Day 1:This year for the reunion Randy has been working in Amarillo, Tx., and wasn't able to get the time off to come. I decide that I didn't want to go either and brave it alone. A 6 month preggo woman with 5 kids going alone was kind of scary!! Katie had decided that they were going to take Emma, and everything was fine. On Thursday morning, Stetsy called me and chewed me out for not going and told me that I should go and everyone would help me. She said that she would ride with me and help me out, and said she wanted to leave at 1:00, which was in 3 hours. I told Randy what she had said, and he said "I've been telling you that you need to go all along!!" Then I told my mom about it, and she said that now was the easiest time to pack, just throw it all in!! So I checked the kids' drawers and they had plenty of clothes, and I had a lot of snacks, so I decided what the heck!
Stetsy and I headed out a little later than 1, but were excited to get out there and have a good weekend. We got about 5 minutes from the reunion and got a flat tire!! We tried changing it ourselves, but the van has tricky tires on it, and we couldn't figure it out.
These nice boys stopped and tried to help us, but they didn't really know what they were doing either, so they headed up to camp to get Richard to come back and rescue us.
Waiting on the side of the road for help...
Rebekah and her hat. She loved getting out and running around!!
Stetsy and I attempting to change it ourselves before help came: (we later found out that we had the jack in the wrong spot...but we tried, right??)
Richard and Josh finally came and helped us. We were able to find the right tools in the van and it was a lot easier from then on out! We were so grateful!! I just decided that since I was on my own, I needed to get the whole experience, right?! Right. We headed up the road and took a wrong turn and ended up going about 5 miles towards the Grand Canyon before we turned around. Bailey and Josh came and rescued us once again!! :) Quite the adventure!
The other 3 days:Braxton enjoying a piece of watermelon... He's so adorable!!
Briallen showing off her nails painted.
*note: she insisted on packing her leotard that she wears almost every day. I told her that she shouldn't bring it because it would get ruined, and she said " It won't get dirty, Mommy, you'll see. I won't ruin it, you'll see!"
Some of the kiddos
hangin' out at the dance...
If you look close, you can see Naomi and Isabelle dancing. I couldn't get a better picture because Naomi and Oak collided and Naomi had bloody lips. She decided she wanted to go to bed early...
Emma had a blast at the dances on both nights. I discovered that she is quite the dancer when I "wasn't looking" :)
What dirty faces??
Buddies at the dance...
rub a dub dub...
Naomi and Isabelle were teasing uncle Mel until he finally attacked and tickled them both.
We put the babies in a tub of water on one of the hot days to cool them off, and they loved it!
Briallen was trying to make them laugh...
Races!!! Emma, Natalie, and Naomi all ran this year. I didn't go down to the races because
Briallen and Rebekah were having a rough morning, and I didn't think the other 3 would race. It amazes me what my kids will do when Randy and I aren't around...
Another tub picture....(for some reason blogger has been putting all my pictures out of order)
Rebekah wore this hat almost the whole time. I have never had a kid that likes to wear hats, but she does! It was so cute!!
This is the last day right before lunch with the
Houstons. Rebekah was SO tired from very little sleep the whole time. She
conked right out in her high chair.
On the last day it started pouring rain right before I left. I hurried and got out of there as fast as I could. We said a prayer right before we left, and headed out. The roads were SO slippery!! It was the scariest thing I have experienced in a long time. We drove sliding all over the road and sideways for quite a while until we got stuck and couldn't go any further. I got out and put pieces of sage brush under the tires and we were able to get back on the road. Emma told me she had prayed while I was out there, and we knew that's what got us back on the road. We got stuck once again and the same thing happened. We were able to safely make it to the roads that were more clear and then made it safely home. It was scary, but I knew that we would be okay and that the Lord would help us through it.
I am glad that I went! We had a lot of fun, and I am so grateful for everyone that helped me! I definitely got to experience a lot alone and had a lot of adventures!!
