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. ;)

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.

 Sleepy boy.

 Aunt Crystal, at it again.

We didn't stay at the concert for long and before heading home we stopped at a park to let the kids play. It was a beautiful evening.

Love this picture of both girls looking at Grandma, they sure do love her and I can't blame them.

We finished off the day with some tiny kids in a huge tub. :)