Mosquito Lovers Do Glacier, 5: The Goat, The Chateau, The Easy Cheese

I was worried that after 4 days of hiking, I might have trouble convincing everyone to go for day 5, especially when that meant a 5am wakeup.  Happily, everyone was game and we got to the parking spot in plenty of time and joined the mass exodus of humanity along the 11 miler.  I was unimpressed initially--crowds, blazing sun, and my least favorite con, the road in sight.  Halfway in, though, we were encased in views, wildflowers, and a chateau.  

I was also worried about making the shuttle bus in time to make our flight home.  Shireen, "We can easily hitchhike.  I'll hold up a sign that says, 'Need iPhone help?'"

We even walked across snow pack, and took this picture for our children.

We had our eyes peeled for a mountain goat, and bet $10 for the first sighting.  Shireen was going to lose her mind if we did not find one.  Halfway into the hike, it was looking unlikely, and we took compensation photos of marmots.

AND THEN, OH!  This guy came along and hiked along the trail with us.  He even climbed up on a rock, turned his head to the view, and posed.

One of my favorite photos of the trip:

We had our final dried up lunch at the chateau, where we all pledged to sleep one day.

Cory: "Can we stay inside the building?  Do they have a restaurant?"

Shireen made an Easy Cheese feast in the prettiest place Easy Cheese has ever been consumed.

At lunch, we saw a lady in her late 50s with chiseled muscles and perfect hair.  I said to her, "You're hiking Barbie!"  In slow motion, Cory added, "Karen, you'll look just like her in..." (CRINGE, GROAN, and Brett thinks, "GO LOW and apologize to Karen later!," and Cory finishes, "...2 years!"

Our final stop of the trip was checking back in with Chad and Mary and meeting their kids.  It's amazing how fast life can change.  Mary is pregnant with baby #3 and promises she will come visit before the baby comes.

My original surf sister!

We arrived home (after a sneaky trip to Bombay House) to find Owen crashed out on the couch and kids eager to tell us all the fun and funny things that happened while we were gone: a full hour of catch-up that ended up being one of the top highlights of this trip.  I loved watching my kids and Cory/Kristen's kids talk with so much animation about their time together.  That night, Elise told Kristen that the days had been "the best five days of my life."  So sweet.  My kids will treasure it forever.

The next morning, we packed up and shipped off to Orem for the Nufer Family Reunion.

Mosquito Lovers Do Glacier, 4: Skipping Rocks, Fine Dining, and Campfires

Shipping out of the backcountry on Day 3.  We knew it was a long day--nearly 13 miles--and we revved up and set off early-ish.  We still found time to do a few more rock skips with perfectly shaped rocks.

We also made time for a waterfall shower.  I have never submerged my body in water this cold and I realized instantly why people drown in cold water sometimes.  I was able to touch and never in danger, but if I was in the middle of the falls, it's possible my muscles would be too cold to make it back to shore.  Cory captured the exceptionally awkward climb out of the water on video.

Brady: "This waterfall is not to be mist."

Breakfast at the falls.  This is Brett's REI ad, ruined by two girls in sports bras.

Last time over the suspension bridge:

We stopped for lunch at mile 9, ready for shade and water.  It was the hottest hiking we did on the trip and we dreaded the last few miles of incline, but they turned out to be very manageable and before we knew it, we were up to the parking lot.  Brady and I were abandoned in the bathrooms while the rest of the gang ran off to Canada.

We chose the restaurant with high reviews--a whopping 3 stars--and ordered very mediocre food which tasted a lot better than mediocre because after dehydrated lasagne and chicken for 3 days, anything tastes good.  They brought us out huckleberry shakes and a mountain of sugar and we wrecked our fat camp by downing it all.

The girls wanted to buy a $5 shower, and Kristen generously let me share hers.  Somehow, we did not see each other naked which was very skillful of us.  We could not work up the gumption to make a campfire that night, and instead crashed at 10pm.

