And Now for the Fun Part

Our motto for the summer has been "Work hard, Play hard". Well we've been working our butts of with two jobs and a lot of crazy schedules. So we finally had our first REAL vacation of the summer early in July: two family reunions back to back... on the in-law side. Some people might cringe at the idea of spending time with the in-laws at 2 different family reunions back to back, but I LOVED it. Not only were the PEOPLE amazing to hang out with, but the PLACES were phenomenal as well.

Reunion #1: The Bateman side: Arch Cape, Oregon
That is just south of Cannon Beach, which I love because it was WAY more secluded and wasn't "touristy". I felt right at home with this family and Chris confirmed how comfy I was by how I was "sandal sockin' it" nearly the whole time, and I didn't care! Our stay at Arch Cape was filled with...

• Boogie boarding
• Book reading
• Popcorn eating
• Beach house lounging
• Card playing
• Movie watching
• Rook playing
• Campfire sitting
• Marshmallow roasting
• Tidal pool exploring
• Long walks on the beach-ing
• Sun tanning
• Picture taking
• Sunset watching
• Good food eating
• Rock climbing
• Cave exploring
• Games in the sand playing
• Crab chasing
• Starfish searching
• Fireworks Watching
• Homemade doughnut devouring
• Lunch in town eating
• Some lucky girl riding her horse on the beach watching
• Football throwing
• Game playing
• 
  

...FUN! I'm so glad we were able to go. Then from there, we all piled in the Bateman family van to:

Reunion #2: The Ivie side: 5 Star Ranch, Spanish Fork Canyon
This was at a HUGE house/ranch way in the Spanish Fork Canyon. There was so much to do, including being with the two herds of horses in the pastures on either side of the estate, with all their cute horse babies! Our stay at the 5 Star Ranch was filled with...

• Horse feeding
• Horse watching
• Horse picture taking
• Horse petting
• Horse bonding
• Baby horse watching
• Horse wishing
• Horse calling
• Horse yearning
• ...ah
• Ping pong playing
• Rook playing
• Poker playing
• Pistol shooting
• Rifle shooting
• Shotgun shooting
• ATV riding
• Lake canoeing
• Horseshoe playing
• Campfire building
• Marshmallow roasting
• Food making
• Food eating
• Family talent show participating
• Picture taking
• Frisbee throwing
• Cell phone service lacking

...FUN! Needless to say, we didn't want to come home, or go to work the next day.