In-Between Part 4: Smith Family Reunions

My dad is one of 9 kids.  He is right in the middle.  Needless to say, there are a lot of grandkids (like me) and great-grandkids in that family and it is really getting big! (Cami was #102 and is still the youngest, for another month or so.)  We have a reunion every other summer with everyone.  We missed the last one because we had just moved to Mississippi and I was very pregnant with Cade.  I was excited to go see everyone.  I was a little nervous at how my kiddos would do.  Cade doesn't like people and Cami is still little and needs sleep.  Luckily, I had my parents and Melissa there and they were all a lot of help.  I had lots of aunts and cousins who loved holding Cami and playing with Cade too.  It turned out great and was a lot of fun. 

The reunion started on Friday with a temple trip for all of the endowed cousins.  The youth went to a family history center and the aunts and uncles watched the little kids.  So I sent Cade and Cami off with my parents and went to the temple with Lindsey.  I am still nursing Cami so we had to be careful with the timing.  I fed her right before we left and then we made it back in time to feed her again before she got too cranky. 
We spent the afternoon at my aunt Patti's church and enjoyed lunch, a talent show, jewelry and card making and a dinner.  They were just starting a water fight and some outdoor games when Lindsey and I packed up the kiddos and left.  It was a fun day and everything worked out great.  I brought a pack-n-play for Cade (so did several of my cousins) and he slept in a room for over 2 hours.  Cami slept in her carseat at the church for almost 4 hours!  She didn't nap in the morning at all, so she was super tired. 

Saturday we went up Hobble Creek canyon in Springville, UT.  We had reserved a pavilion/park area.  We did family pictures, played at the park and visited.  In the afternoon we broke up into teams and played several lawn games--volleyball, horseshoes, bocce ball, ladder golf, etc.  It was fun to just relax and play.  I brought the pack-n-play again for Cade and Lindsey brought one for Josh.  They both took 2+ hour naps in the shade on the side of the field while everyone played games.  I passed off Cami to some who didn't want to play and went and had fun!

Sunday everyone went to church to hear my recently returned missionary cousin give a talk.  Lindsey and I opted to go to my parents ward because it was closer and earlier.  We were able to sneak a nap in for the boys before heading to Alpine to my uncle's house for the rest of the day.  Kirk met us there!  Cade was so excited to see his daddy.  He didn't leave Kirk's side for hours!  We had a special family home evening at Glenn's.  Each household had 3 minutes to share a story about their family.  Some were spiritual, some funny, some narratives.  I told our crazy moving story.  After dinner we went back to my parents house to relax.  It was a busy weekend, but totally worth it and fun. 

Wrestling with Grandpa--this happened a lot!

Cade sleeping outside

Lawn games

Helping get some water ready for dinner

 

Cami and Jenna--born on the same day!  Jenna is 8 hours older.
Cami is in blue fyi :)

 

The next week was the Wayne Smith Family reunion.  We hadn't all been together for 4 year--since before Alan's mission. 

We had a lot of fun hanging out at the house, eating and playing games.  Lindsey's husband Jason flew in on Wednesday morning and we all went bowling.  My parents got a "pass of all passes" for each of us that includes lots of activities around Utah.  Bowling was one of them, just pay for shoe rental.  We also went to Trafalga fun centers with everyone and the passes.  We fed the ducks, played at the park and had a yummy dinner/fire up the canyon.  Kirk and Jason hit the Provo River one day and caught a bunch of trout.  We (of course) took family pictures and went to a temple session.  My brother Alan couldn't make it to many of the things because of work and school, but we saw his wife Kristi many times. 

Playing in Grandma's shower--they loved it!

Feeding the ducks.  I think the boys ate as much bread as they threw

Trafalga go-carts

 See the little fountains in the background of the boats?  I got stuck under them and Cade and I got soaked.  He loved it!

and the boats. 

Lots of sand and squirting--usually not together though.



All the grandkids!  This one turned out cuter than any of our actual "family pictures"

Bowling

Roasting hot dogs

Cami and Lindsey

American Fork River

We did a little birthday party for Cade too, even though it was a month early.  His favorite part was ring around the rosy.  We did cookies instead of cake, cuz they're his favorite!