Family Reunion

                               Every July Farris' family has a reunion, sometimes in Burley at his grandma's house, where we were this year.  We love going, his cousins are so much fun and it's nice to see everyone that we don't see often, except once a year at the reunion!  This year there were lots of activities, including a huge bounce house style slide.  I think our kids were on it about 90% of the time we were there.  And miraculously, even with about 20 kids on it, there were no broken bones or knocked out teeth.

 Of course, they did spend some time building these:

 Rocky and Stacey brought the making's for marshmallow guns and all the kids went to town! 

Abby would just grab whatever pvc pipe piece came close to her and stick it together in all kinds of wacky ways.  She's a builder.

After making the "basic" model, they started modifying it, we had long barreled shotguns, double barreled, pistols, crazy up and down models.  Not all of them worked very well, but much fun was had.  And guess which adult was right there in the middle of it all?

  Yep, Farris.  After a little while all the kids were ganging up on him and marshmallows were flying at full speed all over the yard.  We made a huge mess, but we had so much fun.

The next morning (after a yummy breakfast) we played minute to win it games.  We divided into family groups.  Kelan, on the end, was our representative.  He's finding a gummy worm in the middle of cool whip.  And he got a little covered.

We filled buckets by passing a soaked sponge down a line.  Now, let me tell you something.  I love Farris' cousins and aunts and uncles, we always have a ball at the reunions and any other time we all get together.  But they are cheaters.  I know, I know, Farris looks so innocent, it's not true.  I have heard it all started with Grandpa.  Regardless, they are all cheaters.  And we all laugh and then try to top each other.  Towards the end of this race there were sponges flying through the air, just bypassing the line.  It was all good, though, we were laughing pretty hard.

This race that Caleb volunteered for was something about an elephant.  We put a tennis ball in the toe of a pair of nylons and then tied it (we were promised that they had never been used) to heads.  Then they had to swing the ball back and forth to knock over the cans of pop that were lined up.  We learned quickly that the nylons stretch, so tie it closer to the head than your first instinct.

I think this was blowing bubbles through the hoop?  This is the problem with writing this a couple months after it happened, I forget.  But I do remember that all the little kids wanted to hold the hoop.  Look at Joseph beaming.

This one was fun.  Put a golf tee in your mouth, balance a ping pong ball on the tee, and hold it steady while your partner knocks it off with the blast from a squirt gun.  Poor Jaydon had a hard time keeping the tee straight.

Joseph, of course, loved the squirt gun.

And we had to do the cookie down your face into your mouth without touching it with your fingers game.  At any minute to win it party you have to play that game, it's classic.

This picture is of Farris freezing his stomach.  Joseph is demonstrating how he should try his armpit, and I did have another picture with Rocky holding his legs together like he had to go to the bathroom really, really bad.  This game made everyone do strange things.  Each group was given a t-shirt that have been frozen solid (like a week in the freezer) in a big, tight, very cold ice cube lump.  We had to warm it up enough that someone could put it on.  After thawing it enough, we had a tug of war to open it up, and then froze Caleb while we pulled, pushed and prodded it on him.

Felicity with two of her 2nd cousins.  She had a blast with them.

Our family came in third place and since Abigail is the youngest, she accepted the trophy for the family.  We purposely left at Farris' moms house because she's the head of the family, anyway.

Then there was a near indestructible pinata.  I seriously have never seen a pinata get so battered and still stay together.  It must have been the triple layers of duct tape.  Farris has some cousins who grew up on a farm, and let's just say I wouldn't want to be in a fight with them.  And that pinata gave them a run for their money.  But eventually it burst and the kids scooped up tons of candy.

Rocky and Stacey also brought a little sized motorcycle and four wheeler.  Luckily they brought the helmets to go with it.  I didn't get a picture of the aftermath, but Caleb had a little accident.  He decided he wanted to ride the motorcycle, so a few adult men crowded around him with many instructions.  His eyes got wider and wider, and he finally told Farris that he didn't want to go.  Farris encouraged him anyway.  As he started it was ok, Rocky and Farris  were able to keep up with him by running along side, but them he turned into a tighter place of the yard, got a little nervous and accelerated instead of braking straight toward the line of parked cars.  And he crashed into one of our cousins cars.  He was pretty shaken up and his ribs hurt where he hit the handle bars, but none the worse for wear.  Unfortunately, there was a nice sized dent in the car door. Our insurance was able to work with us to take care of it.  Poor Caleb, not a great beginning to his adventures on a motorcycle!

