Brennan and Rachel: family reunion days 1 & 2

Last week we headed out to Colorado for our family reunion. It was our year to plan it, which made the days leading up to it just as stressful as they were exciting. With Brennan just starting a new job we weren't sure if he would be able to come for the whole thing since vacation accrues so slowly at the beginning. Luckily he has a great boss who allowed him to work away from the office and borrow ahead if he needed to. It was so nice to have him there for the entire week.

A day or two before the reunion my sister sent me a picture of the forecast where we would be staying and it showed highs in the 50s and rain nearly everyday. With lots of outdoor activities planned I felt pretty discouraged. We were so blessed to have warmer temperatures nearly everyday. And while there were afternoon thunderstorms everyday, there were also lots of windows of nice weather, allowing us to get outside.

As we drove to the house we were renting I was getting more and more nervous. Some of the houses near it were looking a little worn down and less than appealing. I was so afraid I had rented a lemon! Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case. It was certainly an older home and most people would quickly tell you the furniture left much to be desired in the comfort category. But with 7 bedrooms we had plenty of room, there were three tables for eating giving us nearly enough seating for everyone and I actually kind of liked that the furniture and decor showed signs of wear, much less stressful to have 17 kids running around wreaking havoc. All-in-all I was pleased.

Everyone arrived Wednesday evening and we all got settled and ate dinner together. We played a few games that night, but mostly the adults visited and the kids played.

Claire and Tatum hung out on Grandma and Papa's big bed and read books together. Claire is such a great cousin, she let Tatum follow her around and was always helping her with things.

Thursday morning we headed to Breckenridge to ride the Gondola and hang out. The ride was fun and we even got to see a giant moose!

Such beautiful scenery everywhere!

Wyatt and Jaren doing what they do best, being silly.

After the Gondola ride we hiked up to a big mountain of snow. The kids thought that was great. Tatum had to go potty the minute we got there so she and Brennan immediately turned around to hike back down and missed all the fun.

Being the youngest certainly has its perks, including the fact that I have older nieces and nephews that are awesome and basically take care of my kids for me all the time. :)

Unfortunately, there was lightening within 14 miles so the gondola stopped running and we weren't able to ride back down. So after waiting far too long in the rain we caught a bus back town to Breckenridge where we walked around and got some treats.

Caleb tried to be cool by using a hashtag on this sign, unfortunately he doesn't seem to get it. ;)

There was water, so naturally the kids gravitated toward it.

Aunt Crystal certainly reinforced her position as favorite aunt with these three little girls. They couldn't get enough of her. And if you feel so inclined go ahead and zoom in on Jade's smile, it's priceless. :)

After dinner we headed to a concert in the park in Frisco. The weather was great, the music wasn't bad, and the company couldn't be beat.

Mad Jade.

Happy Jade.

I love this picture because it seems that Marci, who was the farthest away, was the only one who noticed Brennan was taking a picture and decided to pose for him.