family auction and paddle boarding

Thursday was our day at the pool. The day started pretty similar to any other, with books and cuddles with grandma. So many kids, so much love for grandma!

 Several mornings small batches of us would go out for some mountain biking before the day's events began in full. Here's my group. I was a little bit of a nervous nelly and very slow on the the mountain but it really was fun. I'd love to try it again.

That night it was time for the annual family auction. All the items auctioned off are homemade and the money used to bid is entirely fake. :) But man, look at the talent in this group. So many awesome items! Caleb even made a long board. It was pretty sweet and a hot ticket item.

 The whole crew gathered for the bidding.

 Rich, our trustee auctioneer.

 One of Tatum's favorite wins in the auction was fake make up and nail polish made by Mallory. All the young cousins gathered for pedicures after the auction was all over. It was awesome.

Grandma got Jade, Tatum and Ella matching Frozen outfits. They were all thrilled to wear them together, but taking a picture without any crazy faces was kind of hard.

Singing a little "Let it Go".

After getting lunch at a BBQ competition in Frisco, we headed to the lake to rent some stand up paddle boards. It was the first time for many of us and it was a beautiful day for it.

 Cute, but sad Lucy.

 The little kids loved to the play in the sand and make a mess while they waited.

 A sweet little father-daughter moment.

 I didn't manage to get to my feet my first time out but I went out again, briefly, before our time was up. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and a lot of fun.

 Papa's boat was there too and was as big a hit as ever. Not for Declan, however. He hated it.

 We managed to get cleaned up after the lake for some family pictures. The backdrop was beautiful, even if we were technically trespassing and it did cause us to be a little squinty.

We don't do silly very well.

 Grandma and Papa with their 18 grandkids.

 My dad snapped a few of our little family real quick too.

 Grandma had some games planned for the kids that night. I guess they were all a little tired out because it became quite chaotic and tear-filled. Declan loved the balloons before the games began though.

 They all had balloons tied to their ankles and they were supposed to try to pop them. This was Jade's reaction when hers got popped. :)

 She wasn't the only one. At least half of the kids were crying. It's a horrible quality picture, but please look closely at my mom in this next picture. It was pretty much the only way to react to what was going on.

Some of the chaos I caught on video. Listen for the hysteria in the background, mostly from Tatum.

London Bridges went over a little better and let us end the night on a bit of a higher note.