Flash back

This post takes us back many moons, but I feel like I didn't get to half the blogging I should have this summer. Darn pregnancy!

In late June, we went with Jeremy's family to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho for a family reunion. I'd never been to Lava (and may never have gone if I'd known the locals pronounce "lava" as in rhymes with "have-a"). Pronunciation challenges aside, it was a beautiful place. We rented an old church house-turned-schoolhouse-turned vacation rental, and it was full of charming quirks. Most important, it was full of space, which made it a lot easier for a family of 21 to gather. Had I not been pregnant and once again preparing to move across the country, I may have even found the whole thing relaxing! As it was, even without the personal capacity for relaxation, it was a fun and memorable trip.

One of the greatest amenities in the vacation rental was the big gym. Jonathan and Clara spent hours there with their cousins. The kids played lots of dodge ball, with two of Jeremy's sisters and our two oldest nieces playing tirelessly with the younger kids. Clara was kind of afraid and didn't play much, but Jonathan had a blast. I don't think he quite got the point of the game, since no one ever threw the ball at him (he's pretty small, after all), but he loved the thrill of running up and down the court. And as you can see from the video, he surely thought he was playing.



We also had a family talent show, which showcased some pretty memorable and fantastic skills. Jeremy and his sisters even did an anti-drug rap from they all remember from their childhood, where Jeremy and his sister Rebekah were in a public service announcement with pro basketball players like Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, John Salley, and Kevin McHale. In truth, I have a video of the four of them doing the rap, but Jeremy has declared it "not blog-worthy." Trust me when I say this, though: it may be the most blog-worthy item in my photographic archives. Alas. I'll yield to Jeremy on this one. For now.

We also took our water bugs to the big Lava swimming hole, though not to the hot springs themselves, since they were quite...volcanic. Regardless, the kids love being in the water and had a grand time. I was grateful to be pregnant and therefore unavailable to join my crazy nieces in a leap off the super high dive. I just might have done it otherwise.




And as with any good vacation, we stayed up way too late every night and had an increasingly manic set of children to deal with. But they loved every single minute.