The kreme of the crop

You know you have an awesome family when 2nd cousins show up after a 5 year absence (which is most of, if not all, of their lives), and they fit right within about 3 seconds. Such is this family. We had a brief stay at Matts aunt and uncle's house in Utah on our way home this summer.

The kids went straight for the trampoline.

Matt and I had fun catching up with everyone. Here's Natalie and Aunt Kim. I'm so glad Matt lets me share his family. We missed seeing Uncle Ron and all the others that couldn't be there.

Us with Aunts Jenalyn and Carolyn and some cousin babies. Their stay was short, but much appreciated and cherished.

After eating Aunt Kim's yummy soup and salad, we got to leave our kids with the older ones, and the adults partied it up at the local rodeo.

Nicole (the one in the boots) was sitting right behind us and it took me a while to not jump every time she would whoop and holler. She's not much more than 90 lbs, but can bust out the decibels like no other. She was at least as entertaining as the bull riders.
On top of all that excitement, we were even treated to strawberries and cream. Can't beat that for a Friday night.

We came home to all the kiddies asleep in the living room.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast and then we had to hit the road. It was too short, but the visit was superb.

We set aside a little extra time in Utah so we could see some good friends. Matt knows Jeff because they served together on their missions to Spain 10 years ago. Jeff was still out of town when we first got there, so we hung out with Brindy and her two kids. We went to the park to feed the ducks, except we brought cereal instead of bread. The ducks were pretty snobby about the cereal and didn't really touch it. If I were a duck, I would totally be diggin' the break in the monotony of bread. Plus, it was Honeycomb cereal. Hello? It's called sugar and its awesome.

After Jeff showed up, we talked them into Mexican food for dinner. Then we came back and the kids enjoyed the mildly warm tub outside.

Jeff liked to take every opportunity to make fun of me. You see, my leg was still injured and I basically had no functionality in my calf. The result was a very pronounced limp. Matt would reference Men in Black, inferring that I looked like the bug in the Edgar suit. I'd enter a room hobbling and instead of pity he would just gruffly say, "Sugar. Water."
Jeff went a different route. He just starting singing Thriller by Michael Jackson every time he saw me. Such loving company.

After their "baths" in the hot tub, Jeff read some scripture stories. Then instead of putting them to bed, we spontaneously decided to go get donuts.

Krispy Kreme was inspired of heaven. We pretty much all attacked them this way.

Then the kids went to bed for real. Then we watched a movie and crashed for the night.
The next day we took the kids to temple square, which included a lot of walking for me and my dang leg. Aside from that, it was relaxing and beautiful as always.

But then we had to part ways with the Whipples and face real life after our super long vacation.

Real life is pretty good, too.

superCALIfragilisticexpialidocious

I used to wonder why people put up with living in other states. People are always surprised when the Mississippi floods, yet it happens every single year. Hurricanes are pretty much guaranteed if you live on the east coast. Tornadoes thrive from Texas to Michigan. Sweltering humidity in the south is a given. Bitter cold takes care of the great plains. Washington complains of too much rain and the southwest of not enough. Really the only escape is California. And to avoid fires and earthquakes you've got to go northern. So do you see why I grew up in paradise? Add that setting to some of the funnest people out there, and you've got yourself a good vacation. Mary Poppins was British, and she even knew that the coolest word out there has to have a piece of California in it. Okay, you are sick of hearing about the golden state. But I think I've made my point.
The last hurrah of our trip was meeting up with Grandpa Robin, Grandma Linda, and lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins. First we went to a park for a picnic.

Grandma Linda and Uncle Matt helping the kids feed the geese. This picture is as close as I get. Those things are vicious.

Bekah and River engorging themselves on chips.

Some refreshment for Grammy and Keturah.

Uncles Matt and Nathan arguing about computers. So boring. I'm glad I married a doctor. I'm also glad I can finally say that. It's a lot better than "student", especially when you are already in your 30's.

The littlest tikes.

Not sure what these guys are discussing, but knowing Matt, the subject is likely to be poop. He's real mature.

Noah, Aunt Heather, and Aunt Mary

Grandpa Robin and Alex throwing the football.

The prettiest baby ever. Mirabelle.

Michael picked playing with the dog over playing with his cute cousin Mirabelle.

Part of the clan through Alex's eyes. He might do well as a photographer some day.

And what kind of picnic doesn't end up in a water fight? My dad started it, but I don't think he was counting on Nathan and Alex never letting it end.

After the park Bekah and I stayed with some of the other girls at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a sleepover. It started with the hot tub,

then we made strawberry parfaits for dessert. They all thought it was rich or too sweet, but not me. I ate about 3 times as much as anyone else. California strawberries are a thousand times better when you get them in their home state. The ones they pick to send to Michigan should be ashamed to be labeled as such.

Heather's and Charity's fat faces. I probably don't have their permission to post this, but they are the ones careless enough to let me take a picture of it.

The next morning, Charity braved the heat and took the kids for a walk down to the park. We met them later at the pool.

Grammy and Michael loving the water.

Aunt Mary and Keturah

Aunt Mary and Matt with the little boys.

After a day of swimming, Grandpa took everyone out to pizza--

--and ice cream.

Then we went back to their house for some wrestling...

...and lounging.

I don't think we could have ended our vacation any better.