Grandpa Gee's Birthday!

On June 20th, David's dad turned 70 years old.  To celebrate, all of his sons and daughters who could feasibly make it (meaning everyone but Nathan, who lives in Pennsylvania) went to a special celebratory dinner.  I totally forgot to take a SINGLE picture!  I don't know what's wrong with me - this was a big deal!

This picture isn't from the birthday trip, but I wanted a picture of the birthday boy.  He's the youngest 70 year old I've ever met!

It happened to fall on a Friday, so David worked about half of a day, then we drove to Sugar City.  We got to the Gee's house with just enough time to feed the baby and change our clothes before leaving.  Our four older kids stayed there, along with Jodi's kids and three of Shawn's kids (who were the babysitters).  They had a ball!

Meanwhile, the grown ups stopped at a wedding reception in Ucon.  David's cousin, Sherrie, had a daughter who got married.  Did you hear the implied "we're stinking old" in that sentence?  Then, we went to the Sandpiper restaurant in Idaho Falls.  It's a very nice restaurant right on the bank of the river.  They serve fish and steak, and pasta, etc.  It reminded me a little bit of Market Street Grill.  It was so nice!  I don't get to eat food like that very often any more, so it was really special to me!  David ordered a steak and halibut combo and I had Chicken Oscar (with crab meat, shrimp, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce on top).  The scenery was lovely - what a gorgeous night!  It was very special to be together without any kids (except Quinton and Creed) and to enjoy reminiscing about Jim.  It really was a memorable night.

After dinner, some of the couples stayed and went for a walk along the river, but David and I had to head back to Sugar City to get the kids in bed.  Jodi's family was staying with the Gee's so we slept at the Anderson's house.  At first, I felt very bad about this because Kristi is pregnant with her seventh child and I know my family is...intense, but Kristi acted like it was no big deal.  It ended up being so wonderful!  Kristi's house is big and well set up for visitors.  I think everyone slept very well (except me, but only because I stayed awake thinking how great it was that everyone was sleeping well).

In the morning, Jim and Marilyn had to go to the Visitor's Center, but all the siblings got together at Kristi's house for waffles.  What a super fun start to the morning!  I LOVE Gee family gatherings!  They're loud and rowdy and delicious and laid back and loving (if that makes sense - everyone just loves everyone else).  They're everything family gatherings should be!

Later that morning, we packed up and left Kristi's house.  On the way out of town, we stopped at Shawn and Amy's house to learn all about their new project - bee keeping.  It was AMAZING!  Totally fascinating!  I'm really kicking myself that I didn't take any pictures.  I admit I was a little nervous at first, but by the time we were out there for a few minutes, I was getting right up close and I never got stung.  Like most things, I think it's a matter of doing it right.  I really want to get a hive of my own someday.  It's totally something I could get into.

We stopped at the rest stop at Hell's Half Acre (a lava flow just north of Blackfoot) on the way home and Dave took the kiddos for a walk while I fed the baby.  Then we came back to Utah.  It was a SUPER quick, less than 24 hour trip.  The kids all wanted to stay longer - especially Nicole who asked if she could stay at Isabelle's house for a couple of weeks.  We told her no, but promised we would come back for the Fourth of July.

Oh, so NOW I remember the camera?  On the way home?

If you look real close, you'll see our four kids up there at the top.