We had our week long reunion with all of Brett's siblings and families in July. This post is a little behind, but I was waiting to get photos from everyone and we're all busy! It was a lot of fun and we took a lot of photos and made even more memories. I sure love this family!
We all met in Sun Valley at Grandpa's cabin on the afternoon of the 4th of July. Right now, there are siblings living in California, North Carolina, Texas, and Nebraska. This is one spread out bunch so we don't get together too often.
We took some fun photos of everyone since we were all dressed up in patriotic gear. We lined up all the 15 grandkids and it was an entertaining photo to say the least!
We were out in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and the kids were obsessed with the fire hydrant! Haha!
Rebecca is one of the strongest ladies I know! She does an amazing job taking care of her kids on her own. We missed Isaac very much through this whole week. We also really missed Nick who was studying for and taking his boards for medical school.
Elizabeth and Paige were awesome helpers with the little ones. It make me excited as Kayla gets a little older that she'll be an even better helper than she is.
From the moment we got there, Kayla and Caroline hit it off and had a lot of fun together!
While on our walk, I snapped this funny photo of everyone looking at the same photo on their cameras.
Grandma Jean was the master of soothing the babies!
Kayla and Wyatt are adorable together!
Someone had to round up the strollers! haha!
On our walk back, Tyson insisted on pushing Carly. He'd stop and run around to check on her to see if she was enjoying the ride. It was so adorable!
We found a bike trailer at the cabin and Brett ran around giving the kids rides. They all had a lot of fun!
There was a lot of time spent outside exploring and it didn't take long for Alex to find a dead snake! All the boys loved it and Kayla jumped right in and grabbed the guts! Eek!
The girls all brought dress up dresses to share and they wore them almost constantly. It was so precious watching them play together and I love that Kayla has so many fun cousins to play with! There's a lot of fun in the future for these kiddos.
Brett decided we should do smores around the fireplace. We wanted to do it outside but didn't want to risk anything with the dry grassy areas. He was a smore making machine and the best marshmallow roaster I know!
Another fun aspect of the cabin in the hot tub/pool. Its such a great place for everyone to gather.
We all went on a hike together to Titus Lake or at least part of the way to the lake. It was beautiful scenery and not too difficult as hikes go, but we had 13 kids ages 13 and under and it was a bit rough for them.
Kayla and Caroline were the cutest little hiking buddies!
At one point, both the kids wanted daddy to carry them. Good thing he's stronger than I am!
We stopped after awhile to decided whether to keep going. Brett was the main one wanting to continue and then got an unusual and out of the blue bloody nose! And poor Tyson's eye was swelling shut from a mosquito bike. We took that as a sign we should head back. :)
Grandma brought lots of water balloons and the kids loved it, unless they got hit in the face. There were laughs, screams and tears.
Grandma also brought the ingredients for giant bubbles! It was so awesome and all the kids did so well. Kayla was a natural with the bubbles.
Like I mentioned above, Tyson got stung by a mosquito right above his right eye. It swelled up so bad that I was a little worried. I guess its not unusual for eye bug bites to swell like that and it wore off after a few days. We gave him benadryl one night and instead of knocking him out, he was crazy! He ran around bopping the babies on their heads, stealing their food, and acting like a mad man! I'm also glad that wore off quickly.
One morning, Rebecca, her kids, and us went to Redfish Lake. It was a crisp, clear morning and we were some of the first to arrive at the lake. The water was pretty cold but that's always the case. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand.
We rented a canoe and Brett took turns with all the kids going out and they all loved it!
We listened to music and danced on the beach and Kayla showed off some of her best dance moves.
After lunch, the kids started to get tired so Kayla and Wyatt snuggled up together under the chairs together.
I plan on recreating this photo every time our family goes to Red Fish Lake. Its some of the best scenery around a lake in the world. Its so beautiful! A little slice of heaven on earth.
We got back to the cabin and the dress up fun continued!
Popsicles were almost a main course for these kiddos.
These turtles were from Brett's childhood. They have now provided entertainment for generations. Kayla loved them!
Grandma and Grandpa bought presents for all the little ones. All the girls got princess barbie dolls and the boys all got super soakers. The girls also got matching tutus. They loved their presents.
Uncle Brett set up the kiddie pool and the kids had a big water fight!
We all got dressed up and had family photos taken. While we were waiting, I snapped a few photos of my little family. I sure love these boys of mine! Tyson is such a happy boy!
Kayla and Tyson are the light of our lives. I couldn't be more proud of my little ones.
I'm excited to see the full family photos that we got taken.
Before we wrapped up, we had to snap this photo of the fab five, or the five kids born within a year of each other. We recreated the photo we took three years ago at the last big reunion and I love it!
We didn't get any photos of the food, but Grandma Jean made sure to plan and execute delicious and amazing food for the entire trip. We got spoiled as usual by her cooking and desserts. We're so grateful for all the work she and Tom put into making the reunion not only possible, but a success as well. We sure love Grandma Jean!
We also had some fun with Minute to Win It games but I'll do a separate post for that. The pictures are too funny not to share!!
