Shahan Reunion

The last week and a half in July was a crazy, fun-filled, lots of driving, family-filled week. We spent the first part in Utah visiting my family. And the second half in Idaho with Adam's family.

First, I'll highlight the Shahan Reunion. Five of the six daughters were able to attend. We rarely get together- especially with all our kids! So it was heaven to just visit and let the kids play in my parents enormous backyard. The grandkids got along so well! It was surreal to see all of our children playing together. When we were kids, we used to always imagine what the future would be like. We would play MASH in the car while we were traveling, make up stories for each other about how we'd meet our husbands. And now it's here! Life goes by way too fast.

One evening, we went to my sister's in-laws' home in Alpine. They set up a 120 foot slip'n side down a HUGE hill in their backyard. Jack was in heaven! Here he is speeding down.

The main highlight, was a day-trip my family took to Thatcher, Idaho. Thatcher is an itty, bitty farming town 45 minutes north of Logan. My family lived there for 14 years. However, I, being the youngest, was only 5 when we moved. So I had the city upbringing in Mesa. For my older sisters though, this was where their childhood happened!

The farm where we lived is meaningful for more reasons though. My ancestors purchased the land behind the farm in the mid 1800's. When my maternal grandmother passed away, she left about 83 acres to my sisters and our 4 cousins.

We all thought it would be fun to go visit the land we lived on for so long- and the land my sisters and I partially own. We imagine building a cabin on it someday, but I think it's mostly wishful thinking. It's in the middle of nowhere! But it's beautiful, and it means something to us.

There's a beautiful, fresh water creek that runs through it- and a gorgeous waterfall with a rock bridge above it. The land is overgrown with brush and is hard to access. So we all had to load up into the big, strong vehicles. The older grandkids got to ride in Grandpa's pick-up truck.

It really was amazing to explore the gorgeous land and to think that my own ancestors played on it over 100 years ago. We all took off our shoes (or at least the brave ones did, the water was frigid), and splashed around in the creek. My Dad said it was clean enough to drink. But I wasn't that brave. My sister and I dared each other to drink some. I cheated though and just swished it in my mouth, then spit it out.
I had such a great time being with my family. When my sisters and I get together- we cannot seem to get enough of each other. Our husbands say we're just like a "clique." I think they sort of get left out. I guess that's to be expected if you marry into a family with six daughters. We're extremely close and try to take advantage of every possible moment together. If any of you are reading this, I love you and hope we get together again next summer!

I'll do a post soon on our Nebeker Reunion which was a blast, but I lost my camera so I'm waiting for pics from relatives. I'm sorry I have to keep you all in supense! (ha, ha, ha)