Reunions X 5 -- You Gotta Love 'Em All!

Busy, busy, worky, worky. That sums up our summer. It is unmatched by any other of our summers, for sure. We both feel like we've been running from one thing to the next, and that our schedule or plans are just a running joke between the two of us. And yet, it has been full of some of the best experiences ever, with family especially.

It was the year of five reunions. Including one weekend that we affectionately referred to as the trifecta (because of the THREE reunions held on four days). So. Reunions. You've gotta love them. We grew up on reunions, traveling from California to Utah once a year to spend a day catching up with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. And we loved those reunions. I remember running around all day with my cousins, stopping only for a picnic lunch or homemade treats made by my aunts, and lazing around the grass listening to my parents and their siblings talk about the old days, growing up together in another time. Oh how I loved those reunions! And I'm certain that we heard the same stories year after year, with a few new ones thrown in for good measure. But we still loved hearing them, and hearing the grownups laugh and reminisce.

Fast forward to today's harried pace. We run from one thing to the next, and reunions and family gatherings come up, and we wonder if we really have time to fit that into the schedule. We had a reunion for my husband's cousins and aunt and uncle on his dad's side. We had the two more reunions for my cousins on my mom's and also on my dad's side. And we had a reunion for all of the family members from my parents on down. Last, but not least, we had the second annual reunion for me and my husband and our kids and grandkids. Now, let me stop right there. Anyone who knows us knows that our kids all live within 7 miles of us. Most of them are much closer than that. And knowing that, you might say, "Why a reunion? What is the purpose of 'reuniting' when you already see each other quite often?" And I would say to that, "We have a reunion so that we can spend a couple of days focusing just on our family, on our relationships. To play and laugh together without any interruptions. To reminisce and love and appreciate each other. To give our grandchildren (and each of us, for that matter) the opportunity to learn about their ancestors -- all of those who have paved the way for us today." That is why we have our little reunion, and that is why we might find ourselves going to five reunions in a given year.

My most favorite people in all the world
(Numbers represent order of grandkiddos)

And speaking of our reunion, we had a wonderful time together. It never gets any better than all of us being together. It feels so right, so complete. I love it! We started out with a trip to Hogle Zoo on a Thursday. It ended up being all of the mommies and kiddos, along with Bob and I. It also ended up being a scorching hot day, but we carried on and those mommies were real troupers!

This is our entourage... with 5 babies in strollers
and two walking kiddos.
LOVE those mommies and sweet kiddos.
And that man behind them all? Be still my heart!

After the zoo, everyone went to their homes, and then the next day we met up at the cabin to spend a night together. It turned out that Bob had to wake up early on Saturday and drive home for a funeral, and then hurry back up. It wasn't in the plan (remember that our "plans" are our running joke this year), but we adjusted and made do. And that is a whole other story which I won't go into right now. Suffice it to say, we were happy to have him back so that we could carry on with the fun. While up at the cabin we had a treasure hunt for the kids...

a pinata...

an ancestor game where they all got a stack of photos and had to put them in pedigree order...

Hmmmm. Mostly right, anyway.

a puzzle game, where they got a little packet and didn't know what the puzzle was, but had to try to be the first to put it together...

The box the puzzles came in (which they didn't
get to see til after the game was over)

and because it's not a reunion unless you do this, we had every couple bring a jar with treats in it for everyone to guess the number of...

We tried to fit in as much as we could to make it special for everyone there.

We also spent some time after most of the kids were in bed on Friday night, talking about how grateful we are for each member of our family, and also for our ancestors. We tried to punctuate the fact that it is so important to get to know each of their stories and understand them a bit so that we know who we have come from, and what kind of stock we are made of.

'Can't get enough of these photos of amazing, wonderful people that make up our family. These three bottom photos are from the trifecta weekend. Three different reunions in four days.  Makes me very tired... and happy that I have those sweet memories!

Taped Candy Treat Ball

I have had some requests to explain how I made the candy ball that we used for a Young Women activity a while back.

It was really easy to make, and such a fun activity for the girls.

To make the candy/treat ball:

You will need small pieces of wrapped candy and clear plastic packing tape. For the candy, I found that it was better to have candy that was wrapped in plastic packaging as opposed to paper packaging, since the paper sometimes sticks to the tape and tears open during the game. You can use other small toys or favors in addition to candy. You can get creative and stick in all kinds of things that have to do with a theme of a party, for instance. The possibilities are limitless.

Start with one piece of candy and wrap a piece of tape around it, leaving a tail about 4" long. Stick another piece of candy under the tape and wrap the tape over it. This will be the center of what will become the candy ball. Cut another piece of tape about 18" long. Start by wrapping it around the "candy ball" you have started. Add a piece of candy, then tape down, and so on. Continue on using strips abut 18" long and taping down candies sporadically as you wrap the tape around the"ball". As you wind it around, and place candies, the ball will start becoming more round. Make the ball as large as you want. It does start to get a bit heavy as it grows.

