Risenmay Family Reunion 2009

Every other year, Travis' family gets together for a reunion. Each one of the kids takes turns planning the reunion. This year, Heather and Erik planned for us to spend 5 days in Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone. We rented a big cabin in Island Park, which is about 45 minutes from Yellowstone. Travis comes from a family of 6 kids, 3 boys and 3 girls. Five of the children are married and 4 of those 5 have 4+ children which makes 17 grand kids with 2 on the way and 13 adults all in one place. This cabin was so nice with plenty of room for all 30 of us. Each family had their own room with an extra room for the older girl cousins. We had a plethora of food, movies and games. The grand kids had a blast making a rock museum, running around outside and staying up late. The adults played a lot of speed, watched movies and ate too much food. We also made a couple trips up to West Yellowstone, MT to explore and spent a day in Yellowstone Park. We had a great time and can not wait until the next reunion.

We went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone.
Wolf pups

15 out of the 17 grandchildren

Travis and Matt were acting like bears coming out of their cave after hibernation.

I would freak out if I saw this huge bear in the forest.

Grandpa Risenmay and a bunch of wild animals.

Lincoln, Jake and Syd at one of the hot pots.

Rulon, Lincoln, Jake, Baylee, Sydney and Aubrey waiting patiently for Old Faithful.

Brynley was the best baby on this trip, she slept half the time.

OLD FAITHFUL! Just like I remembered it when I was a kid.

Aunt Lisa and Brynley

Jake and Walker at the Mud Volcano.

Artist Point is so beautiful.

It is a long way to the bottom, Jake and Syd thought it was pretty cool.

Aubrey, Aunt Lisa, Baylee and Megan

Sydney (posing like always), Emma and Brett

Brynley and her cousin, Will. (He is 3 weeks older.)

Cute Lisa. We just love her!

I caught Jake having a drink of his dad's Diet Coke. I love his big eyes, like a deer in headlights.

We had a big campfire where we roasted marshmallows and Grandpa told scary stories. At one point we heard a pack of wolves howling in the distance, I grabbed my kids and ran in, I have a fear of wild animals that could bite me.

My cute husband, what a great guy and he comes from a great family!

Summer Vacation

This year for our family vacation we went to Yellowstone for a family reunion with Travis' family. We actually stayed in a large cabin with all of Trav's family (30 people) in Island Park, ID which is about 45 minutes from Yellowstone. On our way to the family reunion, we made a couple of stops. Trav was in New York for the entire week before our trip so he decided to fly into Boise and meet me there. I drove to Boise by myself with the 4 kids the night before he flew in. An hour before I was supposed to leave Portland, I found out that my friend, Stacy, was going to be driving to Boise by herself with her 4 kids the same day. We decided to caravan which took a lot of the worry from our husbands. Actually our kids had fun switching cars and riding with their friends for part of the drive. It is a 7 hour drive to Boise and the kids did great, especially Brynley.

We spent a couple days with the Meikles in Boise before continuing on to the family reunion. Brynley got to meet the Meikle family and her new buddy, Benj.

Bryn (almost 3 months) and Benj (almost 7 months). Benj weighs almost 10 lbs more than Bryn.

Travis, Bryn, Jess and Benj

One day we took a long walk along the Boise River and let the kids play in the water.

Sydney did not want to get her dress wet, it was so cute seeing her Tinker Bell panties.

Trav is such a cute dad carrying Bryn in the Baby Bjorn and checking scores with his Blackberry.

After we left Boise we drove to Jerome, ID to see my good friend from college, Caroline, and her kids. She made us lunch and we had fun catching up. Her daughter, Hillary, loves Travis and has been waiting for us to come visit again so she could see him. She was really sad when we had to leave, especially Travis.

Travis and Hillary

Everyone loves Travis!

Bedtime

Since it is summer we have been a little more flexible when it comes to bedtime and where they sleep. One night the kids made a big bed on Jake's floor with all the pillows in the house and most of the blankets. They decided to sleep there and this is how we found them when they were sound asleep.

One night Jake wanted to hold Brynley while we were watching a movie. A little bit into the movie I looked over to check on Bryn and Jake was sound asleep still holding her.

Brynley's Admirer

Brynley has a little admirer that can not get enough of her. Zach can not give her enough kisses and loves every time he sees her. He will keep saying "mo" (more) and gives Bryn big wet kisses, but she does not seem to mind. Who would not let this sweet, adorable, brown eyed boy give them kisses? He melts my heart.

Brynley loves Zach's kisses.

Triathlon

I decided before I had Brynley that I was going to do a triathlon on August 1, 2 1/2 months after she was born. When she was 4 weeks old, I started to train by running. At about 6 weeks old I started to bike and swim. I trained with my workout buddy, Stephanie, which made training a lot more fun. When it was time for the tri, I was ready. I have done this same triathlon the last 2 years so I was familiar with the course. The atmosphere at this race is amazing, it is an all women's' tri so everyone is really supportive. I had a great time and did better than I had done the previous 2 years, I think I did not put as much pressure on myself and was just there to complete it. Travis and the kids were the best cheerleaders with signs and all, they really kept me motivated through the entire race.

My training and workout buddy, Stephanie.

Our Three Girls

I love our three girls. They bring so much joy and happiness into our lives.

Going Private

I have been trying to decide for a while now if I should go private. I love to blog hop myself but when I start to receive strange comments from people I do not know then it is time to make my blog private. It makes me a little uneasy when I know there are strange people out there viewing my blog, I want to protect my kids. If you would like an invite to my blog, please leave me a comment and I will send you an invite. I am in the process of making a book from my blog (it has to be public) so it may be a couple of weeks before I switch. Thanks for understanding.