We just completed our weeklong Anderson Family Reunion in Glacier (Montana). It was beautiful. A very brief recap (for my sake more than yours...feel free to skim or skip) below, in non-chronological order:
Wildlife was awesome. We saw moutain goats, black bear (two of them, at different times), bighorn sheep, hoary marmot family, deer, chipmonks, ground squirrels (I have to include those in the list, because, sadly, they're the ones the kids were most excited about?!?!!?), pelicany birds, swans, and others that I just can't think of right now. Pretty sweet.
At the ranch where we stayed (two cabins so that each family could have its own room), there was this lake with a rowboat, canoe, & kayak; gazebo; big grassy areas; hot tub; deck & patio; and firepit. It was the perfect setting for a family of craziness.
(BELOW: Uncle Jared grossing out Carson & cousins with a seaweed-laden oar [top left]; Paul & other uncles preparing for one of the family night games, with stockings on heads and tennis balls at the end [top right].)
More stuff at the ranch. Seriously, a pretty cool place to hang out when were weren't traversing the Park. I love/hate the photo of Brad & me chatting below. For obv reasons. He's my only *little* brother.
Below: This was on the Going-to-the-Sun Road on the way up to Logan Pass. Pictures don't do it justice. But it was a hit among our fam--the Smarts made the drive a couple of times. You feel like you're on top of the world, even though elevation is only 6,000 or so feet. Or maybe it's 8,000. Shoot, now I can't remember. But surprisingly lower than one would think, if one comes from Logan, UT at a fairly comparable elevation.
Did I mention there was a hot tub at the ranch? Did I also mention there was no posted sign declaring maximum capacity? I think we got close...
Carrying on the traditional family photos -- the sisters, the brothers (not shown), the siblings, and the whole clan. It was discussed that an in-laws/couples one be incorporated this year...a movement that was pretty much unanimously rejected. P.S. If you can, zoom in on the whole-family pic below and check out Paul's expression. It is hilarious. And, let's be honest, a bit creepy.
Below: Our family doing stuff. Addie swiping licorice upon licorice behind a licorice-guard's back. (Okay, so there wasn't really a licorice-guard; no one really cared who ate what, but the photo makes it kinda look like she's swiping it. And she ate about 100 pieces in a few minutes flat. Impressive.)
Below: More faces. Carson turned 6 on this trip, and we gave him one of his presents at the ranch: some Star Wars legos that he was pretty excited about. Happy birthday to Carson. When we were hiking on his b-day, he was getting tired, so I told him that he needed to keep going because I thought the squirrels were all gathering up so they could sing happy birthday to him, and then I sang him my rendition of "happy birthday" a la squirrel-voice. He thought that was way funny and kept looking for squirrels gathering somewhere. Never happened. But at least he "knows" what it WOULD'VE sounded like...
I love the pic below of Uncle Brad with Addie. They were buddies for an afternoon (until I had the gall to show my face, and then she gave him her trademark Ignore/Purposefully-Look-Away treatment). Also, one of my fave pics of Paul is below. He looks good, right? And also-also, check out periodically throughout this post the stance-poses of Carson (like bottom right). This is a new thing he started this trip. I find it funny.
Below: Some pics at Logan Pass. Leave it to me to cover up the most important number of the elevation...
We all LOVED the Boardwalk (Hidden Lake) trail from the Logan Pass Visitors Center. Addie especially loved it, and she refused any help from us, up OR down (the descent was scary, because she'd start running downward gleefully and nearly face-plant at every step because she couldn't stop herself, and Paul would have to dive to catch her, and she'd get ticked that he was saving her life. We have yet to figure out her almost-2-year-old adrenaline-junkie brain. But we're all amazed that she's still alive. Really.).
More stuff at the ranch. Seriously, a pretty cool place to hang out when were weren't traversing the Park. I love/hate the photo of Brad & me chatting below. For obv reasons. He's my only *little* brother.
Below: This was on the Going-to-the-Sun Road on the way up to Logan Pass. Pictures don't do it justice. But it was a hit among our fam--the Smarts made the drive a couple of times. You feel like you're on top of the world, even though elevation is only 6,000 or so feet. Or maybe it's 8,000. Shoot, now I can't remember. But surprisingly lower than one would think, if one comes from Logan, UT at a fairly comparable elevation.
Did I mention there was a hot tub at the ranch? Did I also mention there was no posted sign declaring maximum capacity? I think we got close...
Carrying on the traditional family photos -- the sisters, the brothers (not shown), the siblings, and the whole clan. It was discussed that an in-laws/couples one be incorporated this year...a movement that was pretty much unanimously rejected. P.S. If you can, zoom in on the whole-family pic below and check out Paul's expression. It is hilarious. And, let's be honest, a bit creepy.
