UT-most Excursion, Pt. 4

A train track runs right behind Kira's home, but trains only come by on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We were gone the whole day on Tuesday, so Bryce got up bright and early Thursday morning and staked out a spot near the window to make sure he didn't miss seeing the train.  His diligence was rewarded when the train came by and blew it's whistle in greeting. 

Once we checked this most-important task off our vacation to-do list, we headed to a local park to meet Mark's sister Amy and her husband Nathan, for lunch.  There never seems to be enough time to spend with Amy, but it was great to have a few minutes to catch up and see her cute, tiny baby bump.  Hurray for a new nephew in December!

After Amy and Nathan went back to work, we got back to the serious business of play... and this particular park had a seriously amazing splash pad/river.

Splash pads are always fun, but the added super shallow river was especially appealing to my kids, all of whom ran up and down the length of it innumerable times.  

Soon all the rest of the cousins arrived, which made it doubly fun.  

The kids played till they wore themselves out.

Then we took them home to rest.  

Just kidding!  We put the babies down to rest, and everyone else went outside for Kid Olympics, hosted by Grandma.  

GiGi organized all kinds of exciting events, races, and activities.

She even provided medals for the winners of each activity.  

Despite the blistering heat, the kids put forth their best efforts and had a blast.

The culminating event was the "child carry."  Each child was instructed to run to their parent, who would then carry all his/her children back to the finish line.  Even with Graham asleep, I was at a definite disadvantage.  

Haha!  Believe it or not, we all somehow managed to make it to the finish line with no major injuries.  Kid Olympics might just need to be an annual event.

Not long after Kid Olympics wrapped up, a couple babysitters arrived to take over childcare for the evening so the adults could go out to dinner.  I must be pretty old because all of my siblings are adults now.  

Friday was the 4th of July, and we were up early to get to the Murray parade by 8:30 a.m.  It was another extremely hot day, but thankfully smart sisters thought to bring a big umbrella.  

The parade was cute, and of course the kids loved all the candy and goodies they were tossed.  Thane made it a point to share all his bounty with his cousin Piper.  

After the parade, we headed south again to prepare for family pictures.  I'll show some of those on a separate post, but suffice it to say it took a lot of time and patience to get all the pictures taken.  Bless those photographers!  Thankfully the studio was indoors with nice air conditioning and a place for the kids to play when they weren't called upon to smile.

As you've probably noticed, our week was packed quite full, so of course as soon as pictures were over we sprinted back to Kira's to get ready for the 4th of July picnic.  For Kira and Stew, having all the Graff crew wasn't enough of a party.  No, they invited their neighbors and we had many more extended family arrive for the following day's wedding.  Talk about a crowd!

Stew put together this "kid car-wash," and that's where the little ones spent most of their evening.  

As it began to get darker, I put Graham and Thane to bed (both were so tired they were more than happy to lie down), and the crowd outside prepped for the neighborhood fireworks show.  Aubree and Bryce stayed up late and both reported enjoying the explosions.

While there was a large crowd outside, we had a smaller crowd inside prepping for the wedding luncheon.   I loved the opportunity to work with my sisters, cousins, Aunt Becky, and Grandma Joni.  Lauren was our excellent leader and put us to work cutting fruit, testing drinks, and and preparing salads.