E family reunion

      Back in August, the kids and I were able to attend a family reunion with my mom's side of the family.  It was in the middle of the week, so Mike was unable to come, but I decided to be brave and take the kiddos on my own.  It was only a couple of hours away and my mom actually ended up riding with us (thank you mom!), so I guess I wasn't being exceptionally brave, but it was still the first time I've ever taken the kids on a trip without Mike there to help.

      We stayed at a really fun cabin up in the mountains that had it's own private swimming pool.  My family gave my kids and I the biggest room that had a king sized bed, bunk beds, a full sized crib, and a corner full of toys!  All three kids loved it.  Kiwi said her favorite part of the trip was the room, Little Man's was the swimming pool and the room.  

        We stayed for two nights and enjoyed visiting, swimming, hiking at a nearby national park, and playing games.  It was fun to see some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who I don't get to see very often, most of whom had never met Mason and hadn't seen the other kids since they were little.  

Kiwi and Mason enjoying the huge rocking car in our bedroom.

My dad and Jonathan playing a game that resembled both Scrabble and Banana Grams.  An E family reunion would not be complete without some sort of spelling game.  

Kiwi riding on my dad's shoulders on our little hike.  

Riding a tire swing that we found on the hike. 

Little Man and Marcus, or Buppy, as my kids sometimes call him.

The "little" kids.  My youngest cousin on the E. side is Allison.  She is ten and is so sweet with my children.  They both love her and her older sisters also.  

My cousin Sara brought her boyfriend along to meet the family.  Something tells me this might not be his last family reunion with her...

My cousins performing a play that my grandpa wrote years ago.  My grandpa has written many plays and books over the years and was surprised and happy when the family performed some of them (my aunt had the great idea to bring the scripts and read them).

I wish I would have gotten some pictures of the pool.  Little Man spent hours out there.  My uncles and cousins like to play this dunk ball game that involves a lot of jumping, splashing, and throwing around a ball.  I think they expected Little Man to be more of a spectator, but he put his water wings on and dove right in.  He would stand on the edge, wait until he saw a ball coming, and then would throw his little body right into the middle of all the people.  He was fearless.  It was pretty funny to watch.  My little adventure man.  By the end of the day he was wiped out.  

We missed Mike a lot, but we had a lot of fun and I am glad we went (although I definitely wouldn't be trying any sort of extended trip without him).