4th of July

How do you celebrate your favorite holiday when there is a state-wide ban on fireworks due to Colorado wildfires?

You Wear Red, White, and Blue,

 You have an All-American Barbecue

Complete with festive desserts.

 

 You take pictures of all the 2 year old cousins together on the trampoline.

 And then all the 4 year old cousins,

And you quickly realize that perhaps a trampoline is not the best spot for a posed photo shoot.

Your 4-year-old tugs on your sleeve to ask if we can all say the Pledge of Allegiance.  That little light bulb goes off above your head that says "Gee, why didn't I think of that".  (Thank you, Addison, and our awesome Preschool Moms!)

As the sun goes down, you play Pictionary Junior with everyone, just as competitvely as if we were all the same age.  The grownups love it just as much as the kids.

 You pop open the glow sticks, of course.

And when the sun has set at last and the rest of the country is spoiling themselves in all pyrotechnic glory, you project your own fireworks onto a sheet on the backyard wall.  And you turn up the speakers to hear the boom as loud as it will go.  And you play it to streamed patriotic music.  And you let the kids take turns putting on the fireworks show and making their own grand finale.

Because that's what you do when there is a state-wide ban on fireworks due to Colorado wildfires.

Reunion Time

If there is one thing we know how to do right, it is Family Reunions.  Every 2 years, my siblings and parents and all our kids get together for a 4-day Family Reunion Retreat. 

First there was just us...

Janae, Shaun, Tauna, Brent, Heidi
Me, Dad, Mom, Cheri

And then we all got married...

Enoch & Janae, Braden & Cheri, Dad & Mom, Steve & Me, Chris & Tauna, Nate & Heidi
Susan & Shaun, Brent & Sunny

And we all had kids...

No, I'm not typing all the names :)

So that's:   2 Parents + 7 Kids + 7 Spouses + 27 Grandchildren =

43 AMAZING FAMILY MEMBERS 

I LOVE this family!

For the second consecutive reunion we went to a lodge near Colorado Springs, CO.

Yes, near the wildfires.
No, we were not evacuated, but met lots of people that had been.
Yes, we could see the haze and smoke produced by the fire on the other side of the mountain.
No, we were not worried, but we were aware that we could get evacuated at any time.

Um....To say we had a great time is an understatement.  WOW doesn't even suffice.  We are an amazing family.  We support each other.  We are positive and optimistic, but also know that we all have hard times.  We all have different strengths to offer.  And we all love to be together.  Among many many things we did:

We celebrated my parent's 46th Anniversary, my sister's 33rd birthday, and my nephew's baptism.

Carnival Day
 
Ah yes, the donut on the string game knows NO age limit.

Cousin Cameron was SO determined to GET THAT DONUT!

Yes, this looks like a 3 legged race, but really, there are 8 people tied together.  That takes communication and team building!:

And the face painting was amazing! Way to go Tauna and Nate!

Marshmallow Fights

Due to the wildfires, s'mores were out of the question, so we used our mini marshmallows in the most effective competitive way we knew how:  Made blow guns out of PVC pipes.  WATCH OUT!

Iron Chef!
Last Reunion's Minute to Win it night was such a success that this year's game show theme was Iron Chef...we were given a cart full of food, 10 minutes to plan 2 entrees + 1 side + 1 dessert, and 1 hour to get it all prepared to be judged.

Yes, I was terrified:  I am a cookbook follow instructions kind of gal...but I was AMAZED at what each of the teams came up with!  It didn't hurt that I was on the same team of Nate who used to work as a chef at Turtle Bay in Hawaii...and my Mom.


GAMES GAMES GAMES!  
The day is dedicated to the kids.  But by NIGHT all of the grown ups can be found talking and playing games all night long!!!

Nothing makes you laugh harder than seeing Enoch act out Ariel in Clue Charades!

PARTNERS IN CRIME
It's always fun to see cousins bond...but when it's lunch time and we couldn't find our two 2-year old best friend cousins Alana and Avery, we began a search party.

 We searched high and low, in the woods and near the fishing pond, but FINALLY found them locked in a bedroom, giggling away...they had discovered the stash of marshmallows hiding in Grandma & Grandpa's room!  And they found her nail polish, and the cheerio "beads" for necklaces.  And the vase of flowers.  And the perfect jumping beds.  When they found all these treasures, they sure were smart to lock the door and keep it all to themselves!

After we unscrewed the doorknob, popped the back screen off the 2nd story window and climbed up a ladder to get in, we discoveredthis:

This picture gives it NO justice, but the room was TRASHED!
Here the girls are trying to get the nail polish off their COVERED toes:

Talent Shows, Night Games, Glow-in-the-dark Ultimate Frisbee, Water Balloon Toss, Kites, Hikes, Water Ball Launches, etc...We had the greatest time ever!

Steve and I are in charge of our next reunion in 2014...any suggestions are welcome!  And we are just excited to be all together again!