Mini-reunion at Dad's

Up early and straight to packing. Lucky for us, Olive lent a helping hand..

Olive and Grandpa (or as she calls him: "Bam-pah").

It was a trip being back at the house. Same shag carpet, same weathered barns, same everything really. It was surreal playing with my daughter on the same floors that I once crawled.

In case you cant tell, Uncle John and Uncle Jason are watching a soccer game. (the World Cup final actually). So we'll forgive them for not giving their undivided attention to lil O.

It was nice to have a mini reunion of sorts. (Uncle Henry and his wife Barb were unable to attend due to illness..) But they were greatly missed as dad and his two sisters got to reminisce about old times and good memories. It was fun to listen to them trying to remember dates, or neighbors, or names of past dogs.

(Lets just hope its not a genetic thing)

And when siblings get together, so do the pranks..

So the story went like this:

Barb and I were outside saying goodbye to Mary. And as we were walking up the stairs to the house, we found a wooden post hand rail that was really rotted out, almost ready to tip over.

So with a sly laugh, Barb grabbed this other piece of wood and I got my camera..

Barb hobbled into the house and I yelled for Dad to "come quick! come quick!! Aunt Barb fell down on the stairs! I think the hand rail gave way and she fell on her hip!"

So Dad came running up to find Barb hunched over, barely holding herself up.

"Oh Jim. That rail was rotten..! I think I seriously injured myself out there.. Im holding you legally liable for this.. Im going to file a lawsuit about this..! Im gonna sue!!" Barb pleaded.

Dad's jaw dropped and as he tried for a second to actually say something.. Barb and I both busted out laughing..

Dad took it well (I think) but he did warn us about 'revenge' and 'getting even'. So Barb and I were a little nervous..

So after our hijinks.. We got ready for a nice afternoon hike. And his wolf pack was ready to join us. Lets see here.. Their names are: Pepper, Bo, and.. and..

(Uh oh. I think it is genetic.. I cant even remember these dogs names..)

And with the day still young, Dad took us on a nice hike through the Idaho outback. Dad, Rebecca, Olive, Aunt Barb, Uncle John, and Cousin Robert all braved the treacherous journey.

Dad pointed out Moose droppings, Deer droppings, Coyote droppings, and Horse poop. It was quite educational.

It was a hot day and Olive was right out. Momma took a well earned water break.

We eventually made it to the top of the peak and were treated to some incredible views.

Little Miss Daisy and Little Miss Olive say cheese.

What?? A rare Erik sighting? Yep. John was nice enough to snap this of the three of us.

Flower power baby!

The trail we were on led us down the road a bit, so we got to hike by some of our horses. Olive went crazy trying to get me to see them. I played a little dumb.. I thought it was kinda funny.

And here we arrive at the mailbox that has delivered mail to us for almost 40 years.

Something alway nice about seeing that mailbox.

And after we got back it was time for dinner, some cool drinks, and plain old relaxing. I think 'Bo' has the right idea.

Jason was the grill master, and soon we were treated to Brats, Burgers, Chicken, and all the trappings of a country BBQ.

MMMM MMM!! Im gonna sleep well tonight.