Our lives have been crazy for the last few weeks!! And that trend looks to continue for the next little bit. Between a trip to Utah and a trip to North Carolina, we made it to 12 states in less than a week. We are finally home now, only to be met with a big interview for Rachel, a big move into our new house later this week (pictures to come), and Brennan's classes starting next week. Jikes! I'm excited for when we can get into a normal life routine and maybe relax a little. I think I have been sleep-deprived for about a month now. But it has been well worth it. We have had a blast and are excited for what the future holds for us!
First up was the trip to Utah for the Cardon family reunion and to visit Brennan's side of the family. The reunion was a riot! My parents rented a big house by the Jordanelle, a lake near Park City. There was plenty of room for everyone and a great view from the back deck. Grandma did treasure hunts for the kids, we all took a little hike, there were bikes to ride, lots of games to play, and besides sacrament meeting we even had our own family church. It was pretty awesome.
The house we stayed in.
The view from a bike ride we took very close to where we were staying.
A beautiful sunset. They are impossible to truly capture. Cameras don't do it justice, especially not our low-end one. But trust me. It was beautiful.
These pictures are going to be all out of order. But on Sunday we played some Minute to Win It games. If you've never seen the TV show, basically you have a minute to complete random challenges and the more you complete, the more money you win. No money was involved here, just the pride of knowing you were the best. :) The following are pictures of the M&M challenge. We had to pick up 3 M&Ms (one at a time) with a straw in our mouth (no using hands) and balance them on other straws that were standing up in a wooden block.
Stacy was the first to give it a whirl.
Super pregnant Mara trying to do it. Probably a little hard to bend over with that big belly. ;) And for the record she got slobber everywhere and I had to go right after her. Nice. Thank you.
Brennan decided it was all about the stance, and wide stance was the way to go in his opinion.
Next up was the Marble Tape challenge. We put double sided type part way down the table and then had to roll marbles down the table and try to get them to stick to the tape. I might have actually gotten the most on this one. And I think I might have had the fastest time on the M&M challenge. Hmmmmm.....
And last but not least was the Cookie Challenge. We had to put a cookie on our forehead and then using our face muscles we had to try to move the cookie into our mouths. I did not hold the record on this one. Didn't even complete it in fact. It was probably the most entertaining to watch.
Check out that look on his face. He is pretty proud of himself.
Back to Saturday...some of the group ran Utah's toughest 10k that morning. Caleb, Nathan, Brennan, and Crystal were the lucky ones who got to get up early and practically kill themselves on the run. I think eventually they were all happy that they had done it.
The happy group.
Later that morning we took a hike down to the lake. The kids loved skipping rocks and dipping their feet in the water.
Even though we don't look incredibly thrilled in this picture, I'm pretty sure we can count this as one of our bonding moments. Actually we have to, because I didn't get any other pictures of the two of us. Ben was a good sport and got his feet in the water just because I asked. I'm probably just like his favorite sister-in-law or something.
After our hike we packed sack lunches and headed to the park.
Even the BIG kids had fun on the playground. haha. Actually this piece of playground equipment provided a lot of entertainment.
Not sure how well you can see their faces in this picture, but it was the best. Kids are so carefree. I loved watching their complete happiness on this little toy.
Stacy got a try one too. I think it might have been a little too big for her though. :)
Rich decided to try out the padded bikers. Just had to grab a picture. Rich is the greatest.
First up was the trip to Utah for the Cardon family reunion and to visit Brennan's side of the family. The reunion was a riot! My parents rented a big house by the Jordanelle, a lake near Park City. There was plenty of room for everyone and a great view from the back deck. Grandma did treasure hunts for the kids, we all took a little hike, there were bikes to ride, lots of games to play, and besides sacrament meeting we even had our own family church. It was pretty awesome.
The house we stayed in.
The view from a bike ride we took very close to where we were staying.
A beautiful sunset. They are impossible to truly capture. Cameras don't do it justice, especially not our low-end one. But trust me. It was beautiful.These pictures are going to be all out of order. But on Sunday we played some Minute to Win It games. If you've never seen the TV show, basically you have a minute to complete random challenges and the more you complete, the more money you win. No money was involved here, just the pride of knowing you were the best. :) The following are pictures of the M&M challenge. We had to pick up 3 M&Ms (one at a time) with a straw in our mouth (no using hands) and balance them on other straws that were standing up in a wooden block.
