Reunion time again-- Part II

After the Todd festivities were over we dove right in with the Hogge side. Justin's parents are on a mission in Hawaii, so there was no "official" reunion, but we did get together with those that we could gather. Justin's sister Janell drove up from Southern Arizona with her hubby and 4 kids and stayed with us a couple of days on their way up to Idaho to join the rest of the group. Without wasting anytime after arriving in the wee hours of the morning we went to Lagoon. Of course, the kids had an amazing time and wore all of us adults out. Andrew's favorite ride was the airplanes-- surprised? He was quite timid this year and opted out of many of the "scary" rides. Ashlee, on the other hand, went on any ride they would let her. The highlight of the trip, however, was when Justin took a ride on the SkyRide. Ashlee's response was "Look Daddy-- S-W-I-N-G!" as she squealed in delight. She's currently obsessed with swinging and was ecstatic that Daddy was on such a large swing. (FYI- the SkyRide is a big gigantic swing that you ride on in a harness laying flat facing down. Looks very frightening to me!!!) Unfortunately I had just dropped off my bulky camera to the car, thinking that I couldn't possibly need one more picture at Lagoon. So no pics of this great moment.

The next day we went to the Hogle Zoo. We all had lots of fun, but the kids were exhausted and hungry and so we zipped on through and had a nice lunch at a near-by park. I just loved watching the elephants eating the straw. I can't image, though, riding one of those large animals like they do in Thailand.

"No more pictures!"

Andrew and Ashlee sizing up to a gorilla's hand

That night we headed off to Rigby Idaho to join the others. In the morning we had another packed day of boating and fun at the shore. Justin and the uncles had a great time catching some air on wake boards....and I enjoyed the boat ride. (Maybe next year, the water seemed too chilly for me).Here's Justin getting a little air-- a little more than I anticipated, cropping his head, oops!

Justin and my dare devil Ashlee. I love her expression!

Andrew was the faithful flag holder, at least when he remembered-- no tubing for him. Maybe next year?

Andrew and his cousins Matt and Mckay

For the record, here's a pic of me. Yes, I was there, but took most of the pictures (I'm not complaining of course)

On Sunday, after a nice day at church with the Jon Hogge family and dinner in their backyard we headed back home to Utah. As a last hurah, on Monday when Janell's family made their stop for the night before going on to Arizona, we finally took the frontrunner double decker train to Salt Lake to enjoy the ride, temple square (or "square temple" as Andrew keeps accidentally referring to it, which it is kinda square, or rectangle at least) and some dinner. I opted on not bringing my camera because I would be on my own with Justin at work-- too much to juggle. So, hopefully I can get some pics from Janell now that they have finally switched to a digital camera!

Ashlee's buds. On both sides, Ashlee has 4 girl cousins within 9 mos.

The cousins

What a great weekend. We missed you Grandma and Grandpa Hogge. Thanks for the example you're setting. Andrew prays for you both daily. We are looking forward to visiting you soon.