family reunion

just got back from a whirlwind family reunion in yellowstone. after coming home from san diego and taking one day to detox, jack and i hopped in my parents' suburban and drove 2,500 miles.

my grandpa [who is now 91 years old] was a ranger in yellowstone for a few summers during the 60s. my dad and his whole family would move up there for three months each year. this year, for our once-per-decade family reunion, everyone coverged in montana to check out grandpa's old digs.

i had never been to yellowstone before and it was seriously gorgeous.

pretty sure poor jack hates his car seat by now. the poor guy was trapped in it practically all week, despite my wholehearted attempts to give him as much play time as possible. he is seriously a champ. jack observed much of yellowstone like this:

here's my dad in front of the tiny cabin they lived in when he was just a little kid:

we all loved wearing matching shirts. obviously.

we had lunch in mammoth hot springs, near grandpa's cabin, and a family of elk came to join us! they were pretty much the only creatures we saw during the whole trip, and i was pretty excited about it. apparently i need to get out of the city a little more.

overall it was really fun [despite some requisite family drama, of course]. we had 60 long lost family members from all over the country, many of whom i hadn't seen since our last payzant family reunion in 2002. the only people we were missing were my brother grant [on a mission in mexico] and b [who couldn't get off work seeing as how he just started his new job a few weeks ago].

the best part was watching all the GREAT grandkids play together. at our last reunion, it was just me and all my cousins/siblings. now, most of us are married with kids and i loved watching the next generation interact with each other.

the little kids loved playing with jack -- even accommodated his need for checking out strangers' belly buttons -- and these little boys followed him around, collecting rocks and pine cones for him to inspect and sharing their frisbees. it was adorable.

what would a good outdoor trip be without some crazy mosquito bites? per my usual circumstance, i wound up with 6 bug bites -- some of which swelled to ridiculous proportions.

i especially loved being with my sister and my parents. sad that seattle is so far away because we won't be seeing any of them again for a while.

jack and i fly home tomorrow after a very long 12 days away. i can't wait to see b and sleep in my own bed -- but it's been a great trip!