July 1st through July 7th

July 1^st through July 7^th:  Monday, mom went to Lagoon with Ginny, Kate and Bryce, Charlotte and Alex and Jill and 13 of our grandchildren.  I stayed home and finished building all the cabinets in the kitchen and getting them installed, which meant that I had to do the sheetrock behind the base cabinets before I could install them.  When John B. got home from work, he drove Sam and I to Lagoon where we three met up with the rest of the family.  We had a great time doing the rides and we stayed till all the rides were shut down.  The kids were wiped out and some fell asleep on the way home.  It was our annual family Lagoon day and it was great.  

New sheet rock where the mold was. 

This is how I finished up Monday.

Our hang out place at Lagoon.

Mom doing the bumper cars with her grandchildren.

On the ferris wheel. 

Mom and I at the top of the ferris wheel.

In line for the roller coaster.

Tuesday I got the fascia on the cabinets and they are ready for the crown molding. Chris only worked 3 hours and spent a lot of her time getting ready for our Ed and Beth Norman family reunion that starts on Thursday.  

This is with the fascia on and needing the ceilings textured so the crown molding can be installed.

Wednesday we went to our temple shift and then I put the second coat of mud on the ceilings in the kitchen, dining room and hall.  In the evening, we went over to Charlotte’s house and set off fireworks and enjoyed a small celebration of our nation’s birthday. 

Fireworks 

Sparklers for everyone.

Fireworks

Thursday I got up early and John B. and I got the ceiling textured so that when we get back from the family reunion I can start the crown molding.  

Dining room ceiling textured.

Kitchen ceiling textured.

Hall to the garage ceiling textured.

John B. patching some holes.

We then packed up and drove to Hidden Springs Ranch outside of Altamont, Utah which is about a 3 hour drive east of here.  We arrived about 2:30 pm and got the room assignments on the bedroom doors and the food put away.  As each family arrived, the 3 refrigerators and 1 large commercial freezer filled to over flowing.  It takes a lot of food to feed 150 people for 3 days.  The pictures will explain a lot of the activities.  

We made a great big circle and held hands at the start of our family reunion for a prayer.

The inflatable alicorn was a big hit.

Everyone decorated a cut out of their hand and put it on our family tree.

The ranch is a working cattle ranch.

It is a beautiful place.

The ranch has a nice pool for the kids.

The nearby lake had some pretty good fishing.  Miles got one.

Kimball too.

Yoga every morning.

Every family had a meal to prepare and serve.

The activity center had a great climbing wall.

The climbing wall got a work out.

Water balloons.

Water balloon free for all.

The four human pinatas.  They had shirts with candy hot glued to the shirt and they ran around while all the kids tried to pulled the candy off.

Chasing the human pinatas.


Chasing the human pinatas.

We had a sets and runs competition.

Our three esteemed judges of the Chopped competition--they all had to taste the creations!

There were 7 teams for the Chopped competition. 

Friday night we had a dance.

Each night we sat and listened to Tad and his kids entertain us.

Tad and his family singing.

Group Picture.

Gar's family

Tad' family.

Van's family.

Alice's family.

Our family at the reunion.  James' family was with his wife, Kirstin's family.

My siblings.  L to R Tad, Van and Alice.  My oldest brother Gar passed away almost 11 years ago. 

These are the grandchildren and great grandchildren who are named after my mother Elizabeth, a few are missing.

Family Feud was one of the funnest activities that we did.

Looking down on family feud.

But it was a joy to spend this time together and share stories and the history of our family.  Chris and I felt so grateful for our wonderful family and we enjoyed every minute of the reunion.  Sunday we cleaned up and drove home.