Happy 15th Anniversary to us! We wanted to go on an anniversary trip. The kids really wanted to try out a cruise. Sure, let’s do it. We planned out a 3-night Ensenada Cruise out of LA. Road trip time!

We made a quick stop in St George to say hi to Shalyn and the cousins and drop off Kacho.

We continued on to Las Vegas. Man was it hot. 105° in the shade, I think. Oof. We walked around for a little bit and got some dinner and then headed to our hotel.

The next day we got up bright and early and continued on to Los Angeles. Amazingly, we didn’t hit any real traffic, and we made great time getting to the port and on the ship. Easy.  The ship was the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas. They had the North Star lift which went up really high and gave a neat view of the port and ship.

And glass elevators.

And swimming pools, of course.

And an arcade with air hockey.

And bumper cars!

And a rock climbing wall.

And FlowRider.

And the pièce de résistance was the Ripcord skydiving simulator.

I won the prize for the floppiest cheeks.

And they had some really cool artwork.

And it’s easy to forget you’re on a boat.

Another hot item were the towel animals. Very popular with the kids!

And what the cruise ships are maybe the most known for is all the yummy food and drinks.

And they had a fabulous show in the Royal Theater called Sonic Odyssey. Very, very cool.

One thing the kids were excited about was going to a foreign country. Now they have officially been to Mexico.

The one thing the girls wanted for sure was to get their hair braided. Check.

We enjoyed the beautiful flowers.

And it’s always fun to people-watch.

Time to roll out and start our long drive home.

118 degrees outside Baker, California. Yikes.

Bonus picture from the night we got home.

Time for our annual Moore Family Reunion. It started out with a 2-night backpacking trip with Ashley. We drove up the morning of and met up with the gang at the lake. We stopped for lunch in Ketchum at Atkinson’s Market and got deli sandwiches just like when I was a kid. Then we had to get some ice cream from Leroy’s as well. How could we not?

Quick stop for a picture at Galena Summit.

And we’re at the trailhead, ready to go.

I really enjoyed my special time with Ashley.

Cousin pic on the little peak above the lake.

Casper Lake, Leah Lake, whatever this place is called, it was very picturesque.

On day 2, we day hiked up to the upper lakes in the drainage. Then we split and I continued to press on and hit two of the peaks up on the ridge. This is from the highest peak of the drainage looking back towards camp.

I caught a fish. Picture proof.

On day 3, we broke camp and headed out. Since we had two cars, Ashley, Laura and I booked it down and headed out early.

We stopped in Ketchum again for some sushi from Atkinson’s and more Leroy’s ice cream.

What a great backpacking trip!

I knew I had been up here in 2017 with Kevin, Stan, and Jimmy.  Video from that trip:

I totally forgot that in 2014 we were up here,  but we went into the Alpine Creek drainage to the north: Backpacking in the Sawtooths

Once we were all back in Filer at the house, the family reunion officially started.

We had our annual family picture.

And loads of cousin fun.

And pool time!

And hangin’ out with Grandpa Gerald.

And kayaks, paddle boards, beach, and relaxing at Dierkes Lake.

We had some break-ins in the berry patch.

And a birthday celebration for Josie and Dad.

On Saturday, we headed home along with Stan’s family. That evening, we went to the final concert and drone/fireworks show for the Mapleton Pioneer Days celebration.

Bonus picture:

Happy 250th to America! We are blessed to live here.

Kevin and Bethany came down and stayed the weekend with us.

The Utah Symphony did a concert up Hobble Creek Canyon. It was a really cool venue for the concert and it was a beautiful evening.

Aubree Oliverson was the guest soloist and was fabulous. What’s cool is she also played with the TSO.

The next day we headed to Lagoon for our annual Independence Day visit.

Mom and Dad came to hang out as well. It was a great day and lot’s of fun.

On the 4th itself, Kevin and I headed out on a dirt bike ride up Hobble Creek Canyon. Great times to get out on a ride again with Kevin after several years.

Meanwhile, Kathryn whipped up a crepe delicacy for breakfast.

Kevin and Bethany headed for home, and we made our way up to the cabin for an Independence Day celebration with the Hawker family, including a new water works piece…

…and a delicious spread of BBQ goodness.

James had a loaner Cybertruck while getting some work done on his car, and we had some fun driving that around the cabin.

The day wasn’t over yet. We made our way back home and over to our friends house for an epic fireworks bonanza. What a great day!

Bonus pictures. Kathryn gave Kacho a much needed trim for the summer. Before:

After: