Park City Family Trip - July 2011

We had the opportunity to spend an entire week with my entire family back in July. The last time we were all together was probably at my wedding almost 5 years ago.  Back then our family had 15 people in it (my original family of 7, 4 spouses, and 4 grandkids).  Now we have 24 people in our family!!!
We all stayed together in 3 condos in Park City from Friday July 1st through Friday the 8th.

Friday July 1st
David, our boys, and I went up to Park City the evening of the 1st. Everyone was there that night except for Shannon's family. We had a fun time visiting, swimming, and hanging out. I finally got to meet my cute little nephew, Zachary!

Saturday the 2nd
This was a very special day! My sweet niece Emma was baptized by her daddy, Eric. Emma is such a precious little girl. She has set a wonderful example for her siblings and her cousins. William started talking after Emma's baptism about how he wants to be baptized! I look forward to that day!

The birthday girl!!! She's holding up the skirt I made for her.
After the baptism, we took family pictures in Layton.  Then several of my family went to be fitted for scuba gear. Then we all made the trek back to Park City for more delicious food and great company!

Sunday the 3rd
We all went to church together (well except for Jacob and Kat and their 2 boys, they went to their home ward down the canyon).  The testimony meeting we attended was lovely and the Spirit was there. I took the opportunity to share my testimony.  It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up - I felt I needed to share my testimony with my family all present.
Then it was back to the condos for more family time together.  

And of course for some much needed Sunday naps. 

That evening David and I played a great round of Gang of Four with my dad and Adam. Then we watched and enjoyed some beautiful fireworks.

Monday July 4th 
Monday morning Shannon, Kat, Jacob, and I went to some sales at the outlet mall. Meanwhile everyone else headed over to downtown Park City for the parade. I was kinda bummed I missed the parade, but Shannon and I caught the tail end of it. Once I saw the end of it I was honestly kinda glad I'd missed it. Park City is an interesting place....
After a picnic lunch we made our way back to our condos. 

We had another great dinner!
That night, my siblings and our spouses all gathered together at Jacob's condo to play games and hang out. It was so fun to have everyone together, laughing and visiting.

Tuesday the 5th 

Haha! I love this picture. We originally had the pack and play in front of the window. But that was causing Henry to wake up before 6 am.  Sunday we moved it into the closet. I took these two pictures during Henry's morning nap.  He'd figured out a way to push the closet door open more and peek out at me. 

He's a cutie!

Tuesday was our scuba diving day. We all headed out to the Crater in Heber for the Scuba adventure. Shannon and I didn't get to participate since we are both pregnant.  Thus we were put in charge of all 14 grandkids. So fun!!! We had a fun time entertaining all the kids with the help of my Grandma and Grandpa Gowans. Meanwhile David and the other adults enjoyed a few hours learning how to scuba dive in the crater.
We made it back to our condos about dinner time. We had a fun time visiting with my grandparents and taking pictures with them.

My whole family, plus my grandma and grandpa Gowans.

Wednesday the 6th 
Zoo day!!!
It's a lot of work taking a group of 23 to the zoo (Jacob didn't make it). But we did it and we had lots of fun!

We checked out lots of animals and the dinosaurs!
We then went to the bird show. William and Henry LOVED it!!!


William and Lily posing with the gorilla statue.


Comparing ourselves to the orangutans.


My sisters, David, and I took most of the kids on the carousel.  Anthony was THRILLED that some sweet lady gave up the gorilla so he could ride on it. Gorillas are his FAVORITE!!! (In fact, he wants to be a gorilla when he grows up!)


Next we checked out the elephant show. It was pretty awesome watching the elephants perform some simple tricks. I wish I'd taken some pictures of Zuri (the baby)! She did some really awesome tricks!
Then we headed over to the train.


Zachary! Isn't he adorable!


Asher! He's adorable, too!


Riding the train. Henry didn't ride since he was asleep in the stroller. He stayed behind with my mom.
That was the end of our zoo adventure. We went back to Park City and went swimming. Perfect end to a hot day at the zoo!


This picture just cracks me up! We were attempting to pray before putting the boys to bed. Henry wasn't being very reverent in the pack and play!

Thursday the 7th 
In the morning, most of us went shopping at the Outlet Mall. David was smart and stayed behind with our boys. They needed some down time! I think we all found some great deals!

That afternoon we went bowling. We'd found an awesome groupon prior to our vacation for a bowling alley in Park City. So we got to bowl for 2 hours for an amazing price. We also got free shoes, pizza, drinks, and arcade tokens as part of the deal.

William loved bowling! It was his very first time. It was so cute to watch David help William. He is a great father!

Action shots of the group.

More shots of the family. 

I LOVE his smile!!!

Poor Makayla got sick and puked on Becky. Becky was such a good sport about it! (She sure smelled though! hahaha!)

After our bowling time ended we played some arcade games.

After another amazing dinner we made some s'mores!
I have some pretty dang cute nieces and nephews!

Before bed, my dad was teaching William how to flex his muscles. It was hilarious!!!
Once all the kids were in bed, my siblings, my dad, and I all met up again at Jacob's place for a game night. We only got to play games for a short time before the power went out. We continued to visit for a while though. When we ended for the night the power was still off. It made for a long, hot night!

Friday the 8th
David, William, Henry and I woke up early to head home. We had to leave early so I could make it to a class  I'd signed up for in Provo.
We had an amazing and wonderful time with my family. It was so nice to be all together again. I hope we can continue to do this from time to time. I love you all dearly! And a special thanks to my parents for organizing everything!