We haven't been together with the entire Dinger clan since Ainsley was two. We've seen everyone in that space of time, but we haven't all been in the same room at the same time for nearly a decade. So get ready for some picture overload. Because such a rare occurrence deserves much pictorial documentation. So it's a good thing John was in charge of taking pictures! Which is also sad because he is in none of the pictures. We left on the morning of the 14th and took the scenic rout to Island park. Which meant we got to drive by this beautiful field and go see Mesa Falls. We also met up with the majority of John's family there. (All buy Dan and David's families.)
We rented two big cabins to fit us all in an had a great time all week. My kids were in cousin heaven. Especially Owen who never has boy cousins to play with. He played and played all week long. And if we were ever not playing with cousins because we were in the car or something my kids were asking when we would be with cousins again.
We spent Tuesday in Yellowstone. Honestly it was a bit of a zoo and we spent a lot of time waiting (in matching outfits.)
But we still got to see some cool things. And quite honestly, we were just happy to be there with family so it didn't really matter what we got to see. Although Owen looks purely tortured.
We made it up to Mammoth canyon for my family's first time ever. It was gorgeous. But a looong drive.
We spotted a bear on our drive though....if you look hard enough you can spot his back. I much prefer viewing bears at a far distance and not in my own campsite.
On Wednesday we visited Johnny Sacks cabin and Big Springs. We were a bit of a crowd where ever we went. Just a bit though.
I love that area, it is just so peaceful an calm.
That afternoon John's dad rented us some rafts and we floated down the river. I use the term float loosely however since we too much carrying our raft and paddling for it to truly be floating. I thought it was awesome. Probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. I wish we would have had a camera with us...although it would have definitely been soaked and pictures ruined anyways. We spent our day with James and Shelly and their family and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not sure they enjoyed it as much as we did since we taught their children lots of new fun words. You know, the kinds of words you want your kids to know and say, like crotch. We had leaches, laughing, crying children, and people even falling. It was a blast.
Thursday (Goob's birthday!) we ventured into Yellowstone again with no real plans of staying together as a group. And somehow we all stayed together as a group most of the day. A very large group! I'm sure we were the envy of all visitors of Yellowstone.
Thursday night we grabbed some pizza in West Yellowstone an devoured it because we were starving. And then we headed back to the cabins for Melanie's delicious birthday cupcakes. We celebrated the beginning of Goob's 30th year with class and style.
Friday we packed up the cabins, cleaned up our mess, and all headed home. Except for me. I went to Salt Lake with John's parents and Goob and Quin to go visit Syd and Mae (oh, and Cy).
It was really such a great family get together. I loved getting to know nieces and nephews that I rarely see and that my kids got to form friendships with their extended family. I was actually sad to leave. Hopefully there will be more Dinger family gatherings in the future!
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