This summer the stars aligned and all members of the Layne Westover family were able to gather together for the first ever Layne Westover Reunion! It's not often that all of us are in the same state, let alone the same side of the country, so this was really special. Sean, Andrea and family were able to fly over from New York, and Brian and Tom took work off so that we could all be together while they were here. We had such a fun during our week together!
Although the week ended up being wonderful, there was a bit of a rough start. Sean and Andrea and kids were scheduled to arrive in SLC the evening of Friday, July 29th. Because of bad weather, their flight was delayed, which in turn caused them to miss their connecting flight. They ended up being stuck in Maryland overnight, and after a flight to and layover in Las Vegas, landed in SLC at 2 pm on Saturday. Layne and Brian picked them up at the airport, and they didn't arrive at our place until 4:30 pm. It wasn't a pleasant experience for them, to say the least. They were all so exhausted.
We had initially planned to have family pictures taken here in North Ogden on Saturday at 1 pm. We initially tried to reschedule with the photographer for 5 pm, but decided to just cancel. It was a good thing we did, because we wouldn't have been gathered and ready in time, and Sean's family was just beat and not in the mood for pictures.
Once everyone had gathered at our place and had some time out of a car or airplane, we all loaded up again and drove to Layne and Kris' house in Idaho. The drive was fine and all bodies and luggage made it without further incident. After unloading everyone's luggage from the cars, we all sat down to a dinner that Tom and Sarah cooked for us. We were all happy to have the crazy travel stress over and be in one place.
The next day, Sunday, we got up and got ready to attend church. We were ready early, and had some time to kill before we had to leave. Connor had fun trying out Grandma and Grandpa's rocking horse. He really liked it.
During Sacrament Meeting, Layne and Brian sang an arrangement of the hymn "Did You Think to Pray?' with Kris accompanying them on the piano. They did such a great job. It was a beautiful song. We recorded it later at home, because it was just so awesome.
After church, we enjoyed a delicious spread of German food for lunch. Layne and Kris prepared it all, and it was a delicious feast! We had bratwurst, rotkohl, German potato salad, cucumber salad, rye bread, and homemade mustard. It was seriously amazing! One of my favorite meals. It's good to be a Westover! Haha!
Later that day, we went to walk around the Greenbelt near the Idaho Falls Temple. They have an art installation called "Art You Can Sit On" right around the river. There are uniquely designed benches scattered along the greenbelt path. They were fun to look at...and sit on.
I loved getting to see the temple up close again. I haven't been here in a long time. It was beautiful.
We just hung out at Layne and Kris' for the rest of the day, playing with the kids and enjoying some down time. Connor loves their couches...they have the perfect backs for climbing.
The evening was so nice, that we spent some time outside enjoying the fresh air. Connor still isn't sure about grass, but he's slowly getting better. He sat on the lawn for quite awhile and didn't cry once. He wouldn't let go of my leg though, and kept his arms and hands held high to keep from touching the poky blades.
It started to lightly rain at one point, so we moved to the front steps of the house. Connor liked it here much better. He loved the stone work, and I could tell he was just itching to try and climb up it.
We spent a fun evening together, talking and laughing and catching up. The last time we'd all been together was the year before, and that was only for one short afternoon, right before Sean and Andrea moved to New York.
The next day, Monday, we woke up early and got everything packed up again, including food for the next three days. Layne and Kris rented a cabin in Island Park for us to stay in, and getting everything together that we needed to take for eight adults and four kids was no small feat. Kris has superpowers when it comes to planning and organizing, so it all came together.
While we were getting everything ready, Connor got to spend some time with his cousin Colin. It's was pretty funny to watch them interact. They're both just so cute! I'm so glad Connor has a cousin his age.
We managed to get everything and everyone, packed into three vehicles, and started our journey north. The drive was fine, and Connor handled his time in his car seat like a champ. I'm so glad he doesn't mind riding in his car seat. Eventually, he will get tired of it, but for the most part he just happily sits there, playing or sleeping.
