was only 2 months old. I thought that it was just hard because I was postpartum.  Now I have no excuse. It is just a tough hike.  I was sure proud of these little beans.  They kept good attitudes and made it, not only to the peak but down into the basin.  We were rewarded with a surprise encounter with a rattlesnake and also a bunch of treats that Brandon had packed.  Whenever morale started to get low he would pull out a power pellet (what someone less fun might call a donut hole) and cheer everyone up.  We all came home tired and rewarded ourselves with a movie night.  Descendants 2.