Reunion- Take 2

Jenna enjoyed her first year at girls camp.  She was one of 13 new Beehives at camp (all 13 have birthdays between Jan and June of this year. I know, crazy, right?)  A leader texted me this picture during the week.

Bishop Adam and I were able to go to the camp on Thursday night for dinner and testimony meeting.  It was fun to see Jenna and spend some time with her at camp.  They looked like they were having a blast.

The only thing more fun than a family reunion during the summer is having 2 family reunions!  It was my family's turn to get together from far and wide for a few days of family fun and togetherness. We are unique in that we are very spread out. I'm one of 6 kids and every one of us lives in a different state or country so when we have a family reunion it means that people have traveled from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Idaho, Utah and China to be together. 

Day 1 started out with a trip to the Ogden Temple so the the older cousins could do some baptisms for the dead for family names.  It was the first time a few of them had seen each other in years so everyone was a little timid at first.  

Grandpa joked about photo bombing a few wedding pictures while he waited for everyone to arrive.

Waiting for cousins in front of the temple 

This was the group that went into the temple.

Jenna, Brinley, Tanner, Jantzen, Aaron, Adam, Britton, Jeff and Benson

It wasn't planned but my sister Libbie noticed a Farr Ice Cream shop kiddie corner from the temple so the rest of us decided to check it out while we waited.  It seemed only right to have an ice cream cone on such a hot day.

Libbie, Heather and I all selected the same flavor without knowing it, and we also all had same kind of purse--very small with an extra long shoulder strap so we can wear it across our body. We thought it was funny that we all live so far from each other, yet clearly have the same tastes.

And don't even get me started on the matchy matchy thing that was going on.

I didn't get the memo to wear a navy shirt and brown pants with a peasant top for girls, but Tricia, Heather and Mckay did.  I guess great minds do think alike.

 For the reunion my parents rented a 7 bedroom house in Ogden Valley as a gathering place for the weekend.

Each family had a room and most of the kids slept in sleeping bags in the basement family room. Our room had a bed for Jameson and worked out perfectly.

As the oldest child Tif and Shawn got the master bedroom.  Do you think the room was big enough?

We stayed from Friday afternoon until Monday morning and each adult and older child was assigned to help cook and clean up one meal.

Tif and Jen on dinner duty

Grandpa and Mckay relaxing in the family room

Libbie and Jeff on the back porch with a great view

Friday night was spent visiting and catching up.  The kids had Grandma's bounce house, a trampoline, a hot tub and a projector for movies to keep them busy.

Saturday morning a large group decided to go for a hike.

We didn't really know where we were going, but managed to see some great views of the Ogden Valley.

The entire hiking group at the turnaround point.

Ok, so our green shirts clashed a little, but at least the view was great.

Mandatory picture with a big thumbs up.

 Before heading to Pineview Reservoir for the afternoon we took the opportunity to tour the childhood home of David O. McKay in Huntsville.

Since my brother McKay was named after David O. McKay it was kind of a cool stop even if we were all in our swimming clothes.

The gentlemen who gave our tour was the youngest Grandson of David O. Mckay.  His Dad was the youngest son of President Mckay and he was the youngest son of his father.  He was only 6 years old when his Grandfather Mckay died, but had a lot of knowledge of the house and the personal things in the house.

David O. Mckay was born in this very room.

I love a good historical home and this one had a lot of Mckay family treasures.

 This trunk was used by President Mckay as a young missionary.

After the tour we hit the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

We had a paddle board and 2 kayaks and everyone had fun trying them out.

Libbie

Anna and Korinne

Adam in the orange kayak

On Sunday morning some random ward in Liberty had a huge spike in attendance because we weren't the only family reunion in the area who decided to attend church.  I think 5 or 6 full benches were of visitors that had no connection to the ward.  Too bad it wasn't September sweeps. :-)

Hilary, Xander, Libbie, Tiffany, Kristen and Heather

After church my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Brent came for the day along with my cousin Dustin and Larah and family.  You would have thought it was Thanksgiving in Blackfoot if you didn't know any better!  Larah was nice enough to bring her camera and take a few family pictures for us.  My Mom provided shirts for everyone with footprints over the heart since it was a family history themed reunion. As usual each family had a unique color so we know who belongs to which family.  Once we all stood by each other it didn't take us long to realize we looked like a bunch of skittles. :-)

Jessica, Anna and Jenna

All 19 grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa.

Later that night each grandchild put paint on their foot to make a footprint on a fabric square for a family quilt.

Jen writing the names and ages on each square

 We were each given an assignment to find out about one of our ancestors and come prepared to share something about them.  While we didn't have time for everyone to share, we were able to talk about a lot of family history and my parents gave each of their kids a copy of the book I wrote about Thomas and Mary Price, our first ancestors from Wales to join the church and come to the United States.  I spent a few years doing the research and putting it all together so it was fun to finally have a copy of it in everyone's hands.

Monday morning came much too quickly and soon it was time to pack up and leave.  It was a reunion a few years in the making and was definitely one for the books.  A big shout out to my parents for making it all happen!