We stopped at Mesa Falls on the way up. It was a good midway point, and gave us a chance to get out and stretch our legs...oh and see a beautiful water fall. We ate lunch on some picnic tables near the parking lot, after which we slathered ourselves and our very fair skinned little boy in sunscreen before walking up the trail to the falls. It was a very hot and sunny day, and the patches of shade along the way felt wonderful. We took our stroller, but had to park it so we could walk down all the stairs to the waterfall's viewing platforms.
Mesa Falls is such a pretty place, and I never get tired of visiting it. I've been a lot of times over the years--it's not too far from where I grew up--and each time I find myself just as amazed by it.
I think Connor really loved our visit. He babbled and made happy noises as we walked along the path, and the closer we got to the waterfall and could hear its roar and feel its mist in the air, the more excited he got. It was so fun to see him trying to look at everything. He's a big fan of trees and leaves--he loves to watch them move in the wind--and he absolutely loved the fluttering aspen leaves. He wasn't too happy when we put his hat on him because it obstructed his view a bit.
On the way back to the cars, we stopped in at the visitor's center. This was my first time to actually go into the visitor's center, and it was really cool. In the main room there are a few taxidermy animals on display, along with a display of rocks and plants that are found in the area.
We were feeling a bit overheated from our time in the sun, so it was nice to spend some time indoors with the air-conditioning...oh and seat with a buffalo hide.
In the back room, we found a whole display of skins from various animals. While we weren't allowed to touch the mounted animals in the front, these pelts were set out just for that purpose. It was fun to feel the different textures of the furs.
Connor enjoyed looking at everything from his stroller. He loves to ride with the seat slightly reclined and his feet propped up on the tray. The boy knows how to lounge when he wants to.
Along with all the animal skins, there were some animal skulls, bear skins, bird talons, and deer hooves. We had fun looking at and touching everything.
Once we finished at the visitor's center, we loaded up again and drove to the cabin. It was located near Mack's Inn. Once we got off the main highway, we had a bit of trouble finding it. The directions we were give weren't very clear, but after some backtracking and trial and error, we finally found it. It's a cute little place.
We took some time to unload the cars and get things settled inside. All of us, except Kris and Andrea who stayed at the cabin with the kids, loaded up again and drove to West Yellowstone. We went to see "Singing in the Rain" at the Playmill Theatre. The show was great, and although they had some audio issues where their mics kept cutting out, we enjoyed it and had a good time.
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We spent a leisurely morning at the cabin on Tuesday. We enjoyed blueberry pancakes for breakfast. The kids had fun playing with grandpa for a bit, while we got ready for our adventure for the day.
We drove the short four miles to Johnny Sack's cabin. The day was beautiful, and we had a pleasant little walk around the springs and over to the cabin.
As we walked along the trail to the cabin, Connor started to babble and sing again. We were surrounded with pine trees, wild flowers, and everything was so green and fresh and smelled amazing. He was a big fan. I think we might have a little outdoorsman on our hands. Now if only we can get him to like grass.
Johnny Sack was a German immigrant who leased this track of land right next to the springs. He built the entire stone and wood cabin by hand, using only hand tools. It took him three years to complete. He also built a water wheel at the edge of the springs to create electricity. Today the cabin is a national historic landmark and open for visitors.
I'd visited the site before on a fifth grade field trip, but we didn't get to go inside. I was excited to get to tour the cabin this time.
Johnny Sack not only built his cabin from scratch with hand tools, but he built all of the interior furnishes by hand as well. He made the furniture, cupboards, beds, chests, furniture, light fixtures, and even the floorboards by hand. The pieces were surprisingly decorative and was beautiful.
Johnny Sack was only 4 feet 11 inches tall, and although he built the dimensions of the cabin to accommodate the average (taller) sized person, he built his chair, and designed his kitchen to fit his size. In the picture below, Brian is standing next to a sign that marks Johnny's height.
After we left the cabin, we headed back over the springs to the walkway along the bridge so that we could feed the fish. The view was pretty amazing. Island Park is so pretty, and I really loved Big Springs.
