Do family visits count as vacation?

I've always had that question in my mind - probably because I have lived away from family for so long. When I get vacation time at work I always spend it with family. Now, I am lucky because the majority of my family are cool-cats with only a few loony-tunes thrown in for color.

While we made our way across this great country, we had the chance to see new places, experience things we will never get the opportunity to experience again and broaden our horizons.

We also had the chance to catch up with family that we haven't seen in quite a long time.



This is a shot of the Salt Lake clan at an impromptu family reunion that was held while we were there.

It was great to get to spend time with the cousins that I grew up with. I think the last time I spent any real quality time with them was when I was 15 and spent several weeks in SLC one summer. Since then it's been the requisite wedding and funeral appearances when everyone is too emotional or stressed out to really get into any trouble.



These are people that not only share my family history, but some of the greatest childhood memories I have.

It was wonderful to see them and now that we're back in Arizona maybe we'll get to see them more often.