Stacy was the first to give it a whirl.
Super pregnant Mara trying to do it. Probably a little hard to bend over with that big belly. ;) And for the record she got slobber everywhere and I had to go right after her. Nice. Thank you.
Brennan decided it was all about the stance, and wide stance was the way to go in his opinion.Next up was the Marble Tape challenge. We put double sided type part way down the table and then had to roll marbles down the table and try to get them to stick to the tape. I might have actually gotten the most on this one. And I think I might have had the fastest time on the M&M challenge. Hmmmmm.....
And last but not least was the Cookie Challenge. We had to put a cookie on our forehead and then using our face muscles we had to try to move the cookie into our mouths. I did not hold the record on this one. Didn't even complete it in fact. It was probably the most entertaining to watch.
Check out that look on his face. He is pretty proud of himself.Back to Saturday...some of the group ran Utah's toughest 10k that morning. Caleb, Nathan, Brennan, and Crystal were the lucky ones who got to get up early and practically kill themselves on the run. I think eventually they were all happy that they had done it.
The happy group.Later that morning we took a hike down to the lake. The kids loved skipping rocks and dipping their feet in the water.
Even though we don't look incredibly thrilled in this picture, I'm pretty sure we can count this as one of our bonding moments. Actually we have to, because I didn't get any other pictures of the two of us. Ben was a good sport and got his feet in the water just because I asked. I'm probably just like his favorite sister-in-law or something.After our hike we packed sack lunches and headed to the park.
Even the BIG kids had fun on the playground. haha. Actually this piece of playground equipment provided a lot of entertainment.
Not sure how well you can see their faces in this picture, but it was the best. Kids are so carefree. I loved watching their complete happiness on this little toy. 
Stacy got a try one too. I think it might have been a little too big for her though. :)
Rich decided to try out the padded bikers. Just had to grab a picture. Rich is the greatest.We had our first ever family auction at this reunion. We all had to make something homemade to sell at the auction. Then we could earn fake money by eating all of our dinner or helping in the kitchen. We weren't sure how well it would work or how much the kids would really get it, but it ended up being a huge success. It was hilarious to watch the kids. They loved it! And Rich was a great auctioneer.
Everyone waiting to bid. 
Gavin holding up his number to place a bid. 
There was a hot tub on the back deck of this house, so one night Brennan and I got in it with most of the kids. They are so easy to please. I mean there was hardly any room to move at all and it wasn't cold, so it wasn't like it felt real great, but they couldn't have been happier. It was great.
On Saturday afternoon we went to the Olympic Park in Park City. There was a ski jump event going on. Despite the incredible heat, it was a lot of fun to watch. They were jumping into a pool with skis on...I'd never seen anything like it.
Me and most of the kids watching the ski jumpers.
Some of the best things about the reunions are new babies. Somehow I didn't get any pictures with Marci and Caleb's new baby, Wyatt. He was very new, very tiny, and very cute. We also got plenty of baby time with Jaren. He's got quite a smile.
I think that about covers it for the family reunion. A nice short post, right? :) The bottom line is that our family is great, I love them all, our reunion was awesome and full of a lot of fun. Thank you mom and dad for the time, money, effort, and love you put into it!! We love you for planning these for us!
Up next: our trip to Lagoon. :)
Me and most of the kids watching the ski jumpers.Some of the best things about the reunions are new babies. Somehow I didn't get any pictures with Marci and Caleb's new baby, Wyatt. He was very new, very tiny, and very cute. We also got plenty of baby time with Jaren. He's got quite a smile.
I think that about covers it for the family reunion. A nice short post, right? :) The bottom line is that our family is great, I love them all, our reunion was awesome and full of a lot of fun. Thank you mom and dad for the time, money, effort, and love you put into it!! We love you for planning these for us!Up next: our trip to Lagoon. :)
It sure was fun even if we were there for such a short time! I'm glad you posted pictures since we didn't get many while we were there. And thanks for telling everyone I got spit all over the m & m's haha.
ReplyDeleteGosh I miss you all and all the fun you have! And I think it's hilarious that you had to go after Mara slobbered on the m&m's, hahaha sounds like something I would do...
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