Kris had a bag of bread crumbs for the kids to feed the fish. I don't think the fish got any bread though, there were quite a few birds that were happy to snatch up the bread as soon as it hit the water. I think they had fun though.
We took some time to walk along the path that runs along the water. It was so pretty! We saw some jumping fish, and even some otters playing along the bank. Big Springs is one of the 40 largest natural springs in the world, and more than 120 million gallons of water flow through it each day. The water appears so calm that you wouldn't think that much water is flowing along. The springs are the source of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River.
I loved all the wildflowers along the path. My favorite were these tiny forget-me-nots. So cute!
That evening, Brian and I made dinner for everyone, and then we roasted s'mores around a campfire. Connor had been having trouble sleeping the two nights before and was feeling cranky, so I took him inside to put him to bed. He was being a little stinker and wouldn't go down, so I ended up staying inside with him for most of the campfire, trying to get him to go to sleep. Once he started drifting off, I fell asleep too, so I missed playing games with everyone after the fire. It was all good though. He slept better that night and was his happy self again the next morning, and I got to catch up on some much needed sleep.
Wednesday morning we worked to get everything re-packed and loaded in the cars to head back to Layne and Kris' house. I took Connor outside to swing for a bit before we were ready to leave. He liked swinging a lot. Gosh he's adorable.
Although we didn't have as much stuff to pack up--we'd made quite a dent in the food we'd brought along--it still took awhile to get every thing and everyone ready. We had some time before everyone was ready to go, so we spent it out on the porch so we could enjoy the fresh morning air. Connor loved being outside, and I let him crawl around on the top of the picnic table because the kid just doesn't hold still. (I had to hold him tightly against his will to get a photo with him. Haha!) He wasn't happy unless he was perched right on the edge of the table. I kept a good grip on his leg so he didn't crawl over the edge.
Once everyone was ready, we took a group picture in front of the cabin. We then loaded up and drove to the Westover Ranch in Rexburg, where we ate lunch. After lunch we headed to BYU-Idaho to walk around campus. It has really changed so much since we were there.
Once back at Layne and Kris' house, we unpacked and ate a quick dinner before getting ready for family pictures. Kris was able book a photographer last minute, so we were able to get family pictures taken after all. I'm so glad it worked out that we could get pictures. We snapped this photo of the kids during the shoot. A bunch of little cuties right there!
Brian, Connor, and I had some fun taking our own pictures later. Haha!
Thursday was a fairly low key day. Tom and Sarah left the night before and the rest of us kind of did our own thing that day. I took Connor to Chester to visit my mom because it was her birthday. Brian stayed to help Layne with a yard project.
Friday morning was spent getting packed up to head back to Utah. Connor and I spent some time out on the lawn enjoying our last bit of time in Idaho. He was brave enough to reach down and timidly touch the grass this time. He even did some crawling across the grass...without any crying.
Andrea brought Colin out and the babies spent some time together on the lawn. I just can't get over how cute they are.
The drive down to Utah was uneventful. Connor slept a lot of the way. Layne and Kris rode with us while Sean and fam drove Layne's pickup. We drove to the SLC airport, and sadly said goodbye to Sean, Andrea, and the kids. It was so great to see them.
From the airport we drove back to our place. Connor wasn't happy about being in his car seat at this point. He'd had enough of being strapped in. He was a champ and had been so good during all the driving all week and specifically that day, but he was ready to be done. We were feeling the same way. Once we got home and got him out of the car seat he reverted back to his happy self. Not soon after, we watched him happily crawl back into his car seat and sit there for quite a while playing with the straps. Funny boy.
It was such a wonderful week and we are grateful that we got to spend so much time with everyone. We sure do love our family and wish we could see them more often. We also really appreciate all of the thought, planning, organization, and work that Layne and Kris put in to making our time together so great. Hopefully we'll get to do it again, sooner rather than later.
Hooray! I LOVE this post. It was such a wonderful week together. I miss you all so much. I am so glad that we live close enough to visit pretty often. Tom as well. It will be good when Sean and Andrea are done in NY. I hope they get close. I love my kids and grandkids.
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