Family Pictures

 Lindsey was kind enough to take some new family pictures of us while we were at the reunion. I don't remember why we didn't get any individual ones of Mason!

2020 LeFevre Reunion

The LeFevre family reunion for 2020 was supposed to be an adult-only fishing and sight seeing trip in Alaska. That trip was a casualty of coronavirus since Alaska had been requiring all visitors to quarantine for two weeks before going anywhere. After a family vote, we decided to move the reunion to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho during the second week of August. Katelyn and Zac got to be in charge since Zac grew up in that area and they have spent a good amount of time up there. They did a great job organizing and found this huge, secluded cabin for us just 20 minutes outside of Coeur d'Alene in Post Falls. It was super nice for us to only have a six hour drive instead of the usual 12-20 it takes to see any of my family members.

Tragically, Mom fractured her wrist in several places just a couple of days before they were supposed to drive up to Idaho. She was in far too much pain to travel so she and Dad had to stay home. Reunions are not the same without your parents!! Lindsey was able to bring Michelle so we still got to see her. Elise's family was also unable to attend. We missed all of them!

The rest of us (including Lindsey's boyfriend, Jordan) arrived at the cabin on Sunday evening. Kate and Zac brought pizza for all of us and we checked out the cabin and took in the gorgeous sunset from the deck. Mom and Dad had to settle for a facetime tour by Lindsey.

Zac the reindeer - haha!

The four cousins: Evenlyn (almost 2), John (almost 3), Mason (almost 6), and Spencer (12). Mason and John were cute, little buddies this time.

The guys had a good time playing horseshoes while we were hanging out at the cabin. 

We decided to head to Lake Coeur d'Alene first thing Monday morning to avoid as many crowds as possible. This was my families' first trip during the pandemic and I was a little apprehensive about being around people. We all wore masks whenever we were close to other's though and everything was just fine.

It was a hot day, but the lake water was cold! I was a wimp and never got in past my waist, but most everyone else had a great time swimming and floating around. Michelle especially loved it. Zac had borrowed several kayaks and we all had fun rowing around in those. Spencer even went out by himself for the first time ever! The lake and surrounding mountains were gorgeous and I think we all had a great time.

More cabin fun

The cabin sat on almost 900 acres of forested land and had a rough road/trail that led to a lookout tower on the very top of the mountain. I got up early and tried a little trail running on Tuesday morning. Wow - it was hard! I took this picture of the hardest part, but it doesn't show how steep it really was. I went up for about a mile before I got nervous about wild animals and turned around. I realized that I've never been out in the forest alone like that before. Alan and Zac both all the way to the top the next day. 

Michelle loved the recumbent bike and rode several miles on it each morning!

We went on a hike on Tuesday morning. It turned out longer and hotter than any of us expected and some of us were very grumpy by the end. ;)

Liberty Lake was close by so we stopped there for a few minutes after the hike. Spencer and Mason got to play on their first playground since March! Oh how we missed playgrounds this summer!

After a quick stop at the cabin to change and refuel, we headed back to Coeur d'Alene for "gooies"  (huge bowels of ice cream and cookies) and spent a few minutes playing at a splash pad. Another pandemic first for our family. Can you tell Mason was in heaven?!

Back at the cabin that evening, we celebrated an early birthday for Michelle since most of us wouldn't get to be there on her special day.

Wednesday morning was cool and cloudy so we went disc golfing instead of playing in the water. Alan, Marc, and Zac are quite competitive and were full of confidence at the beginning. Unbeknownst to them, Jordan played disc golf almost every day during his college years and was very good. He beat them all and they came back a little more humble. Haha! Except for Spencer. He was already humble. 

The girls and little kids played at our own pace and spent the last hour throwing rocks in the river.

That evening, we built a fire and had s'mores while we waited for Lindsey and Jordan to return from a romantic date. The rest of us all knew that Jordan was planning to propose during the reunion and had made sure to give them opportunities for alone time. He popped the question overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene at sunset and she said yes! Lindsey said she didn't start suspecting anything until Alan was uncharacteristically nice to her and offered to wash the dishes so they could leave sooner. Haha! Jordan treats Lindsey very well and they seem so happy together. We are thrilled to welcome him to the family!

If anyone took a whole group picture I don't have it. Bummer! That's what happens without Mom there to make sure it happens. It was definitely a weird reunion without some very important people, but the rest of us still had a great time. I never laugh harder than I do when I'm with my siblings. Our little family needed that vacation SO badly after being trapped in a state that had been largely shut down for five months. Thankfully, we will get to see almost everyone at the wedding in November!