Megan and Alan had their whole family at Cate and Erik's house and our family stayed with Whit and Justin. It was a strange trip in that way because we usually have a home base with mom and dad where we could all be together but with my parents house in the making it just wasn't possible. Megan and I talking afterward would say we had a great trip with Whitney and Justin as she had a great trip with Caitlin and Erik but it just didn't feel as together. Despite that it was a really fun trip. We made a lot of plans, the kids had a blast playing together, and hanging out at night was a a lot of fun. Whitney and Justin let us stay for a week. It went by pretty fast, but a week be a long time for visitors so it was really nice of them.
So, I have to mention the story about the hike. It was this little trail off Wasatch. We had never hiked it before, but it looked like a short one that led to waterfall. It was great. There were uphills, but the kids were all able to do them, and we didn't need to stop for longs breaks we made it to the end in one shot. The older kids began scrambling up this hill. We sat and watched them, and I was just telling them that I did't worry a lot of Kaj and Josh- I trusted them, and I truly was not worried. Fast forward 5 minutes and Kaj falls from the waterfall. He really did. The older kids with help from Sam were climbing up by the water fall, it wasn't that high up, and it seemed like it could be neat for them to do. Kaj was pretty excited to be up there. He even did a little dance. He had reached for out to touch the water, and you guessed it, fell. 8-10ft. I saw him land. It was awful. He landed on rocks, His head hit a rock. I screamed. I grabbed him and carried him out of the water to the side so I could better assess what had happened. I looked at his eyes and asked him questions. I looked at his head which was really just a dent looking thing where he had hit, but I had expected much worse. Sam was getting the other kids down, and came over to make sure Kaj was alright. Kaj was saying to me over and over, "I am dying. I am dead." That was scary. But, he was ok. It was really a terrifying moment that I kept thinking things can change so fast. We were all enjoying the outdoors, this beautiful hike as a family and suddenly - it could all change.
Kaj ended being fine. Which felt miraculous, actually. Later talking to my sisters, who had missed the fall, they looked over to see him on the ground and said it looked like he hadn't just been gently placed there. Also, my family was so nice they had told me how great they thought I handled it, and how calm I stayed...later on Sam told me I shouldn't have grabbed Kaj 😳 cause if he hurt his neck etc. but, for that day I was thinking how great I had been in that crisis situation. I also have to say it was amazing to see in that situation how everyone rallied. Alan, who was wearing a boot on his leg for his own injury to his tendon was helping Rowan down the mountain. (that is not an easy feat) Thinking of this later that when I was saying I don't worry about Kaj and Josh I really did believe that but, I realized that a lot of my energy is spent worrying about Rowan. But, it reminded me...I have to worry about all my kids. Accidents happen. We were very fortunate.
Aforementioned-the kids had a lot of fun together. It was also very sweet to see the interactions Rowan had with his cousins as well as Whit and Justin. Bless Whitney's heart- she vacuumed with Rowan every day while we were there. Sometimes multiple times a day. And lucky for us that daily vacuum continues since we have been home.
We were able to go up to Midway to see my parents new house. It is very beautiful in a beautiful place, and it is exciting to think that our family visits will be up there. My dad showed us the plans for the basement and I could really envision everything as he explained. I left thinking how amazing it would be if we lived closer to have the boys go over to learn from Pappy. I definitely miss living closer to family.
The boys also could not have had more fun with their cousin, Ben. Ben is 12. He is good kid. It was fun seeing the boys look up to a kid who is just a little older than them. 
We also really enjoyed visiting with the Hughes. We sure do love them. We only spent the day with them but it was as if we never left. It is nice to have people in your life who you know time, distance won't change things between you. Just love.
I hope my kids will have those kind of relationships with the family that lives far away. It was a great trip and I look forward to the next one.
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