Family reunion Part III

Friday night we played a Minute to Win It games with the kids.  In the first game the kids had to balance a Starburst on a tongue depressor for one minute.  My brother then increased the number of Starbursts on the sticks for the kids.

And then they played the game where you move the cookie down from your forehead to your mouth in one minute.  It was so much fun to see them try to move the skin on their faces so that the cookies will move.  What I noticed is that without all the wrinkles and age, their skin does not move very well and they have a very difficult time moving the cookie on their faces.

In the next game, the kids took one pencil and balanced it on the back of their hands and then with that same hand, they had to catch the the pencil.  And then they increased the number of pencils.

In the last game...the kids had a Kleenex box with Christmas bulbs in them.  They had to shake out all of the decorations in a minute.  They were so cute, all of them.

What a fun evening.

Family Reunion Part II

Friday morning we took some family pictures, ate some lunch and then we drove up to Cascade Springs.  As a child, my dad took us up to Cascade Springs and we loved it.  I think the kids enjoyed all the water.

When Jeremy and I were either engaged or first married, we drove up to Cascade Springs.  It was earlier in the morning and there was a mama moose and her calf, walking in the springs.  Jeremy and I sat on those stairs and watched the moose for awhile.  This trip brought back that memory.

It was a beautiful day.  As Jeremy and I were on our way back down the mountain, we got stuck behind some cars.  We were very confused why we were stopped.  Finally we saw the teenage son run back to the car with his camera.  They had stopped in the middle of the road so that the teenage son could run out and take a picture of a mother moose and baby.  But the crazy thing was, these moose were right there next to the road.  It was so stupid of that boy to get out the car and get so close to the animals.

So much fun to be together as a family.

Family Reunion in July Part 1

My sister-in-law organized a family reunion and we had such a great time.  One of my brother's brought some games for us to play...Minute to Win It games.  Here we had one minute to put up a pyrimid and take it down.  SM did it...barely.  I wasn't quite so talented.  I am not very fast under pressure.

Soon the kiddos joined us and began stacking the cups.  It was so much fun!

As you can see, we stopped timing once the kids joined us and just let them have fun and be creative.

We had a lot of fun.  The reunion started on a Thursday evening and went until Saturday afternoon.

4th of July Activities

The 4th of July was full of smiles!  We started the day with my family reunion down in Lehi.  It's an annual reunion and has been held for as long as I remember.  July fourth is the day that my grandparents got married in the temple in Calgary, Canada.  I was able to see my grandmother, aunts and uncles, cousins, cousins' kids and their kids.  It was a great reunion.

Still, lots of smiles!!  After my reunion we went to SM's brother's house for some games, water activities, a barbecue, a play produced by all the kids and fireworks that evening.  We did have a little bit of excitement when one of the fireworks that we set off in the front yard entered the group.  A few members of the family got burns on their clothes and exposed skin but no one was really hurt.  Mostly, we were all scared but then we got everything accounted for and finished up the fireworks.

SM's sister was so excited to try the water slide for the first time...and she was a natural.  She is an awesome athlete and so she can add one more sport to her impressive list.

And here are the non-water slide family members.  We were really important since we provided the clapping and cheering for all the water slide participants.

And we checked out our muscles...or at least those with muscles checked out their muscles.  The rest of us just laughed.



That evening the kids produced a play...The Three Little Pigs...and we were glad we had that starting information because it was a bit hard to follow.  But the kids had a great time and we enjoyed clapping and cheering for them.

The evening closed with our own fireworks in the front street.  As I mentioned before, we did have one large firework shoot off into our group.  We are glad no one was hurt and that we could enjoy such a fabulous day with all our family.

Lehi Roundup Days Parade and 5K Run

I went to the Lehi Roundup Parade on Friday night (sometime in June) and two of my brothers came with their families, plus my baby sister showed up with her husband.  Here's one of my brothers' and his wife.

And here's my other brother and his wife.  I don't know why I forgot to ask my brothers to take off their sunglasses but now they look alike with their glasses on.

And there's my sister and her hubby!

And there are my parents and two nieces!  I have such a cute family!

And here I am with one of my nephews!  It was a very warm evening but as soon as people from the parade started throwing candy, the kids didn't notice the heat at all.

Here's my sister's baby boy.  He was chomping on some watermelon through the mesh.  He loved it!

And my last nephew.  I sat by him the whole time.  At one time during the parade, a band started playing some slower, classical music and he commented that he didn't like that kind of music because it made him sleepy.  Good to know.

The miniature floats were awesome.  I could have taken a hundred photos but rather I enjoyed the parade and only took a few of my favorite floats.  Can you guess this float?

This was a Dr. Seuss themed float.  I really loved that Thing 1,2,3,4,5,and 6 were pulling it.  When I was a younger teenager I ended up pulling three or four miniature floats.  I don't ever remember riding on them or walking behind them, just pulling them.

Saturday morning I got up and joined my dad and brother in our first 5K run.  (Actually I think my brother had run a 5K before).  My dad was super excited and he should have been, he came in third for his age group.  I came in 10th for my age group and my brother came in 8th or so...can't really remember but I know it was before 10.

Here we are at the end of the race...all with our red faces.  My mom was waiting for us all to cross the finish line.  She got a picture of my dad finishing, and then my brother but when I crossed, her battery ran out on the camera.  Good thing I had my own camera.  I really enjoyed running with my dad and brother, even if they beat me by one minute.

Later that Saturday morning Mom and I returned to the parade route to see my dad in the parade.  We ran into our friends Lisa and Mark and they sat right next to us.

Here's my dad sitting on the bales of hay getting ready to throw candy.  Those other men are also Stake Presidents or Stake President Counselors.

"Hey DAD!  Look over here!"  Yep, I got his attention right when he was ready to throw another handful of candy.

I love that I grew up in a small town with summer traditions and I love that I can return and relive so many childhood memories.  I also like that this year I made a new memory of running with my brother and dad.  What a great summer!