The reason you use strips of tape instead of one long piece of tape, is that when the kids start unwrapping the ball, you don't want one person to be able to unwind the whole thing that easily. Having smaller pieces makes it harder to get the strips up and unwound within the allotted time.

To play the game:

Have everyone sit in a circle. You will need a pair of dice. One person starts by rolling the dice, while the person to his or her left attempts to find an end of tape and start unwrapping it to reveal the candy. If the person rolling the dice rolls doubles, the person who is unwrapping the ball has to stop and hand the ball to the next person (who is the dice-roller from the last round). The dice-roller hands the dice off to the person on their left, and the whole round starts again. Whatever candy the person is able to unwrap, they are able to keep. It ends up that everyone seems to get something as they unwrap the ball.

It really is a fun way to get everyone laughing and having fun together. And you can make the tape candy ball very inexpensively, too!

Family Reunion!

We had our family reunion this past weekend up at our cabin. It was for my side of the family (my parents, sisters, and their families). We had 41 total, which was pretty good considering all of the other things that were going on that day! My mom and all 6 of us daughters were all there, which was a pretty big feat!

We had it as a one-day affair, so it was really easy to plan. We had everyone bring their own lunches, and then had the family gathering at about 3:00, where we had some games and activities planned. Linda made up Bingo cards, using our family last name instead of Bingo, and then using all the first names of the family members filling the little squares. It was fun to play the games and hear the names of every last family member. That will definitely be a "keeper" for reunions to come!

I didn't do much in the way of decorating. I got some photos reprinted at Costco and hung them up on a piece of twine. The photos were of the cousins all through the years. (That was sort of the theme of the reunion... cousins)

Bob gave the kids (and adults) rides in the Mule. The fall leaves were absolutely gorgeous, so there were plenty of sights to see! The kids couldn't get enough of the rides.

After the family gathering, I passed out the cousin photo books that I had made, and Bob passed out the little keepsake ornaments he had made (both shown in the last post). In the book, I left an extra page in the back so that if one wanted, they could get others to sign the back of their book, just like a year book.

Here we are signing the books, just like in high school. Pretty funny.

The kids went out on a nature walk, led by my niece Joanna. 

Joanna had little boxes for each of them to put their treasures in. It was a darling activity!

For dinner, we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The daughters brought salads, the grandsons brought chips and the granddaughters each brought plate of cookies. It worked out perfectly with plenty of food!

It was a fun day and it really was pretty easy to plan. We have so many people in our family who are willing to help. It sure makes it nice when have family gatherings and events. 

Don't you just love family? There is so much comfort and peace in being together. Its so important to do what we can to have gatherings and opportunities to be together and feel that love and support from each other. What an amazing blessing! 

Fall leaf decorating

As mentioned in the last post, Bob and I go out collecting fall leaves every year up near our cabin. We use them in the cabin and also at home to decorate for the beginning of fall. For me, it is still a bit early to actually put up Halloween decorations, but I do like to have just a touch of fall in our home in September. 

I love this kind of decorating... putting branches here and there, and calling it good. And maybe lighting the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle from Bath and Body. Yum.

Another great thing about this kind of decorating, is that when I'm done with it, I can throw it away, instead of having to box it up and then finding some place to store it.

I know, I know. I've heard it a million times. Is that bike part of your decor? And yes. Yes, it is. Its an old bicycle built for two with a story behind how Bob acquired it. I love it to pieces, and its just outside of my bedroom door (that you can't see), to the left of the photo. As you can see, I've put just a few fall leaves in the basket hanging from the handle bars.

And then some tucked in a corner of the living room...

In the entry...

In the family room across the mantel...

Another shot of the mantel. Yes, it is a lovely, lovely time of year.

It was nice to be able to do my fall decorating in 15 minutes. I have a lot of other things I am trying to get ready for. This weekend we are having my family reunion at our cabin. It won't be huge (maybe 40 people), but we have been busy getting ready for it.

Bob made these little wooden Christmas keepsake ornaments with the reunion date on them. They turned out great. You can't tell from the photo, but it started out as just a piece of thin wood, and he laser cut the design (deer, pine cones and branches) into it, the circle shape, and the little hole at the top for the tinsel. He made 25 or so, for my mom, the grandchildren and the daughters (me and my sisters) that are at the reunion. Again, that laser cutting machine is pretty awesome. The possibilities are limitless.

I made a photo book of the cousins using Picaboo. It has photos of them through the past 35+ years as they have interacted together. I had so many good photos to choose from, that it was hard to keep it small. It ended up being 52 pages. I think it turned out great, though. We had enough made so that each of the 33 grandchildren will get one, as well as their parents, and my mom. This year the reunion is focusing on those grandchildren -- the cousins -- and the fun they have had together through the years.

We have a few other things planned... some games, activities, etc. It will be on Saturday, though a handful will be with us at the cabin on Friday night. 

Should be a fun weekend!