Duck Creek Finale (Warning: Possibly the Longest Post Ever)

In the spirit of what we watched Michael Phelps do at the Olympics this summer, we're not only going to try to break the world record for most pictures ever put in one post, we're going to try to shatter it. For those of you brave enough to attempt to make it through all the pictures, we suggest you stop and take a short power nap halfway through so that you have enough strength to make it all the way. We thought about not doing any captions at all and just letting readers try to figure out what's going on in each photo to make the post a little shorter, but we decided against that. So here are the rest of our favorite pictures from our Olsen (Matt's mom's side) family reunion in Duck Creek, UT from late July with minimal captions. We'll break them down into a few categories to keep some semblance of organization.

Hiking/Scenery:

Our family at Strawberry Point (a very beautiful lookout point close to Duck Creek)...

Shaylin, Jayna, Grandma Olsen, and Emmalyn at Strawberry Point...


Shaylin, Emmalyn, and Matt close to Strawberry Point...


Dad and Mom Hedges and our family close to Strawberry Point - mom and dad rode the four wheelers, but we drove so the kids could come.

Grandma Olsen with our family...


Grandma, Shaylin, Jayna, and Emmalyn walking to Strawberry Point...

Emmalyn just chillaxing a little bit while waiting to walk over to the lookout at Strawberry Point...



Andy, Matt, Dad Hedges, Rachel, Dan, Lauren, and Hilary posing next to the 'Trail Closed' sign before proceeding down the washed out trail to Cascade Falls...


Andy and Matt at the top of Cascade Falls...


Group photo in the Ice Cave (which actually had some snow/ice in it) Front Row: Lauren, Aunt Linda, Hilary, Rachel, Dan; Back Row: Andy and Matt...


Matt and Shaylin in Mammoth Cave. The cave was pitch black except for our flashlights so it was interesting to see what the whole thing looked like when lit up from the flash...


Mom Hedges and Jayna in Mammoth Cave...


Around the Campfire:

There was a big fire pit behind the main cabin that Grandma stayed in. At least part of every night was spent hanging out behind the cabin and around the fire eating, visiting, and making smores.

Shaylin and Kaleen hanging out by the fire...

Lacey (Matt's brother John's girlfriend) and Shaylin by the fire...


Declan and Christian (Shaylin's cousins), Shaylin, and Jayna roasting marshmallows...


Jayna and Shaylin hanging out by the fire...


Matt and Shaylin roasting a marshmallow...


Shaylin used to not like rain at all, but we found out when it rained during one of the last nights we were there that she now apparently loves it. She was running around getting wet with her cousins behind the cabin and having a great time...


Shooting Guns:

Another fun thing we got to do in Duck Creek was shoot some of the pistols that Matt's brother Nate and our brother-in-law Andy brought up with them.

Matt shooting at a spot we found just off the trail...


Unfortunately we didn't get a good picture of Jayna shooting, but here's Matt, Emmalyn, and Shaylin waiting in the car for her...


Family Pictures:

For some reason Shaylin threw a fit when we tried to take a nice family picture at the Hedges reunion and then again when we tried in the middle of the week at the Olsen reunion. So on Saturday morning right before we left for home we tried one last time and finally got her to smile for a family picture.


Matt's extended family: Front Row: Becca, Christian, Mom, Jessica, Jayna, and Shaylin. Back Row: John, Andy, Dad, Emmalyn, Matt, Nate, and Declan...


The whole extended Olsen family behind the main cabin: Front Row: Kaleen, Meghan, Christian, Emily. Second Row: Dad Hedges, Linda, Lauren, Hilary, Dan, Rachel, Jill, John, Lacey. Third Row: Terrell, Spencer, Rick, Grandma, Mom Hedges, Emmalyn (sleeping). Fourth Row: Elaine, Dana, Irene, Declan, Becca, Jayna, Shaylin. Fifth Row: Sheldon, Roy, Don, Jessica, Andy, Matt


Grandma Olsen with all of her great grandkids: Shaylin, Declan, Emmalyn, Jessica, and Christian...


Just Hanging Out:

The activities were all fun, but one of the best parts was just being able to relax for a week and enjoy each other's company. Here's some random pics from the week.

Shaylin on the front porch of the main cabin....


Shaylin and Declan playing together on the front porch of the main cabin...

Shaylin, Emmalyn, and Jayna swinging...

Jayna and Shaylin getting ready to ride a four wheeler around the parking lot...


Shaylin by the playground they had there (which of course she loved)...

Shaylin hanging out in her chair on the back porch of the main cabin and looking surprised that we're taking so many pictures...

Jayna and Emmalyn...


Shaylin and her cousin Christian holding hands...

Shaylin is super shy when she gets around people she doesn't know, especially big groups. In this picture Elaine is saying hi and Shaylin is desperately trying not to make eye contact...


We set up a few hammocks behind the main cabin and the kids loved getting swung back and forth in them. Shaylin especially enjoyed getting to swing with her cousins Christian and Declan...


Emmalyn half smiling at Aunt Linda...

Matt had a little PhotoShop fun with this picture and took out all the color except for Emmalyn's eyes. We were a little surprised that Emmalyn's eyes turned out blue, because Jayna has hazel eyes and Matt has brown eyes and only one person in each of our immediate families has blue eyes.


Shaylin...


Matt and Jayna...


Shaylin and Mom Hedges...