My Favorite Place...

Ninety-nine years ago, a man named George Brunt, along with his beautiful wife, Clara, bought land up in Island Park, Idaho because their daughter, my grandmother, Opal, had allergies. They needed to get somewhere that she could go in the Summer and not have problems breathing. He eventually bought land all over Island Park, including some at Pine Haven and Mack's Inn. He gave the land and cabins on it to each of his children and they gave it to their children. Others have bought cabins and now we have a huge population of Brunts running around up here. We are a very close family. I know it is because of the cabins in Island Park (Mack's Inn).

Every two years we have a Brunt Family Reunion. It is so much fun! The reunion lasts for three days. The first day we have a huge bon fire where we check in and just mingle. This is not just your average family reunion. It is huge! This year we had over 300 people here. How cool is that!?!

On Friday night, we have individual family dinners. The Noall and Opal (Brunt) Nixon family get together and have a BBQ. It is so fun! We get to catch up with our cousins. We end up talking all night. This year was a little sad. My dad wasn't able to come because he had court. He is the Immigration Judge for Utah and he has to put his schedule out a year in advance. We missed him dearly. Aunt Claranne wasn't there either. She is serving a mission in Nauvoo. It just isn't the same without them. It was nice to see and be with our cousins.

On Saturday, we have breakfast, lunch and meetings. Today we had breakfast at The Sawtelle Lodge. We had french toast and sausage. It was really yummy! They then had an auction. You know, the one thing I say about the Brunt family is that they don't hold back when it comes to auctions. It is really fun to watch. I bought a picture of my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather on their wedding day. I bought a print so it only cost me $10.

One of the fun things about the reunion is that we all wear different colors. This year the Opal Nixon family wore orange. We looked so great! Everyone loved the shirts. We sure did stand out.

After the auction, we headed to the Mack's Inn Playhouse for Lunch. We had a really great BBQ chicken and a potato bar. They then had huckleberry ice cream. It was the only time I really wanted to eat ice-cream. I love huckleberry! It is my favorite flavor. I just don't eat ice-cream. It makes me really ill. So I just fed it to Clara and took in the smell of it. After lunch, Krissi sang for the reunion. Leslie, my dad's cousin, had asked her to sing. So she sang "You'll Never Walk Alone". It was AMAZING! She wasn't too sure about how she did. She is her

own worst critic. I loved it and so did everyone else. It made Uncle Bob cry. It was really neat. We then came home. Clara and I laid down for a nap and the kids scattered all over the forest. Actually, Krissi and Johnny floated down the river on inner tubes and Zach went to my sister, Jenny's, cabin. At 7 pm, we got together and ate dinner. We roasted hotdogs and ate s'mores. It was so much fun. Now it is late and all the kids are asleep. I really enjoy this time. I can really think about things and I get a lot done.

I have another week up here at Mack's Inn. I am staying up here with the kids. I have already been up here for a week and I am dreading the fact that I only have seven days left up here.

Last week we came up with Lori and her kids. It was a lot of fun. We went in to Yellowstone. It was neat because her kids and John Turley (He is up here too), had never been to Mammoth or the upper loop of the park. We drove around it and saw some really great animals. We were able to see a Grizzly Bear and a Black Bear. The kids were pretty excited about that.

On Monday, we went to Mesa Falls. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The water fall is so amazing. While I was growing up, it didn't have any rails or paths. We would have to hike down to it and sit on the rocks. It was

pretty neat! I just can't believe that

I did that. Now it would scare me

to death! I know for a fact, I wouldn't allow my kids to go to Mesa Falls with out the rails there.

On the way out of Mesa Falls, Krissi and Jon T were swinging Clara.

Her elbow pulled out of socket. I called the doctor in Ashton. They told me to bring her down. By the time we got in to the office, Clara was fine. I asked the Doctor to teach me how to pop it back in if it pulled out again. He was fine with that and we left. We weren't charged a penny. The

minute we got back in to the car she started to crying again. I tried to give her some water and she refused to take the bottle. I then realized that it wasn't better so I popped it back in and she was better. I know that it was a blessing that she acted better in the office. I wasn't sure how much they were going to charge us and I needed to know how to do it anyway. It's nice when a good thing comes out of a bad situation.

So that is my week in a nutshell. I have had a wonderful week! I love my life. I love my kids! I love the cabin! Besides my favorite place being anywhere my kids are, the cabin is by far my favorite!

Love you and Goodnight!!!