My washer broke a little over a month ago, and hasn't worked the greatest since then. I have been looking for a long time for something new, and the other day I found this set on Craigslist for a STEAL!!! I had almost bought a new set about a week ago, but decided not to, and I am so glad I waited. These ones are practically brand new, and almost a third the price of what they come in new! I love to do laundry now!! I don't think they have stopped running since they were put in (partly because I was so far behind on laundry). But I love them, and I have a constant smile on my face every time I walk into the laundry room. They are a wonderful blessing!!
I laughed when I saw this picture, I had no clue Emma was crying, she said she had a blast!!
Karin is the one on the left, and Johanna is on the right...our girls are SO excited to have 2 big sisters for now!!
Here is the cabin we stayed in. It was SO beautiful up there, and the weather was perfect, and I didn't want to go home!
There were stilts out there, and Randy became the champion! A few people tried to knock him off of them, but he won the war almost every time. It was pretty fun to watch...
Cousins!
Briallen kept walking over by the deck and posing, and saying "take a picture, Mom!!" "Mom, take another picture!!"
Everyone, including the adults, played Duck Duck Goose. That was pretty funny to watch too!
Emma and Natalie both took turns with this half-flat tube, and had a blast with it. They also spent most of their days on the paddle boats.
looking at photo albums from previous reunions. They have been scrap-booking them for about 15 years.
Here is Emma doing the "garbage sack race" in the great relay race. She did so good!
Natalie's task was to help do a lap in a canoe around the pond. She also got to blow a bubble with bubble gum.
It was my job to make some sort of animal out of a balloon. I had no clue what I was doing, but it kind of looks like an animal, right?? (I hate this picture of me, I have been retaining water a lot lately, and ALL pictures of me look terrible!!)
Randy had to run on a spool down and back on the grass. 
One of the activities Margie planned was for us to make California Sushi rolls. They were SOO yummy!!
We attempted to take family pictures with our T-shirts. It was quite hilarious putting up with everyone's opinions about where the pictures should be taken, and the lighting and everything. All in all, they turned out pretty good considering the size of the family. :)
Lately Naomi comes out in some of the most interesting outfits.... This time I think she got into Rebekah's drawer. Good thing it's summer!!
Waiting on the side of the road for help...
Rebekah and her hat. She loved getting out and running around!!
Stetsy and I attempting to change it ourselves before help came: (we later found out that we had the jack in the wrong spot...but we tried, right??)
Richard and Josh finally came and helped us. We were able to find the right tools in the van and it was a lot easier from then on out! We were so grateful!! I just decided that since I was on my own, I needed to get the whole experience, right?! Right. We headed up the road and took a wrong turn and ended up going about 5 miles towards the Grand Canyon before we turned around. Bailey and Josh came and rescued us once again!! :) Quite the adventure!
Briallen showing off her nails painted.
Some of the kiddos hangin' out at the dance...
Emma had a blast at the dances on both nights. I discovered that she is quite the dancer when I "wasn't looking" :)
What dirty faces??
Buddies at the dance...
rub a dub dub...
Naomi and Isabelle were teasing uncle Mel until he finally attacked and tickled them both.
We put the babies in a tub of water on one of the hot days to cool them off, and they loved it! Briallen was trying to make them laugh...
Another tub picture....(for some reason blogger has been putting all my pictures out of order)
This is the last day right before lunch with the Houstons. Rebekah was SO tired from very little sleep the whole time. She conked right out in her high chair.
On the last day it started pouring rain right before I left. I hurried and got out of there as fast as I could. We said a prayer right before we left, and headed out. The roads were SO slippery!! It was the scariest thing I have experienced in a long time. We drove sliding all over the road and sideways for quite a while until we got stuck and couldn't go any further. I got out and put pieces of sage brush under the tires and we were able to get back on the road. Emma told me she had prayed while I was out there, and we knew that's what got us back on the road. We got stuck once again and the same thing happened. We were able to safely make it to the roads that were more clear and then made it safely home. It was scary, but I knew that we would be okay and that the Lord would help us through it.
