A Hiking We Will Go

This morning was the family hike.  It is a lot of work to get a group of 50+ people ready to begin a hike together and sometimes you wonder if it is really worth all that effort.  But I think it definitely was.  It was a very enjoyable hike-- just long enough to feel a little tired, but not too long to be unpleasant.

 Cannon wanted to do it by himself-- no hand holding, no nothing!
He kept saying, "I'm doing GREAT!" which was a nice change from, "I'm so AWESOME!"
You can see why we worry so much about his self-esteem.

Here is Faith with cousin Annie.  Poor Faith got sick with an upset tummy, but she still was a trooper and hiked the whole way.  She conked out pretty early tonight.  When this many cousins come together and play so much for so many days, a bit of sickness is inevitable.  My apologies to other families who catch anything we've got.

 I enjoyed chatting with Abe's oldest sister, Samatha on the hike.  This reunion was originally planned to be only 3 days, but for various reasons it has been more like a full week.  I think kids and parents are kind of exhausted!  But one of the great things has been plenty of time to get to catch up with everyone. 

We all gathered at the end for a family testimony meeting led off by Grandpa Fox.  The menfolk had driven the cars to the ending place earlier, so we only hiked one way.

Abe and Elinor have a tradition of a long 4-wheeler ride-- just the two of them.  Today was their day.
 

One thing I've noticed that is different this year than years past is the introduction of the smart phones and ipads.  For good or bad, it is not uncommon for several of us to be sitting around in the same room busy with our little devices.  That's okay, there has been no lack of talking and interaction on this trip.

This is Abe's cousin, Nathan Fox, who lives with his wife and four (almost five) children in California.  They come and join in the festivities for the reunion.  Their children fit right in with all the other cousins and we all enjoy their company so much.  We hope they keep coming for many years to come.