Rexburg Part 2

 One of my kids favorite activities of the whole trip was the day we got to float the river on tubes and a kayak. We made sure to have enough adults to where there was one adult per child. The water was pretty darn cold, but the current was gentle and once we were in and just floating along it was Great! 

 And of course every kids needs a chance to be rolled in an inter tube, right?

 The next day was the color run! I tell ya, Sarah, kept us BUSY the Whole time we were up there! Not a moments rest. Forgive the fact that the pictures are out of order. Here we are at Jamba Juice post race, all dirty as can be!

 For having this many small kids, it was really hard to know what to expect. Kipper hated getting dirty, so his excitement didn't last too long. Conner had to pee within a few minutes of the race, so I had to find some construction site for him to hide behind and pee. Makenna did not bring good running shoes, so her feet started hurting pretty quickly. In the end, Brooke took off with the big kids and ran like crazy. Grammy took most of the little ones back with her that didn't stand a chance of finishing 3 miles. Kellen was the one that decide to tough it out and did the whole thing with me and Sarah! I did have to carry him on my back a number of times, but I was so proud of him for being willing to go on and finishing the whole thing through!!!

 The color part of it was awesome! So much fun for the kids and adults alike!

 What a fun and crazy bunch!

 Rexburg has the cutest park called Porter Park. They have a merry go round that you can ride for $1. Then it has a water park (little splash pad for the kids) that is turned on during the summer and then a big dry playground as well. It is a gorgeous place and you can tell it is totally meant to meet the needs of young college families. The kids loved it and so did I! So fun!

 The 4th of July itself was too busy to let off our fireworks, so a couple nights later we went down to the church parking lot and let them off there. The Uncles helped the kids each take a turn, and you could tell my kids thought it was incredible!

 You can't have fireworks without lots and lots and lots of sparklers!

 Seriously, it was sparklers for a long time! The kids finally had to get cut off because they would have done sparklers all night if we let them!

 Kipper, who thought the fireworks were a bit intense, felt that the back of Auntie Nana's trunk with all the toys for the road trip was a better place to spend the evening hanging out.

 I just love Brooke and her genuine excitement over all the little things in life!

We finished off the end with some big fireworks that were awesome! Now we know what to buy a lot of on our next trip up! These kids are so lucky to get to have these adventures with their cousins!

Rexburg Road Trip

Since my Sister decided to leave us and take my kids cousins and my nieces and nephew far away from me, we have to find an upside. So since we don't get to see them often, we will probably be taking a road trip up there every year to visit them. I love the thought of having great memories with the kids during these trips and the fun adventure it will be every summer! We had never taken the kids in the car for more than a few hour drive. So this first one was a bit of an unknown journey.

 The kids were so excited about getting out of California and crossing into different states. They were so sweet about it! The first real sign that we were out of California was us being able to stop and buy a bunch of fireworks to bring up to Idaho for the 4th of July. The kids thought this was the best thing ever, they were so excited!

 Loaded up and ready to go!

 We stayed the night in St George which works as a nice half way point. Couldn't have a stop without some yummy ice cream that night!

 Staying in our hotel room was a bit of an adventure that night. Carys fell asleep, as did the other kids pretty well. But they Carys woke up a few hours later and was having a really hard time going back to sleep. Eventually I had to just lay on the ground with her and try and get her to fall asleep with me, which she did do eventually. But it was a rough nights sleep. It's just what comes with the adventure, right?

 Finally made it to Rexburg on day 2. The kids were Soooooo excited to see each other, and of course I cried watching it! It is so sweet seeing them just pick up where they left off!

 Auntie Nana getting to hold baby Paige for the first time. I was so grateful she still felt tiny in my arms! It's so hard watching her grow up from a distance. 

 Our next day there was the 4th of July. And I have to say, this was probably one of my favorite days of the trip. It was so neat to be in a small town on the 4th of July. It reminded me of the memories I have as a kid visiting my Grandma and Grandpa during the 4th of July and the cool small town things they had in Nevada. We got to watch a parade that pretty much the whole town takes part in. Everyone throws candy to the kids and the kids just run out and in the street to grab it. Such a fun thing for the whole family!

 Watching the parade go buy and grabbing all the goodies being thrown!

These two little boys are great together! Trouble, but fun to watch at the same time. They just instinctually know that they are suppose to be mischievous with one another. What is it about watching little boys be adventurous together that just makes you smile?!

We stayed busy while Grandma and Grandpa were here! One of the things they were excited to do while they were visiting was go to the San Diego County Fair with us. It is a pretty big fair and the kids look forward to it every year! So it was fun to done of the kids favorite summer activities with Grandma and Grandpa as well!

 To make it even better, it was Beatles themed!!! The McKamey's crossing Abbey Road!

 Love these two little ones! They are just the cutest! Having fun at the fair is hard work.

 After a quick snooze, Con was back up and ready to go on the rides. 

 The kids Love this ride that spins you so much you are sure you are going to vomit! I am grateful the kids are getting big enough to go on it alone because I just can't handle dizzy stuff like that any more. It happens when you get old! Ha ha! 

 Watching the kids cuddle and play with their Grandma and Grandpa just melts my heart. They just eat up all the attention and loves and one on one time. Carys was so cute. She would grab Grandma's hand and have her sit down and then bring her toys from her shelf. She especially love playing this little fishing game or doing puzzles. Grandma and Carys seemed to have a very sweet and special bond right away. 

 Out for a gorgeous day downtown!

 Sea Port Village with Grandma and Grandpa.

 A quick ride on the beautiful carrousel that they have in Sea Port Village. I have very special memories on that same carrousel as a child...mostly being there with Papa. So it melts my heart seeing the kids make memories of their own with the people they love and adore. 

 Daddy had the great idea to see about getting us into a tour of  Petco park.

 We were able to go and see all of the behind the scenes of where the Padres play their games. We saw where they practice, where all the vips go and the fancy clubhouses. We didn't get to go inside the locker room that day, but we got to see a lot of neat stuff and I think it was pretty fun for the kids too! Kellen was so cute because as soon as he knew what we were doing he wanted to put on his whole uniform and dress just like the Padres. Sweetest little boy!

 Grandpa and Makenna outside, teaching Makenna how to do chin ups. Grandpa has always been so sweet of teaching Makenna neat things while he is here. He showed her house to rollerblade and taught her some tips and tricks on doing it right. I know she loves the tips and the attention.

One last dinner with Grandma and Grandpa before they go back home. I seriously can't say how much we appreciate them taking the time to come and visit us and our family. I know that it is a big change from the quiet, orderly life they live at home, but we love having them here as part of the hustle and bustle and craziness of life!