Joel Flake Family Reunion 2012!

 On Monday, Heather and baby Kate flew to PA for a few days, so I had the rest of the Kramer kids. I took them to Jordan River Park. They loved it. (Alice, Grace, Luke, Jensen, Eliza)

 I did laundry and got the house ready for the next guests while the kids played downstairs. Then the little girls napped, and Luke/Grace/Jensen did puzzles. I let Luke pick a movie after that. He chose Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses.

 Soon the Burrs brought Cassidy from her visit to UVU. She really liked it and wants to go there. Alice, who is very particular about who she likes, LOVES Cassidy. They read books together.

 The Malones arrived soon after that.Cassidy helped Alice feed the baby Hazel. Alice loves all these new babies!

 We visited while the kids played, then fed everyone dinner. (Jensen, Merrody, Joely, Jack, Luke, Matt)

 We had popsicles outside. (Jack, Luke, Joely, Jensen, Grace)

 The porch swing was put to good use. (Norah, Merrody, Eliza, Joely, Alice, Jensen, Grace). Then we all played/visited out back.

 Paul gave a short FHE lesson on the pioneer trek to Utah, then the kids went to bed. We had to change around some room assignments when kids were too scared to sleep downstairs, but it all worked out in the end.

 The adults visited, and Matt and Paul may have made a 9:00 Wendy's run. Matt's decided this was not a good week to be on a diet!

 On Tuesday, we had a nice slow morning. Sarah and Grace didn't do their hair for quite a while!

 Merrody read to Alice.

 And Matt read to Eliza. I worked on packing for the reunion, since I'd been focusing on hosting/tending visitors for days.

 The kids had a lot of fun playing downstairs. Norah and Grace played dress up.

 Then a quick lunch before the Malones left to hang out with some old friends. Those kids can eat a lot of sandwiches! (Jensen, Jack, Joely, Luke) I let Jensen pick the movie that afternoon: Dora's Halloween.

 Alice and Cassidy: BFF. Paul got off work early and helped me with packing, then Cassidy and I finished the reunion food shopping. We could barely shove it all in the fridge!

 Around 5, Mom/Dad, Derek, Cheyenne, and Justin's kids arrived. We had fun eating and visiting. (Eden, Jude, Miles, Paul, Dad, Bethany, Mom, Eliza)

 Ashley/Delaney came up from Provo to get Cheyenne back. She was pretty happy about it.

 Then we all drove to West Jordan for Emily's baby blessing. We were happy to have our van so we could fit the Kramer kids. (Alice, Grace, Luke, Eliza, Jensen)

 The church was still locked when we got there. (Eden, Grace, Jensen, Miles, Luke, Jude)

 The proud mother (Haley) and the cute baby Emily. It was short and sweet, then home for bedtime. Derek and Cassidy went to a movie, so Paul and I got Mom and Dad to ourselves. We ate treats and played Quiddler. Fun!
On Wednesday, we all worked on getting everything packed up for the reunion. Thank goodness Mom/Dad Gabe have so many coolers - we used 5 food coolers and 2 water coolers! Mom and I went and got quick haircuts, then we fed the kids lunch, and drove an hour south to Hobble Creek Canyon in Springville. Uncle Lawrence/Aunt Elaine went on a trip and left us their big house/land.

 We immediately put Alice and Eliza down for naps, and people started arriving and unpacking. Grace liked the swing made from a tire.

Once most people had arrived, we had an opening welcome meeting. (Savannah, me, Joely, Wesley, Ammon, Cassidy, Whitney, Adam). We had 3 missing from this year's reunion: Justin (new job), Austin (podiatry rotations), and Dillon (mission).

 Jensen was nervous during the safety rules. Dad made the treehouse sound terrifying!

 There was a lot of free time that afternoon for unpacking, settling in, exploring the grounds, etc. I stayed in the house to listen for Alice/Eliza, and then went to Provo with Joel, Ben, and Emery to pick up dinner. Meanwhile, Paul explored with Grace. Luke, Jensen, and Grace liked the barn, and Grace even conquered her fear and rode a horse! (Sarah took a picture, but we don't have it yet.)

 Grace as the egg being cracked on the trampoline. (Grace, Jensen, Norah)

 Grace on a big rock by the creek.

 Huck Finn.

 Once Alice woke up and I left for Provo, she joined the group at the creek.

 Paul eventually changed the girls into their swimsuits - once their other clothes were already soaked!

 Fun in the creek.

 Dad got super hot and sweaty leading the horseback riding. He got in the creek fully clothed.

 Is that our lake monster from Roswell?

 Self-baptized.

 We came back from Provo with TONS of Chinese food for our 42 people. It was a hit, though we got too much rice and veggies. Everyone loved the assorted flavors of drumsticks for dessert. By then, Heather had arrived to take her kids back. They were happy to see her. (Heather, Natalie, me, Mom, Sarah)

 Then we all went out on the back lawn for Cassidy's activity. Paul's girls can't get enough of him! It was nice  for him to get some time off work and spend time with us (and everyone else).

 Me and Grace.

Alice and Grandma. (Sorry, Mom, I know you didn't get to fix your hair after your haircut.)

 We got paired up with different kids so we could get to know them. Grace got paired with Derek and Miles. Cassidy even had each group make up a dance move!

