Family Reunions

This post is WAY past due.  But, it is so overwhelming that I haven't been able to find the free time to do it!  But, now, here it is!  And, I am hoping to be better about blogging now that this beast is out of the way!

ANDERSON FAMILY REUNION

At the end of June, we went to Kenton's family reunion in Logan, UT.  It is about a nine hour drive from us and Afton was just a dream the entire time!  She is amazing at keeping herself entertained- I was seriously impressed!

The whole weekend was filled with hometown fun- which was such a nice break from our hippie town- we were in heaven!

We were lucky enough to be there to watch Kenton's parents open their second mission call!  They already served in the Czech Republic and now, 18 months later, they are headed to London England to serve in the temple there.  We cannot believe we are so blessed to have such amazing parents and grandparents for our children to look up to!

We ate A LOT of good food!  Michelle's meal of spaghetti & meatballs was particularly impressive- as well as Joe & Marilyn's sliders!  Yum!

Jon & Melissa were nice enough to let us ALL stay at their new house!  They don't even have a yard yet- that's how new it is!  They were amazingly patient and kind- even when kids peed on their carpet time and time again (ours being one of the major culprits!)

As you can tell, pee wasn't the only issue!  The kids LOVED all the "unfinished yard"- and it was quite hilarious watching Marilyn try to keep this kid out of the dirt!  Giving up was the best idea she ever had- I mean seriously- does it get cuter than this?

cute picture...that's all.

I seriously can't believe all the work that Jon & Melissa put into the reunion- especially this amazing mudslide in their backyard! I didn't dare go in my prego state- but it looked like tons of fun! Afton went once and decided that was enough for her- but everyone else played for hours!

to me, this is so stinkin cute. Something about how her round belly is causing the shorts to slide up- just classic.

We also celebrated Grandpa Anderson's birthday! He was kind enough to share his cake with all the grandkids- using the same fork for all of them! Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when we were sick the week later! Oh well, the kids loved it!

We also rented out a local gymnastics gym. You wouldn't think you could have so much fun on equipment you don't know how to use- but, it didn't take long until everyone was jumping all over the place just like little kids. In the second picture, Joe is doing a move that is impossible and is falling on the ground because of it. EVERY man in the room did that move and EVERY man fell- it was pretty funny to watch.

Afton hanging on the rings- she has an obsession with hanging so she was happy! Notice the no pants and pull-up. Yep, she peed on the mat. SO FRUSTRATING! But, she's cute so I guess we will get over it!

And of course, as always, Afton had fun having one on one time with Grandma. These two are such good friends- they get each other and are so alike in so many ways. Its fun to watch!

The whole family...well minus a few kids napping and the oldest son & family living in Dubai.

PARKINSON FAMILY REUNION

In the middle of July, my ENTIRE family came to us for our family reunion- how lucky are we?  It was so fun to be able to show them our little life here and the things that make our town fun!

On a Wednesday night I called to ask my mom a question.  She asked if I was excited for tomorrow.  I said, "sure, what's tomorrow?"  She said, "the reunion!"  No joke.  I seriously thought they were coming a week later than they actually were!  How in the world I got that mixed up is beyond me!

We spend Wednesday night frantically cleaning our apartment, getting caught up on work so Kenton could take the time off he was planning on taking a week later, and trying not to freak out.  But, in the end, it worked out great and we had a fabulous time!

We spent a day exploring the city of Denver.  We visited the Fire Fighter's Museum and the Hammond's Candy Factory.  They were fun- simple- but fun.

My dad was such a sport.  The firefighter's museum had a whole upper floor dedicated to kids play/learning about fire.  In this game, you had to lay on the floor, put felt fire on you, and roll around- teaching to concept of stop. drop. and roll.  My dad let Afton put fire all over him and then rolled around like a crazy man- Afton thought it was pretty cool!

I am so sad they are out of focus!  I love this picture!  Afton LOVES Uncle Jeremy!  She is a little obsessed but Jeremy is such a good sport and always lets her play with him!

 We also did other fun things- but we were too busy watching Afton and having fun, to think about taking pictures.  We floated the local canal.  Which doesn't sound too amazing but this isn't just any canal and it isn't just floating.  Its like floating on steroids- lots of rapids, fast water, etc.  My dad said his butt was bruised for a week afterwards.  It was intense- but I think everyone had fun.

We also went to WaterWorld, the local water park.  It was surprisingly fun for the entire family.  They had the most amazing kids areas and tons of fun rides for everyone.  The absolute highlight was watching my parents attempt the Screamin Mimi.  This ride is like sledding for the water.  You ride a steep slide on a ta bogon looking sled thing and then when you get to the bottom, you skid across a narrow pool.  We watched a lot of people before my parents, and most people skidded, but for some reason my parents skipped- not once but twice.  They caught serious air and flew off their sled.  We thought it was hilarious- but even funnier was the fact that all the people waiting in line clapped for them- that's how much air they got!  It was really amazing to see!

My parents were kind enough to rent a cabin so that we could all stay together!  This made all the difference! The boys played pool all night every night, and the girls got to do girly things like paint our nails and decorate mini purses.  Since there is only one boy grandchild (poor Kyler!), it is fun to get all the little girls together and do a bunch of girly stuff- and my mom is AMAZING at heading up these activities!  Afton is still obsessed with her mini purse!

My dad woke up Sunday morning looking like this. . .

I guess it is an allergic reaction that sometimes occurs with his anti-rejection medication. He said that it doesn't concern the doctors when it happens- so we all laughed about it instead of worry about it! He looks so different! He was such a sport and still went to church- I guess know one knows what he really looks like so no one really thought anything of it! haha.

Just some random shots. . .

Tyce had to say goodbye to some people because he won't see them until he returns home from serving a mission in the Marshall Islands- it was bittersweet!

And, even though I am a fat prego lady, we took advantage of having my talented sister there and got a family photo! I have the most amazing little family!

We feel so blessed to have such amazing families on both sides!  We really couldn't ask for more loving, supporting, and amazingly fun families!  We love you all and were SO glad we could see you all this summer!