Family Reunion at St. George

Before the family reunion on Memorial Day weekend, Nate had a Sunday where his stomach was in extreme pain. We had had macaroni and cheese the night before and I guess that is really unhealthy. He decided to make another Doctor appointment because it obviously wasn't an ulcer. He talked to some of his friends at work, and he decided it might be his gall bladder. So he went to a specialist and he concluded that it did sound like a gall bladder issue. He set up an appointment for an ultrasound.

So with that, we headed down to St. George where we rented a vacation house that fit the family pretty well. There were 6 bedrooms (so my parents slept in a common area in the basement), 2 large living areas, very large dining table, theater room, and a rooftop deck. The community also had a pool. We were the last ones to get there, and all the kids were watching Moana in the theater room so Logan promptly joined them. Kylie got sidetracked by a darling playhouse. She was pretty much always there unless we had something else going on or she was sleeping.

The next morning, we hiked Dixie Rock. It was a really fun place for the kids to explore. Lots of cracks, and nooks and crannies to hike around in. The kids had a blast!

After that, we went back to the house and went swimming. Nate stayed at the house while Kylie took her nap, since his stomach often isn't feeling well. So it was Logan and I at the pool with a lot of other cousins. Logan was being very brave and went down a slide that even made him duck his face under the water, so I was proud of him. I went down it a few times too. It was fun! We also brought a couple of little squirt guns and Easton and he were playing with those for awhile. After awhile, I was ready to go because I was tired (being pregnant and all). But Logan wanted to stay so my sisters kept an eye on him.

After everyone got back, we did what is becoming a tradition in the family. A lip sync battle. Our family did "Happy." When we had practiced at home, Kylie was really into it and dancing so cute, but when we did it there, she just stood there. Logan did a great job though and Nate even decided to be the lead singer! I was proud of him for going out of his comfort zone! JJ's family did "You're Welcome" from Moana. They did it a little differently because they were upside on chairs and had the clothes covering their eyes and hair over their chins. It was pretty funny! The Hancock's was probably my favorite. They did "Whip and Nae Nae" and did a great job with all the dance moves. My mom and dad did John Denver "You Fill up my Senses" (I think that's what it is called) and my dad was the main singer while my mom acted out the song. The Collette's did "Can't Stop The Feeling." Tiffany was basically dancing the whole time with Sienna on her hip. And the Pattersons did "Shiny" from Moana. After that, no one was ready to be done, so different groups got up to do some impromptu dances. The pregnant ladies (Angie announced she was pregnant!) did "Running Just as Fast as You Can" by Tiffany. It was pretty fun because I still know that song so well!

That evening the adults (except Nate and David) went to the temple to do sealings. The original plan was for all of the adults to go, but Nate and I just didn't feel comfortable with that. There are still a lot of really little kids in this family. So Nate had decided to stay home and while we were there, David decided he should as well. I felt much more comfortable knowing they were there. But it was a really nice experience. That temple is the oldest one in Utah and you could tell. The walls were thick, the ceilings low, there wasn't any duct work on the top floor so they had portable air conditioners. But it was beautiful in its simplicity and because it was just so old. I was also able to do a sealing for a couple of children I had found who had died as 2 year olds (twins) and somehow didn't get sealed to their parents even though the rest of the siblings had. So that was a good experience too.

The next day was Sunday so we went to Sacrament meeting. Some stayed for all 3 meetings and some went to church at 11 and just did that Sacrament meeting. Once everyone was back and fed, we went on a tour of the Jacob Hamblin home (a wealthy and important St. George settler) and then to the temple grounds so the kids could enjoy the temple as well. We also had a ping pong tournament. Nate became the ref and score keeper so he was out in the garage the whole time. I got out the first round.

Listening to the tour on Jacob Hamblin. The man certainly had a lot of information and it was really interesting, but probably a bit long for how many little kids we had. They were very restless.

The group to the side of the Hamblin house.

Monday we checked out, then did a couple of short hikes in Snow Canyon. One was a little slot canyon, and the other was a rock that had a bunch of pioneer signatures on it. Other families stayed longer to do another hike, but our kids were tired so we decided to head back home.

We were actually able to make it to the Summers' family BBQ for dinner before we went to our house. So that was nice to not have to worry about dinner.