Thanks to Chuck's kids for being in charge this year, it was so much fun, they did a great job!

A Trip to the M...useum with (no Russ) Ellen

Ha.  Unless you've been to the Shoshone Showhouse (our local movie theater when I was a kid) you probably won't get the title, but I couldn't resist.

But for those who haven't seen the childhood classic, A Trip to the Movies With Russ and Ellen, I'll just get started.  We went to Thanksgiving Point's dinosaur museum with my Aunt Ellen, several cousins, and a lot of kids that I couldn't count because they were constantly moving.  My cousin Amy, who used to be called "me'n'amy" at my house because of how quickly I would tell of our latest adventures, was there with her cute kids.  Amy has lived in Washington state, then Washington DC area and was on her way to Italy because her husband is in the Navy.  Every time she moves I vow that I will go visit her, and then three years are up and I haven't.  So we don't get to see each other very often.  But I have a HUGE desire to go see her in Italy since I've wanted to get there from way back when I fell in love with the movie Roman Holiday and any little tidbits I ever heard, read, or saw about Venice. We've got three years to save some money and an invite to stay with them if we get can get there.  I can always dream, right?  Anyway, it was fun to see her again, even though we were chasing kids the whole time.

 We happened to go on the day that everything was themed with Harry Potter.  My kids were enthralled.  Now, my kids have always been a little sensitive when it comes to somewhat scary things, so I've only let Felicity and Caleb read the first three Harry Potters and I've told them they can't watch any of the movies until they've read the book that goes with it.  I love the series, I think JK Rowling did an amazing job inventing a world and her writing is wonderful, but I want my kids to be a little older before they get to scary Voldemort coming back to life.  But whether they have read any of the books at all, they still understand that Harry Potter is pretty cool, so they loved all the extra things that were around the museum.

 Before we even went in, they were able to be sorted into houses and meet Hedwig. 

 At the beginning of the museum, they have a special display called Tinkering, it's filled with all kinds of hands on experiments and things they can bang, throw, run and basically tinker with.  We could have spent a few hours in there easily.

 On that day, they also had Ollivander's Wand Shop and each of the kids got to make their own wand.  Most of which were promptly lost in the museum.  I think we made it home with two of the five.  But they enjoyed it anyway!

 One favorite part of the museum is where they can build sand bars and rivers, make islands for dinosaurs and then watch as the river erodes it all away.  I think they just like the excuse to get wet and dirty!

 And we always have to pose in front of the giant shark head.  It's a good thing they have their magic wands!

 And then at the end they all get to fill every crevice in their clothes with sand while they uncover the dinosaur bones.  They love this part, too, and they would have stayed longer if they weren't getting so hungry for lunch.

 Abby thought it was fantastic to dig in the sand until she got a face full of it.  Then she was pretty much done.

 A not great picture of our group, but it's hard to get everyone to sit still when they know they're about to get ICE CREAM! At Thanksgiving Point they have a little ice cream shop where you can get fifty cent ice cream cones, and our hungry kids were...really hungry.

  We ate them outside on the tables and Felicity took my camera to get a few fun pictures while all of us adults were still gabbing.  And when Joseph sees a camera, he has to jump in front of it.

 I think this is one of my favorite pictures ever of Abigail.

 Casting spells with the wands (before we lose them).

 My sweet, silly, happy boys.  After we finished at the museum, we headed over to Aunt Ellen's house to chat some more while the kids played, played, played. They love Aunt Ellen's house, and so do I.

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I'm going to throw in a few more pictures from the beginning of July.  

Can you see who is making the ruckus in this picture?

 Yes, that would be Daddy.  Because of our hard tile floors, any wrestling that goes on upstairs has to be on the couches.  And sometimes ends up with bumped heads or backsides.  But that doesn't stop the pile up when dad starts his tickling. 

