family reunion day 3

The weather probably wreaked the most havoc on our plans on Friday. We were supposed to go for a hike in the morning, have a picnic lunch, and then spend the afternoon at the lake. Right as we pulled into the parking lot at the base of the hike it started to pour. Awesome. We waited for awhile hoping it would pass quickly but it soon became apparent that we would not be that lucky. So most of the women as well as the older grandkids headed to the outlets while the rest went back to the house. Later in the afternoon the weather cleared so we headed down the hill from the house to play at a school playground and then went on a short hike nearby. It warmed up quite nicely and the scenery was beautiful.

Claire and Tatum excited for a fun filled day. This was before the rain ruined all their hopes and dreams. :) 

 Tatum and Jade playing a card game to pass the time. I'm sure Tatum had no idea what she was doing but this picture sure makes her look grown up.

Grandma helped keep the millions of children entertained with one of the many awesome scavenger hunts she planned. This one all the four and unders were working on finding the letters to spell their names.

The hike that wasn't clearly wiped Caleb out.

 Declan just got to hang out on my lap at the park. The grass was too wet to play on and there were no baby swings. At least he was happy.

Tatum was a good little hiker and almost made it the whole way up on her own two legs. Lucky for her Aunt Crystal was in the mood to spoil and carried her in the end.

 We bought this backpack off craigslist right before our trip. It probably isn't my favorite model but we were sure grateful to have something to carry that chunk in. He absolutely freaks out every time we put him in it, but clearly he gets over it.

 Finn was not a fan of this hike.

 Ella let me carry her for awhile and we had lots of fun!

 We made it! Poor Declan fell and hit his mouth on the table earlier in the day and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Before we started the hike it had finally stopped but on the way up he started chewing on a strap and looked like a vampire by the time we looked at him again.

 Such a pretty part of the country. I wouldn't hesitate to come back.

 Panoramas are cool but we obviously need a little more practice with our new camera.

Tatum and Ella entertained themselves with a horsey ride from papa before dinner.

 After dinner was the every popular cousin birthday gift exchange. The purpose of this tradition is to cut back on the number of gifts we all have to buy since there are 17 grandkids so far. But mostly it's to help them actually associate a face with the gift they receive. When it's actually their birthdays they get lots of presents from lots of people and saying "this is from your cousin Wyatt who you haven't seen in a year" won't necessarily mean a lot. So they each give to one and receive from one and hopefully it is more meaningful this way and helps them foster stronger relationships with each other.

Ella got to start us out this year and was very excited about her puppies.

 Tatum was so excited about her Daniel Tiger figurines and already has the book memorized.

 This picture just makes me laugh. :)

 Again, just makes me laugh. Don't we all look thrilled? I guess we are just bitter there isn't a gift exchange for the adults. :)

 Tatum had Henry this year and she chose his gift, hopefully he liked it!

 Gavin was excited for his model car.

 And Jaren with his Spiderman, the perfect pair.

Kelbie was nice enough to read stories before bed that night. See, I told you I basically had the week off from parenting. ;)