THE FIRST ANNUAL COUSIN CAMP WAS A SUCCESS!

     July 30-August 2nd found the entire Austin family at the cabin for the first time EVER!  It was wonderful and memorable and sweet and chaotic and crazy and sometimes even tense!  But what wonderful memories!

Already, with 8 adults and 6 terrific little grandchildren, we have stretched the limits of our room here.  But everyone dealt pretty well with being on top of each other and putting up with crowded conditions.  The weather was perfect, with cool days caused by thunderstorms and summer showers.   Have a look.

That's all of us:

Front:  Amaya (Nathan's), Alyssa (Peter's), Jill (Peter's wife)

Back: Nathan holding 2nd daur, Noelle, Colleen (his wife) holding 3rd daur, Tara.  Next is Charles Graf (orange shirt, Becky's husband) holding Ethan, their 2nd child, in the middle is family patriarch/grandpa.  Then Audrey and Becky, then me, then our youngest son, Peter.  As luck would have it the photo was taken by a knowledgable passerby who happens to be girl formerly from our ward!

Audrey said she liked the walk with Grandpa the best. 

How long does it take to paint 40 toes and 40 fingernails?

Planting the Cousin Tree.  Course we had to remove three LARGE boulders so they didn't actually achieve much digging. 

When the digging got boring (about 10 minutes into it) there was an urgent need to cool off.   How many little girls can you fit into a 3 ft. wading pool?

Getting involved in the summer cloud burst.  We all gathered on the porch
to witness the downpour

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Say cheese!

Tara, Audrey, Aly, Amaya, Noelle & Ethan ready for Church

At the meadow turnoff to go to Cedar Breaks or Brianhead there were gorgeous wildflowers.  The family picture-taking event wasn't popular with everyone!

Usually passive Aly, however, thought it was way fun!

It was pretty cold for little people who all really wanted naps

It's fun to see the next generation be parents & love their kids!

More activities:

Gotta do the ATV thing.  Audrey might be a little less enthusiastic on the next trip since she and Grandpa took a spill when their ATV hit a rut.  Glad for a padded coat and helmut!

Story time with Uncle/Papa Charles

There are another 430 pictures I could upload.  We made ice cream in a baggy, finger painted, sang songs with Aunt Jill, fought over toys, had naps (even the adults), ate well, played games, colored, put puzzles together and generally loved being together.

What satisfaction....and "all because two people fell in love!"