Nufer Family Reunion 2019: Lots of Kids, Lots of Chats, Lots of Games, Lots of Barfing

The Nufer Family hosted it's first official reunion (aside from wedding reunions) this summer in Orem.  The location made it possible for many to attend, and we worked to get a big enough accommodation for the group size.  It was a perfect house for the families who stayed there (although the first thing we were told is that the yard was disappointing, but okay...there was a park 1/4 mile away).  Our family shared a room together, and we had a bathroom to ourselves with Scott and Maycee's family.  There were two main gathering areas, two kitchens, an air hockey table downstairs, and tons of bedrooms.

I prepped myself for the chaos but I won't lie--25 kids in one house is a lot of kids and a lot of chaos. Three days was the perfect amount.  It was fun to get to know some of the cousins we had not even met before, and mealtimes were hysterical assembly lines.  Natalie was a gem--she planned all the meals and snacks AND shopped for the food despite traveling here by car from Ohio.

Lia is the oldest grandchild, age 14.

Owen enjoyed finding "other little kids" to bounce around with.

Ice breaker games with cousins were a hit.

The first night, each family had 5-7 minutes in the talent/variety show.  I was so proud of Kate for singing "Stand" in front of everyone, and Zachary for jamming out on "Monody," which also includes a singing section.  I did the OT Rap with all the siblings, surprising Brady who apparently has never heard us do that familiar song written by Rich May.  I remember doing it as a kid all the time.  Dad read "Hop on Pop" and "Fox in Socks" to all the grandkids that night, too.

The next morning, family pictures were bright and early at 8am.  We were in charge of Minute-to-Win-It Games for the family afterward. We were missing quite a few adults, but some were around for several of the activities and I especially loved Eric and Rebecca's enthusiasm.  We balanced skittles on a popsicle stick, did a potato poop relay, built marshmallow towers, did the M&M relay, knocked over Red Solo Cups with rubber bands, and my personal favorite--threw cheese balls at heads covered in a shower cap and loads of shaving cream.

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Many of the cousins cooled off at the park and splash pad after lunch.  Zac entertained a huge crowd of kids by creating (and putting away) this dam.

That afternoon, we did a Scavenger Hunt on BYU campus: creative clues that four groups chased down and took pictures of before we met at the bookstore.

Brady reminisced the good old days, buying a chocolate milk.  Both of us had the (extremely healthy) habit of a cinnamon sugar bagel and chocolate milk almost daily on campus.

Each kid picked out a 25 cent candy pack and gobbled up chocolate covered, cinnamon gummy bears.

Kelsey and Kate were buddies the entire trip.

The next morning, we took off for the hike up Stewart Falls.  We were asked to suggest easy to moderate hikes, but I think we were wildly unpopular after suggesting this one.  I was told later that  easy means 1 mile.  I say next time, they can choose (and isn't 1 mile a walk?).  We did help a lot with other children and making it there safely, and my immediate family loved it.

Kate, the baby snatcher.

Owen still needs to grow some hiking legs.  If there is an option to be carried, he is all over it.  As soon as we arrived to the waterfall, he explored and played in the water.

We got back and everyone seemed exhausted.  The rooms to play in were closed off for napping adults and my kids were pretty restless, so after dinner, we went to the park.  Kate loved the time with cousins, and Zac and Joshua went mini-golfing.  I had some lovely one-on-one time with Natalie.

For me, the best part of the reunion was the last evening, talking late into the night with my siblings.  We said our final goodbyes early the next morning, and took off for Cory and Kristen's house.  I went mountain biking for a few hours with Kristen, and then we went out to eat for lunch at Zupas.  It was my last meal for a couple days.  Sadly, the vomiting brought to the reunion was wildly contagious, and I spent the afternoon on the way to LA throwing up, and then the entire night.  I was okay (although very weak) flying home, but sadly, Kate caught it that night and missed her first day of school. Zac came home sick from school on Tuesday.  The barfs affected every single family there and reminded me of the "good old days" when I used to be the one in charge of disinfecting the house anytime a sibling was ill.  Luckily, it missed the families we visited--unless they lied to us.  We are glad to be done throwing up and back into routines!