It has been a week of reunions with family and friends.  I have been blessed with a great family and equally great friends that feel like family.  My son just returned home from a 2 year mission in Florida and having all of my children together in one place is my dream.

This is the forced picture taken at about midnight when we finally all reunited.  Once we had a great night sleep we were able to visit the Smith Family.  We took a picture of Jacob before leaving on his mission with the kids at our house but since then they have moved to Utah.  I don’t have the original picture but here is the latest one.

Everyone has grown.  We miss the Smith’s and loved being able to catch up.  That afternoon Jeff flew in and our family was almost complete.  Our purpose for coming to Utah included attending the wedding of Cameron Ernst.  You are never closer to friends then you are with the ones that you raised your kids with.  The Ernst family has been our dear friends since 1992.  They moved to Georgia years ago but since then we have vacationed together and tried to attend as many family wedding as possible.  The best part is this is the first time the entire Ernst family and Hosking family was reunited in probably 15 years. 

So fun to catch up with everyone.  After all the wedding festivities we embarked on our southern Utah adventure. Before leaving SLC/Provo area we did get to spend some time with my sister and her kids but unfortunately no pictures. Also Alex finally arrived making the family complete.

Our original plan was to hike to Havasu Falls but the flooding in the area closed the trail and campground.  I quickly rearranged things and we ended up having a great time anyways.  Our first stop was Bryce Canyon.  We did a short backpacking trip on part of the under the rim trail.  We started a Bryce point and hike down to yellow creek.

My nephew Isaac and our friend Jeremy joined us for the trip.  The hike down was about 3 miles.  The campsite was perfect. Lots of space and lots of great scenery.

The hike out in the morning was beautiful but a bit challenging.  We had to hike UP 3 miles.

We spent the rest of the day exploring parts of the park and trying to avoid the rainstorm.

The looming storm added to the beauty of the area.  Just as we left the park the rain hit.  We were so lucky to have missed it because it was not just a little rain it was a downpour.

We drove to Zions where we rented a nice home for two night just 7 miles outside the park.  Everyone was happy to shower and have a bed to sleep in. (I didn’t mention that the whole time in Provo we camped in Provo canyon.)  The next morning we drove to Kanarra falls. We met up with Whitney, Warren and Holland. Whitney is one of the Ernst’s family members and was just by chance heading the same direction.  We loved that we got to spend so much time with their cute family.

This hike was fabulous.  It was a hot day but once you start hiking in the water and the canyon you couldn’t tell.  For this area that is a welcome relief from the heat.  It wasn’t too difficult and scenery was stunning.  Whitney and Warren hiked the whole way with Holland on their backs.  She is the so adorable and  barely made a sound the whole time.  Dreamy.

I took way too many pictures but it was so amazing I couldn’t help myself.

So much climbing and exploring.  Also this is no where near all the photos.

What an amazing day! We all loved it.  We headed  home and spent the night soaking in the hot tub and pool at the resort.  The next day was a very hot day in Zion’s National Park.  It reached 111 degrees and there were a million people.  Just a different experience from the day before.  Beautiful but too crowded and too hot for my liking.  We still had a great time and enjoyed as much as we could.

Our final reunion occurred that evening when our friends the Parkin’s who recently moved to St. George let us crash at their place.  So fun to catch up.  Another family that has left  CV1 but will be our friends forever.

The next morning was not fun.  Abby, Alex and Hannah left for Vegas so they could fly home.  Jeremy drove back to Arizona and Jeff, Paige, Jake and I, dropped Isaac off at the bus stations and then headed back to California.  It was a great time with great people and it was so sad to say goodbye to everyone.  I love the fact that my children are grown and independent people but I also love being with them. Sad to see this adventure end but I know we have many more to come.