Below: Our family doing stuff. Addie swiping licorice upon licorice behind a licorice-guard's back. (Okay, so there wasn't really a licorice-guard; no one really cared who ate what, but the photo makes it kinda look like she's swiping it. And she ate about 100 pieces in a few minutes flat. Impressive.) 
Below: More faces. Carson turned 6 on this trip, and we gave him one of his presents at the ranch: some Star Wars legos that he was pretty excited about. Happy birthday to Carson. When we were hiking on his b-day, he was getting tired, so I told him that he needed to keep going because I thought the squirrels were all gathering up so they could sing happy birthday to him, and then I sang him my rendition of "happy birthday" a la squirrel-voice. He thought that was way funny and kept looking for squirrels gathering somewhere. Never happened. But at least he "knows" what it WOULD'VE sounded like...I love the pic below of Uncle Brad with Addie. They were buddies for an afternoon (until I had the gall to show my face, and then she gave him her trademark Ignore/Purposefully-Look-Away treatment). Also, one of my fave pics of Paul is below. He looks good, right? And also-also, check out periodically throughout this post the stance-poses of Carson (like bottom right). This is a new thing he started this trip. I find it funny.
Below: Some pics at Logan Pass. Leave it to me to cover up the most important number of the elevation...
We all LOVED the Boardwalk (Hidden Lake) trail from the Logan Pass Visitors Center. Addie especially loved it, and she refused any help from us, up OR down (the descent was scary, because she'd start running downward gleefully and nearly face-plant at every step because she couldn't stop herself, and Paul would have to dive to catch her, and she'd get ticked that he was saving her life. We have yet to figure out her almost-2-year-old adrenaline-junkie brain. But we're all amazed that she's still alive. Really.). Are you noticing Carson? Do. It's worth it.
Below: Still at Logan Pass. Layla started doing some sweet poses like Carson. And Addie caught a much-deserved rest on the scenic drive back to the ranch.
Below: At Bowman Lake. Really ugly, isn't it? Carson and some cousins and two crazy uncles braved the freezing water. (Note: Due to the sheer number of photos, those included here are mostly the Smart fam; however, rest assured that for every one you see here, there are about 200 more full of cousins and uncles and scenery and animals and and and...)
One afternoon, we divided up. Aunts Heather & Tyrelle took the wee ones to a nearby playpark and then back to the ranch for naptime (Addie participated in this group and LOVED her life).
Older cousins, Todd & Carol, Trevor & Melissa, and Brad went rock climbing and rappelling (sp?).
Jared & Jessica, Cliff & Nicol, Kevin & Steph, Mark, and Paul & I took the middle-aged cousins on a shuttle ride and we did the Trail of the Cedars at Avalanche Creek. I was a little anxious to get back to the ranch (the whole event was slated to take 3-4 hours; the shuttle ride alone put us at about 3 hours, and I didn't want to overburden Heather & Tyrelle with a bunch of wee ones pre-dinnertime), but, really, "hurrying" was out of my hands, and once I realized that, the outing was deliciously entertaining. The kids loved their Junior Park Ranger booklets; most (ehh, not Carson or Layla, though) even earned their park ranger badges by the end of the trip. This was on Day 2 of the reunion, when the cousins were just starting to really be friends. Layla has a couple of girl cousins near her age, and Carson's in the midst of a whole slew of boy cousins around his age. Priceless.
Below: This was the whole middle-cousin clan. It might look like it would be an easy thing to keep track of each of these adorable kidlets. No. Not easy. But we succeeded and only one backpack was temporarily left behind on the shuttle (and was later retrieved by quick-acting Jared). Victory.
More Trail of the Cedars and shuttle photos below. I LOVE the candid kid-tourist bench photo (top right); it's one of my all-time favorites. Oh, and bottom left: cousin Devin was telling a story; he had his hat backwards at the beginning of the story & shuttle ride, while the other boys wore theirs the traditional way. About 1 minute into his very riveting story (it honestly kept them entranced the whole way), they had all subconsciously shifted their hats around to be just like his. It was adorable.
Below: En route to the reunion, we drove halfway and stayed overnight at a hotel with a pool in Dillon, MT with Mark & Heather and their gang. It was a nice way to break up the travel time. And a pool? Bonus!
More miscellaneous shots below (clockwise from top left): Cousin Cooper rappelling during the "big-cousin" afternoon outing, Wooden Dolarna horses sent from Poppi & Gramma Sally for everyone to paint (a huge hit), Uncle Todd participating in one of the family night games where you have to pick up paper bags of different heights with your teeth, Me being lame about the boys taking sooooo long to do their "brothers" photos, and Random enjoyment by the fire (probably s'mores were involved).
