July in SLC - Reunion

(Hattie and Janie)

David's Family reunion pseudo-started on Monday, the 7th as everyone gathered. Christine, Jane, Brian and their families got there that day. John's family came on Thursday. Everyone but us left on the following Sunday or Monday. Grace and Hattie were thrilled to play with their cousins about 16 hours a day for the whole week. It was just a tumble of activities. They got lots of time to just run around Grandma's yard and play in the sprinklers. We went on a bunch of outings as well. (The Chapman geeks with their mac books)

This is just a quick list for the journal so we can remember what we did together:

*Janie, Grace, and Hattie went riding.
*David, Brian and Wendy rode their bikes to the top of Mount Nebo!
(David can do a blog about that one...)
*Wii time in the basement - many turns were taken. (and I mean TAKEN)
*Hot-tubbing in Grandpa's spa.*Ladder-ball in the yard.
*Horse-shoes in Grandpa's new horse-shoe pit.*Drive-in movie with Jane's family and Christine. We saw Wall-E and left before the second feature.
*Lunch in the park nearby.*Rode the tram to Hidden Peak at Snowbird. (I didn't get altitude sickness like I did the last time I rode the tram!)*Cousins slept in a tent in Grandma's Yard with Uncle David.
*This is the Place Park. (Heritage Park?)*Sibling lunch (David and siblings)
*Cousin lunch at Training Table.
*Fun party in the yard with a birthday cake for Grandma, Christmas ornaments for the cousins, and Grandma's FAMOUS prizes. She gave each person a book she had chosen with a personal hand-written note about why she wanted us to have each book (dated March 2008! She's been putting things together for a whole year. Good thing, with breaking her right arm 2 weeks before the reunion.) She also gave the women each a set of hand-made cards, the kids all a cross-stitched bookmark, and finished it off with a yankee swap of her prize box. Grandma always has a box full of things from a roll of toilet paper to a bag of M&M's to something she found at a yard-sale. She always makes sure there is something in there that everyone will like. This time though, they were wrapped and we did the Yankee swap. David ended up with a nice girly-looking journal. Hope he writes some deep thoughts in it! By the end of the night we all had stacks of things to take home. We ended the night inside where Grandpa told us all how much he loves us and gave us some good Grandpa advice. I really wish I had the video camera on when he was talking. Then, Alec played the piano for us. He's gotten really good lately and was even in Time magazine in an article about school musicals.
*After most everyone had left Salt Lake, we went with Brian's family to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. Buffalo point is a favorite of Brian's and he's converted us too. We love to go see the sun set over the lake. It was pretty funny to drive across the causeway both ways with Hattie. The lake was pretty stinky and she was absolutely gagging. She kept putting her hands in her mouth trying to get the taste out and was actually crying that it was so smelly. If I didn't feel so bad for her and it wasn't so tiring to listen to her complain, I would have laughed really hard.

Well, I know that we had some meaningful moments and some great experiences together. Nothing specific comes to mind right now, but I am always brought to tears by how much the cousins get along and how much they really love each other when they get together. I start getting really upset that we don't live closer to at least some of them so that we could play more often than we do. In between those things, I spent my time warding off Hattie's continual temper tantrums brought on by her crazy schedule of outings and playing and when I wasn't doing that, I was making sure that everyone ate, had the right clothes to go to the right places, sunscreen on, cleaning up after so many kids...well, it was a terribly fun and exhausting week to say the least! Again, David needs to chime in here and post about his family...

Thank you Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Earl for all the thought, planningm and hard-work you put into this gathering. We are all very grateful for everything you have done for us, but mostly grateful that you helped us to get together and see each other.