 Then we bathed the kids before bed. Cute little princesses! Once the kids were in bed, the adults had a "useful item" exchange, and discussion groups. We got to bed at a decent hour.

 On Thursday, Mom fed us a great breakfast, then some kids went down to see the horses. (Alice, Grace, Savannah)

 After that was the 2-mile fun run. We made it more of a 1-mile fun walk for our family. Alice was totally into it.

 Then we all went down to the Rotary Park for field day activities by the Burrs. Before that, Kelsey started by giving out awards for the fun run. Grace was so happy to get a trophy for "best dressed", but Alice wasn't really into her medal. Good way to get rid of old gymnastics awards, Kelsey!

 We had a lot of fun with all the different field games, including the sponge race.

 Emery and Grace were 3-legged race partners.

 Eliza, Mom, and Alice sat that one out.

 Paul's got killer limbo moves.

 Where do you think Grace learned hers?

 Then home for a delicious panini lunch by Sarah, and on to kid activities. I led the activities for Grace's age group, with Greg and Derek's help. We did a craft, then nail painting. I did Norah's nails, Greg did Savannah's, and Derek did Grace's.

 Greg gets extra credit for letting Savannah paint his nails!

 Then we did their make up. Derek wanted to opt out, claiming he didn't know how.

 But look how pretty they all turned out! (Savannah, Norah, Grace)

 Then they had a tea party.

 Grace: Super Ballerina.

 Meanwhile, Paul headed up an activity for the oldest boys. They made their own mini golf course, then did an egg drop off the deck. Grace begged to join the end of their activity, so Paul helped her pack an egg in a tin can. (Grace, Jude)

 It didn't survive the drop.

 Ammon, Joely, and Preston had eggs that survived. Paul was super impressed with Preston's creativity in both activities. He made a parachute! Preston got sick after that, and was down for the rest of the reunion. Poor kid. After that, Derek reported on his mission, and we had a testimony meeting. It was nice, though super hot. (The house doesn't have a/c.) Then delicious Dutch oven fried chicken brought in by Aunt Jolynne, followed by Ashley's homemade mint brownies. Yum!

 The next activity was a dance competition by Joel/Melanie. My girls LOVE to dance, and they were out there whenever the music was on.

 Go, girls! Shake that booty!

 Mom and Dad got a slow song once all the competitions were over. Paul and I LOVED getting a little bit of swing dance instruction and dancing together. So fun! We got the kids to bed, then Cannon/Amanda (cousins) came by and joined in our evening games. Kelsey's games were very creative and fun, but my team lost.

 On Friday, Grace and Alice helped Merrody and Grandpa feed the horses. Dad still knows how to feed, catch, and saddle horses after all these years, and Merrody is a natural with those horses.

 Melanie made a great breakfast, we did some cleaning, then we had more kid activities. Grace got to be in Mom/Dad's group. Mom made them all cute aprons! (Grace, Norah)

 I helped out with Alice's group. Sarah brought stuff for them to decorate shirts. Cute!

 Paul helped Joel with the horse riding group. He led Miles and Jensen, with Heather/Kate nearby.

 My group was very interested in the horses. (Cheyenne, Eliza, Alice)

 Grace and her group made whoopie pies. (Grandpa, Savannah, Grace, Norah)

 Then the men/boys played wiffle ball in the rain. The girls made bead jewelry (Grace LOVED it!), and the women made birthday plates/banners. Sarah did a lot of prep work for the crafts. Very fun!

The Ruizes made burritos for lunch, then we had just enough down time for Grace to play in the sandbox with Miles, Savannah, and Norah.

 After that, we all drove to Curtis/Emily's (cousins) in Mapleton to swim in their pool. Grace was able to have some freedom to roam with her floaties on. Alice kept wanting to be floatie-free and swim with help. She's brave!

 When we got home, we all bathed and showered, ate pizza/cookies, and got dolled up for family pictures. I got the girls all ready a little early, so Paul took them away for a photo shoot while I got myself ready. Look at those sweeties in their skirts Mom made!

 Sister hug!

 Porch swing.

 Look how grown-up Grace is! This is way better than a school photographer could do.

 Sweet girls. Dad can't stop saying how much Alice looks like Paul and Grace looks like me.

 Semi-decent shot of Alice.

 Sarah took the big family pictures, then started doing small groups. The cousins hung out on the hill waiting their turn.

 Paul got a shot of me and Alice.

 With a little cropping, even Grace can take a decent photo! (Check out my new haircut.)

 Daddy and Daddy's girl. Kelsey took the rest of our family photos, so we'll have to get those from her later. We got the kids to bed, then the adults did family reports and a business meeting. We got a lot figured out for next year's reunion at Joel/Melanie's in Horseshoe Bend, ID at the end of June.

By the time we woke up on Saturday, the Kramers and Joel's family had already left. The rest of us had breakfast, got the cars packed, and started the massive cleaning effort. Whitney and Adam led a little meeting about service, in which Grace recited the beatitudes, and people got service awards. Grace loved her award for learning such a long scripture, but I think she liked the dollar from Grandpa even more! Grandpa took the kids down to pick up rocks while the rest of us cleaned. The Malones left mid-morning, we packed lunches, said goodbyes, and left around noon to go our separate ways. Melancholy for it all to be over, but what happy memories! Thanks to everyone who helped pull it off, especially Ashley, the master planner of it all. Let's do this again sometime!