I heart my family.
Below: Still at Logan Pass. Layla started doing some sweet poses like Carson. And Addie caught a much-deserved rest on the scenic drive back to the ranch.
Below: At Bowman Lake. Really ugly, isn't it? Carson and some cousins and two crazy uncles braved the freezing water. (Note: Due to the sheer number of photos, those included here are mostly the Smart fam; however, rest assured that for every one you see here, there are about 200 more full of cousins and uncles and scenery and animals and and and...) 
One afternoon, we divided up. Aunts Heather & Tyrelle took the wee ones to a nearby playpark and then back to the ranch for naptime (Addie participated in this group and LOVED her life). Older cousins, Todd & Carol, Trevor & Melissa, and Brad went rock climbing and rappelling (sp?).
Jared & Jessica, Cliff & Nicol, Kevin & Steph, Mark, and Paul & I took the middle-aged cousins on a shuttle ride and we did the Trail of the Cedars at Avalanche Creek. I was a little anxious to get back to the ranch (the whole event was slated to take 3-4 hours; the shuttle ride alone put us at about 3 hours, and I didn't want to overburden Heather & Tyrelle with a bunch of wee ones pre-dinnertime), but, really, "hurrying" was out of my hands, and once I realized that, the outing was deliciously entertaining. The kids loved their Junior Park Ranger booklets; most (ehh, not Carson or Layla, though) even earned their park ranger badges by the end of the trip. This was on Day 2 of the reunion, when the cousins were just starting to really be friends. Layla has a couple of girl cousins near her age, and Carson's in the midst of a whole slew of boy cousins around his age. Priceless.
Below: This was the whole middle-cousin clan. It might look like it would be an easy thing to keep track of each of these adorable kidlets. No. Not easy. But we succeeded and only one backpack was temporarily left behind on the shuttle (and was later retrieved by quick-acting Jared). Victory.
More Trail of the Cedars and shuttle photos below. I LOVE the candid kid-tourist bench photo (top right); it's one of my all-time favorites. Oh, and bottom left: cousin Devin was telling a story; he had his hat backwards at the beginning of the story & shuttle ride, while the other boys wore theirs the traditional way. About 1 minute into his very riveting story (it honestly kept them entranced the whole way), they had all subconsciously shifted their hats around to be just like his. It was adorable.
Below: En route to the reunion, we drove halfway and stayed overnight at a hotel with a pool in Dillon, MT with Mark & Heather and their gang. It was a nice way to break up the travel time. And a pool? Bonus!
More miscellaneous shots below (clockwise from top left): Cousin Cooper rappelling during the "big-cousin" afternoon outing, Wooden Dolarna horses sent from Poppi & Gramma Sally for everyone to paint (a huge hit), Uncle Todd participating in one of the family night games where you have to pick up paper bags of different heights with your teeth, Me being lame about the boys taking sooooo long to do their "brothers" photos, and Random enjoyment by the fire (probably s'mores were involved).
I heart my family.
Dad & mom, Linnea, and Rylee were missed. Jared & Jessica: AWESOME planning and organization. Looking forward to 2012!!!
11 comments:
Love all the pictures. Love your family. Looks like an amazing time!!!
looks super fun and gorgeous! i might be jealous.
That looks like one fun reunion! I've only been up there once but I remember how beautiful that hwy to the Sun is as well as the river that runs a long it. Great pics!
for the LOVE of beauty! oh my gosh. SO BEAUTIFUL and tons of fun. looks like a totally successful fam reunion. loved this post.
Sounds like an AMAZING place! I may have to get more details and plan for my family to go there :)
i laughed SO hard at the picture you pointed out of Paul's face. not what i was expecting- i thought it would be a silly face or something. HILAR-IOUS.
Such cute pictures! Carson was cracking me up with those funky stances. What fun memories!
The picture with Carson in the lake....I didn't think anyone could suck in their gut that far. His stomach must have been bent around his spine. Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!
I had so many thoughts/comments to make and now my mind is blank. Blast. That was an AWESOME post. For an awesome trip. Oh, Paul's face was hilar, Carson was cracking me up, I loved that you were covering the elevation # but just for the record, I'm pretty sure it's a 6. At least it looks like a 6. I just feel bad that it was so butt-stinkin-ugly there. Maybe next time you can go to the Kennecott Copper Mine. I hear it's beautiful.
how fun!! oh my goodness. what amazing and gorgeous pictures. how does one come home from a trip like that? it has to be a bit depressing... ;)
wow wow wow... I'm ready to go.
We miss your sweet family so much.
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