 

Does it make you think of Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride when he talks about how he uses different moves for fighting lots of men than he does with just one?  Yeah, Farris isn't afraid to wrestle with five and, like Andre, he actually comes out on top most of the time.

 And then I have to share these pictures from Abigail and Big Brother Joseph.  I found them one day sitting on the couch, with Joseph reading to her.  Makes me smile.

 

 These two have a lot of their personalities in common.  Oh, it's going to be interesting to watch these two extroverts bursting out of our fairly introverted family.  They keep things exciting.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Forth of July! Even though I'm actually posting this on September 1st, hopefully this picture will get you in the patriotic mood. 

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Our 4th of July has lots of traditions, the setting for all the festivities is my dad's hometown of Huntsville.  It's grown a lot since I was little, but they do their best to have a small town feel to all the 4th of July goings-on.  My Aunt and Uncle own the house my grandpa built for my grandma when they were engaged.  It always feels just a little bit like stepping back into time when I go there, especially the '50's style kitchen and sitting room that haven't changed much since grandma was alive.  Grandma had very classic taste and I love the feel of things worn well through time.  My kids don't notice the details in the house, they just settle right in to chasing, giggling, and playing hard until they drop with their cousins. 

 Mom and Dad have brought their two hammocks the last few years, but if you want to sit in them be prepared for some competition, they are well liked.  This time the kids decided that there needed to be a "boy's hammock" and a "girl's hammock."  Poor Reid is trying to keep his hammock from collapsing, but it's hard when you've got four little boys bouncing and rocking and basically trying to collapse it. 

 The girls hammock was a little quieter, but there was plenty of giggling and a little tipping, too.

 Elizabeth, of course, is completely shocked at their behavior.

 

 The next morning starts early with the local police going through the town with their sirens to wake everyone up at 6:00 for the 10K/5K/Fun Run and the pancake breakfast.  Some of us (this year there was four--me, Farris, Chad and Reid) go for the run, the rest get our kids ready (thank you all who struggle getting our five kids dressed and presentable and get them to the breakfast while Farris and I run, our children would be hungry ragmuffins without you!) and up to the breakfast and save our usual spot for the parade.  Farris did great this year, I was a little slower than last year. I guess the "no training at all" idea wasn't very good.  Maybe next year!

 After we've all eaten and cleaned up, it's time for the parade.  This year we had a bunch of our Trickler cousins come, too.  It was fun to see them, especially my cousin Amy who had been living in DC, and is now in Italy.  I haven't seen her and her family as much as I would like to, and it will probably be a while until I see her again, so it was fun catching up while chasing babies together.  Farris' sister and her family came again, too, it's a fun tradition to have them come up every year.  Scott runs the 10K with Farris and Cindi and I have a chance to catch up while the kids all run wild together. 

The kids took Melissa's camera and had loads of fun with it.

 Mom always brings something for the kids to hold (or occasionally throw) during the parade.  A favorite is when she brings little flags for everyone. 

 Abby snuggled right into my cousin Travis.  I think she melted his heart a little bit.

 She looks like she's planning some dastardly deed, doesn't she.

 Every year the parade starts with some men and boys in Revolutionary War costumes and a very old, very loud cannon. Very loud.

 The boys.

 Michael has four sisters.  He's always so glad when my three boys come!

That was Abby's popcorn.  At least in her little head is was. 

Here's a shot of most of our group.  I think it's the biggest we've had yet!  Poor Aunt DaNeice got invaded this year, but she's such a sweet softie, I think she enjoyed it very much.

After the parade we headed back to the house for a yummy lunch and lots more chatting and playing.  That gorilla gets carried all over the place.

Aunt DaNiece and Dad went for a ride. Dad hadn't been on a bike for years, but I think he enjoyed going around the block a few times.  I loved seeing this. 

 

In the last few years we've started a tradition of watching the fireworks from the backyard and then have our own show with glowsticks.  The kids dance and run and have light saber fights and generally have a blast until they are so exhausted they can't see straight.  Then it's back into the tents until we pack up in the morning.  So much fun every year.