Epp summer gathering 2008

Okay, so this happened about 6 weeks ago, so I'm not going to go into too much detail about it. But I'll give you a little idea of the event.

We gathered at Grand Lake, CO. Ladd's parents rented a nice house for us all to stay at. Thanks again, Bonnie and Weldon.

There were good times and not so good times. This happens when you put 4 families together who are used to functioning the way they like or need to function. Its probably not good or bad. It just is.

For example, Somebody drank hydrogen peroxide (sipped, I guess), someone ate peanut butter sandwiches only to find out that it was tainted with dog saliva because it was the dog's peanut butter, dogs got out, a child played in toilet water, and all this happened because we failed to communicate.

Its simple, really. In our own minds, how we each do things makes sense, so why would we need to change it or communicate to others what we do and why we do it.

Well, apparently we do need to be more vocal about what we do and why we do it. At least when sharing confined spaces with lots of people over a long period. :)

Lesson learned.

But don't get the wrong impression here. Most of the time, everything worked out. My mind is flooded with good memories.

And when I see or talk to you next, if you want to hear a good story about a moose, let me know. Its too long of a story to write about. Just know Ladd, Bailey and I had a very brief but very close encounter with a very. big. moose.

Bailey LOVED this trip. She got to meet her dog cousin Sally for the very first time.


Baby moose near the Rocky Mountain National Forest


A sign along the hike Ladd and I did one day


Adult moose near our home. Probably the same one that scared the S.H.I.T. out of me one early morning. :)



The house.


My niece Naomi picked wildflowers the first night we were together and put them in these beer bottles as we finished drinking. Beautiful. As you can see, our beer preferences are as different and colorful as our personalities.


The Neufeld Epp neices and nephew.


Nature can be very phallic. Good eye, Kristin. I love how your brain works sometimes. :)


Sweet Eliza Irene. Super funny little person.


The not-so-newest addition to the family. The Hildreth Epp addition. Caden.


You can see more photos, including a much better close up of the giant moose, if you go to my sister-in-law's version of the trip on her blog.