Most of the Jenson clan happened to be in Salt Lake City for the 4th of July, so we decided to spend some of our airline miles and join them (Grand total for all four flights? $20). The kids are getting pretty good at air travel.

That evening, we found out that strip malls sometimes have creeks.

The next day, we went on a hike through Parley’s Canyon, which was practically in our backyard, and there were a lot of dogs taking their owners for walks. We ended up taking a slightly wrong turn, and we didn’t make it back until the temperature was in the 90s.

We spent a gorgeous 4th-of-July afternoon at the Swenson’s house (you know, Becky’s sister’s husband’s parents’ house), where Lucy got red-white-and-blue nail polish, and all of the kids ran through the sprinkler while popping bubbles.

Later that afternoon, after a lovely barbecue dinner, we moved the party to the front yard for a small fireworks display.

Will had left his favorite cap at his grandparents’ house, so he borrowed my visor for this trip. He paired it with orange stripes, and made sure we sent a photo to Aunt Liz and Uncle Jeff (who are solidly in the Duck camp). If you’re not from Oregon, you are excused from understanding any of this.

The next day we hosted a gathering of our own! Some of Becky’s more distant relatives were also in town, and we had a houseful all day long. The kids all got to know each other, and a great time was had by all. Oh, we also snuck one of the families away for a quick photo shoot in the park.

The next morning was Will’s birthday! He’ll get his own post, but for now, here he is, very proud of the LEGO kit he had just finished. Ken and Dorothy were actually staying with us, and these were his gifts from them.

That day we took the kids to their first water park! We met the Sarah-and-Alan crew at Cherry Hill, which was a bit of a drive from our house, but Becky has some history with this park, and she was thrilled to take the kids on the same rides she did as a kid. Very little of this is captured in photos; it’s hard to have cameras out when everyone is soaking wet. You’ll just have to trust me that Becky, Sarah, and Clark were actually there.

The next day we packed up and headed home. Utah was hot, but still pretty good to us, and it was nice to connect with all the family we hadn’t seen for a while, or in some cases ever met before.