Last Saturday we had the special experience of attending Delia and Felipe's baptism. Delia was Brandan's medical assistant about 4 years ago. She has many LDS friends and has spent years asking questions, meeting with missionaries and attending church. We were so happy when Delia called to invite us to their baptism.
We drove straight from the baptism to Utah to spend time with family. Becky took a few of the kids to jump at a trampoline park. From the left are Kaylee, Helen, Logan, Gibson, Dallin and Emma.
Brandan, Abe, Wade and Parker were next door playing indoor soccer. Wade and Parker have a regular pick up game on Monday afternoons and invited Abe and Brandan to come. The rest of us cheered for them for a bit. This is a photo of us doing the wave.
Wade and Steph's family has many pets including Henry the hedgehog.
On Tuesday we hiked to Doughnut Falls in Big Cottonwood canyon. The falls get their name because the water goes through a ring of rock. Several of the kids hiked up to the top of the falls. From the left are Emma, Abe, Helen, Dallin and Sasha.
They had to hike past this sign to get to the doughnut part of the falls.
Here are all of the Hulls along for the hike. Back row: Abe, Parker, Becky, Helen and Brandan. Front row: Gibson, Dallin, Sasha, Emma, Becky, Maks and Niko.
Here are the cousins headed back down the trail.
The trail is popular with hikers and there are many well fed ground squirrels along the way. Maks loved watching the squirrels scurry up to his feet, hoping he'd drop some food.
The kids played for a bit at the creek near the trailhead.
After weeks of smoky skies in Oregon, one of the best parts of our trip was seeing blue skies! This is Helen and Abe and the trailhead.
Kaylee has learned how to make many different kinds of slime and she taught Helen her secrets. They made some slime together.
It seems she hasn't taught Parker her secrets and he created a gooey mess when he tried to play with the slime.
Tuesday afternoon we met Maggie and Drue's family for Sutton's soccer game and then went to dinner together. The grown ups were happy to catch up and spent a couple of hours talking together. Clockwise from the top are Maggie, Drue, Becky, Gibson and Parker.
Two hours is a long time to ask kids to sit at a restaurant so Becky pulled playing cards out of the car. The kids stayed entertained with card games and magic tricks. Clockwise from the top are Salem, Helen, Sutton, Abe and Logan.
On Wednesday we hiked Adams Canyon. There are two waterfalls in the canyon. This is a photo of the lower falls. From the left are Logan, Dallin, Gibson, Abe, Parker, Kaylee, Sasha and Helen.
Here are the girl cousins: Sasha, Kaylee, Emma and Helen.
The upper falls were a nice reward after a tough climb. From the left are Becky, Helen and Abe. Abe is soaked from standing under the waterfall.
Abe, Parker and Logan made spaghetti for dinner Wednesday night. Then they stayed up until 4 am playing Minecraft. Parker leaves on a mission to Costa Rica next month so we won't see him for a couple of years. We enjoyed our time with him very much.
Dan and Martha are leaving for their mission to Barcelona in September. We were happy to hear their farewell talks at church and hear about their past adventures in Ireland this spring.
On Thursday we drove to Camp Taylor in Idaho for the Larsen family reunion. The camp is in a clearing at the base of Scout Mountain. It consists of several cabins, a shower house and a lodge.
Here's a photo of the lodge.
This is a photo taken inside the lodge. It was very large with a commercial kitchen in the back. In the photo we're setting out dinner.
The lodge had a foosball table and a ping pong table. Outside were horseshoe pits and a volleyball court, as well as a large grassy field. This is a photo of Joe H and Gibson.
After dinner, Grandma passed out special folders she made for each grandchild that contained lessons life has taught her and a copy of her patriarchal blessing. Each child spent a few minutes reading through her memories. Form the left are Joe H., Grandma, Sarah, Helen, Becky, Abe, Zina and Gibson.
Grandma loves puzzles and brought one to work on together. It only took a couple of hours to finish with all the good puzzlers working on it together.
Gibson taught us how to use the cobra knot to make paracord bracelets. Clockwise from the top are Becky, Abe, Gibson, Sy, Zina and Helen.
Here are some finished bracelets. Sy also made a collar for his dog.
Here's Kolter.
The kids built a fort. This is Gage and Gibson.
Here are Gibson, Zina, Kolter, Helen and Gage.
Here are Hayden, Sawyer, Gage, Zina, Helen and Gibson in front of the completed fort.
This is Kolter in his hiding place. He had lots of hiding places.
Meanwhile, the grown ups were cooking a dutch oven dinner. Joe L. set up a camp kitchen next to the fire pit. We cooked a triple meat barbecue and potatoes.
Abe was in charge of pineapple upside down cake for dessert. He made one pan of regular cake and one pan of gluten free cake. The Uncle Joes showed him what to do.
All of dinner was a success. Here is a photo of Abe's beautifully browned cake.
Hayden got a sliver which Keri looked at.
Joe L. and Sy also tried to take it out.
Kolter talked the big kids into playing Duck, Duck, Goose. The game devolved to Cheese Sandwich, Cheese Sandwich, Alligator. In the circle are Abe, Kolter, Gibson, Helen and Gage. Sawyer is walking around the circle.
Here is a photo of everyone at the reunion. Back row: Sy, Helen, Becky, Brandan, Keri, Kolter, Joe L., Joe H., Abe. Middle row: Hayden, Sawyer, Gibson, Sarah and Zina. Front row: Grandma, Grandpa and Gage. Thanks to everyone who worked together to make a wonderful weekend!
