Poulsen Family Reunion 2017

 We all wore matching shirts on Monday. Thanks, Mom Gabe! "Always Reppin" - Go Cougars!

 Wearing Alice and Grace's glasses.

Yummy sushi for our lunch date!

Riveted by the pioneer stories Paul was telling at FHE.

Paul was the favorite wrestling opponent after FHE. 

 Alice went to a cat-themed birthday party on Tuesday and came home looking like this:)

 Tuckered out after a day of playing.

 Keeping warm while watching Grace make mac'n'cheese for dinner.

 Everybody wanted to watch!

 Silly kid.

 Waiting for the eye doctor.

 Being weird.

 Packing for the trip.

 We drove an hour and a half to Kamas, up to Smith and Morehouse to a campground for the Poulsen family reunion. 21 of us in 7 campsites. Ours had a cool stream behind it!

 Paul walked across the fallen tree to the little island.

Danny was sad because he thought Paul was hurting the river or something nonsensical like that.

 We were the only family in a tent (everyone else had tent trailers or trailers), but it worked out fine.

 Beautiful setting, and nice cool weather.

 It was a nice break from the heat, about 20 degrees cooler than Bountiful.

 We had some time before dinner, so we went with Dad Gabe and Uncle Mike to the nearby lake to practice fishing.

 Skipping stones.

 Alice caught one! It was small, so we threw it back in.

 The kid crew at dinner. Dayna and Alan made Dutch oven funeral potatoes, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and Dutch oven peach cobbler. Yum!

 Dad Gabe helped Nate on his fire efforts.

 Success!

 The kids had a ton of fun with the blow-up fighting toys Todd/Monica brought. They kept them busy both evenings.

 Decent night in the tent. We woke up hours before everyone else, so we fed the kids some dry cereal.

 It was pretty cool in the morning.

 Hanging out by Todd/Monica's trailer in the morning.

 Alice, Grace, favorite Uncle Mike, and Charlie visiting around the fire Paul made.

 Creighton and... one of the twins.

Dad Gabe crossing the river.

Then Uncle Todd.

Dad Gabe, Danny, Uncle Todd.

 After Todd/Monica's awesome breakfast of biscuits/gravy, hashbrowns, and bacon, our little family headed to the lake.

 We drove to the very end of the lake to find a spot big enough for the group.

 The kids had so much fun practicing their fishing pole casting, digging in the dirt, playing in the water, playing with sand toys, etc.

 After a while, Dad Gabe arrived with his kayak, and we took turns going on rides. Paul and his dad.

 Danny, Charlie, Dad Gabe.

 Grace and me.

Grace discovered this swampy area she called the grasslands. You could walk really far into the lake on mud and tree trunks. She, Alice, and Charlie spent hours out there exploring and naming different areas, like Carpets, Dead Body Trunk, the Undertrunks, and Fly Country. It was really magical.

 She looks so natural, and she and Grace both got pretty good at casting.

 Paul's old fishing vest.

 Throwing rocks in the water was Danny's favorite thing.

My three boys.

 Tired Danny didn't get a nap that day.

 Dead Body Trunk. Mom Gabe and Grandma Lu eventually arrived and hung out for a while.

 Danny and his grandparents.
The rest of the family never ended up finding us. There was no cell signal, so they were in a different part of the lake. Our family was there for 6 hours! Then back at camp, Grace helped Mom/Dad Gabe and the teenagers make Navajo tacos and chocolate pudding cake for dinner. Yum!

Rougher night in the tent that night. I was super sun-sick from the day before. Uncle Mike made delicious French toast and bacon and sausage for breakfast, then we had craft time. Mom Gabe did temporary tattoos, glitter tattoos, and snow cones.

 Aunt Dayna brought a bunch of craft stuff, including bird houses. The Poulsen family is a little split on their Utah college loyalties. Our family headed home just after 1.

I was super sun-sick, going back and forth between chills and burning up, sore throat, headache, feeling like throwing up, etc. We got some pizza and watched a dumb movie with the kids, then put them to bed. They had stayed up late the past couple of nights, so even as tired as they were, they didn't go down easy. But we were so happy to be home with real beds, toilets, and showers!