brothers

This past week has been just been so stinkin' special and silly and momentous.

First, I was surprised with a visit from Jason, my brother who lives in Texas.  We hung out for a few days and had a blast.  

Taking Ella for a wagon ride was my favorite part of the visit.

The day after Jason left, Robert, Rachel, and I flew to Arizona to visit my two brothers who live there, Scott and Rusty.  We all went to Pinetop, AZ for a few days of tomfoolery and relaxation.

This is terrible, but I only took a few pictures on this trip.  I was having so much fun I totally forgot. Thankfully, everyone else took lots of awesome pictures.  

This describes our trip perfectly:



Robert and Rusty couldn't resist an abandoned wagon.



Prep & Pastry. Terrible service but excellent breakfast.  Thrilled to hang out with my brothers.



Horseback riding!!  As I scrolled through dozens of horse pictures to pick out my favorites it was way too tough to narrow it down.  I finally decided on these two because both Rachel and Rusty looked like it was their very first ride and they couldn't wait to get the party started. 





During our ride, one of our guides rescued a baby elk who was stuck in a clump of bushes.  Seriously! The elk was so stunned after the rescue he just stood there while we trotted past.



We spent a couple afternoons on the lake in various watercraft.  Here we have Scott, Autumn, and Kristen flying a kite while kayaking.  Multitasking at its best!



We had two three-person kayaks, two one-person kayaks and a pocket-sized pontoon boat.  We switched spots about twenty times and had a blast. Here is Heather, Izzy, and Rusty.



The last night of our trip Rusty and Robert rigged up a way to take a picture of all of us.  Basically it was a phone inside of a coffee cup that they placed in the rafters.  

From left to right: Heather holding Harper, Izzy, Rusty, Rachel, Robert, me, Scott, and Kristen holding Autumn.



Before we left for the trip Rachel was earnestly wrapping up her essays for her first college application.



And during the trip she submitted her first application.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to go back to my normal life after that amazing week.  I'm still smiling like a dang fool, high off all that brother love and family time.