Montana

Keith's sister Denise and her family (plus Uncle Garret) flew in from New York at the end of June.  They spent their first night at Sara and Patrick's and the next day we met up with them off I-90 in North Bend to travel to Great Falls together.  Keith's dad and his wife, Sue, had just moved to Great Falls from Rochester a few weeks previous, so not only did we get to visit with Great Grandma Mang while there, we also saw them.  Sara and Patrick also came on the trip and Shane drove up from Salt Lake City.  The only Mang sibling absent was Kyle.  It was the first time everyone had been together (minus Kyle) in 3 years.

The kids did great in the car (it's about a 12 hour drive each way).  We stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was pretty nice and got to eat out for every meal (now THAT was a true vacation for me, not having to cook).  Denise and Ben stayed at the same hotel with us, so the kids got to see plenty of each other and swim in the pool in the evening.

We mostly hung out during the day at the park with a picnic lunch visiting with the Grandparents.  We took a trip out to Fairfield to see the old family farm and to visit Great Grandpa Mang's grave site.  Our last day there we took the kids to the waterpark, which was a blast.  It was a short trip, only there for about 3 days but a lot of fun. 

Denise and Ben drove back to our house from Great Falls, and by then it was the 4th of July.  Kyle and Lindsey drove up from Vancouver with their boys - we had a house full!  We did a picnic lunch on the river up by Mt. Rainier that day and then fireworks at the house that night.  The next day we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, then Denise and Ben headed back up to Sara and Patrick's.  Their last day here we met them at Edmond's Beach and then out to dinner at a yummy Mexi place before they drove to the airport.  Anne Elyse really enjoyed having her girl cousins Katelyn and Ashley here, and her and Ashley especially hit it off (they are only a year a part) and had a great time together.  Wish we could do it more often.  Next it's our turn to head out to New York!