Another family reunion...

It's been a crazy two weeks and I've been trying to find time to post all these pictures and what we've been doing for a couple days now but life keeps getting in the way. So here I am, up late on a Saturday night, finally getting around to it. Hope it's worth it for you...

For those of you who thought I had dropped off the face of the earth, well, I almost have. We started driving cross-country two weeks ago, stopping in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska to visit some of the Butler family and then headed up to Island Park, ID for a couple days for my family's Call reunion. We stayed at some remote lodges that didn't have internet service or cell phone reception and I actually had to interact with real people and find things to do besides blogging, facebooking, checking email, and chatting on the phone. Can you believe I survived a few days in the "wild"?

We actually had a great time playing speed scrabble, having pie eating contests, roasting marshmallows over a fire and making smores, going on hikes, staying up late talking, watching slideshows/home videos, singing songs around the campfire, and just catching up with everyone and watching our kids play with their cousins. Here are a bunch of pictures of the highlights, enjoy!

The whole family, 23 adults and 33 kids! This is just my immediate family: my parents, my 9 siblings, their spouses, and kids! We barely fit in two 6 bedroom lodges! Anyone know of a good family reunion place that is reasonably priced near SLC that would fit 50+ people (have at least 12 bedrooms) that we could use for next time, two years from now? Let me know since me and one of my sisters have been assigned to organize the next one! Ahhhh!

Cousins by the dozens. The oldest is 16, the youngest 5 months.

Just a handful of cousins with Grandpa taking a break while on a hike

We spent a lot of time around the fire, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, singing songs, and talking about the good old days at the cabin that we stayed at during the summers while growing up

Making S'mores!

Jared and Leah with one of my sisters holding the chain that Jared has been whittling away at for a couple weeks

Abbie making silly faces while I'm trying to get a picture

On a little hike along a beautiful river, somewhere near Island Park

Abbie with some of the huckleberries that we found along the trail. Yummy!

How much farther do we have to walk?

Abbie and her cousins enjoying one of the hot tubs at the lodge

Kid's pie-eating contest

Abbie actually really enjoyed this, I didn't think she would dare do it with no hands

Leah also got a turn, with the help of a spoon, but still just as much mess!

Now it's the adults turn...

Abbie cheered me on the whole time, saying "You can do it, Mommy! Go faster, Go, Go, Go!" It was pretty cute but I still didn't win:(

Abbie got to sleep in the loft with a bunch of her cousins and thought that was the coolest thing ever. She's going to be so bored when it's just her and Leah at home again.

Well, that about sums up the reunion but keep checking back as there will be more to come since I'm still in UT and with the majority of the family who lives here. We've been having fun going shopping, going out out to eat, swimming, attending a baptism and temple open house, having birthday parties, and just enjoying lots of time with cousins. We've been busy but it's worth it!

Random pictures this week

Here's just a couple random pictures from this week. Abbie and Leah playing on their "computers".

Leah doing a game where she is a gate and when you say open...

she lifts one arm up...

and then leans against the wall so you can pass by. So silly but cute!

Discovering the fun of olives on fingers. They still wouldn't eat any of them, even after all the fun they had with their food.

My latest belly pic, getting bigger at 22-1/2 weeks along. I'm feeling the boy move all the time and that's been fun. I love this stage when you can finally tell I'm pregnant but I'm not too big and uncomfortable yet. Less than 4 months to go until his debut!

Family Reunion time!

We just got back from a Butler Family Reunion in Washington D.C. We did it there because one of Jared's brothers lives there with his family and they wanted to host it this year instead of having to travel out west like usual. It was so good to see everyone after two years and to do so many fun things. We saw a firework show, went to the D.C. temple together, saw the downtown sights, stayed up late talking and eating yummy food, went swimming, and watched our kids play together in the huge backyard of the house we were staying at. We also got family pictures taken in our matching red, white, and blue reunion t-shirts. Here are just a few:

The whole Butler clan, 15 adults and 19 kids

The original Butler fam: Dad, Mom, 5 boys and 2 girls

All 19 grandkids lined up according to age (plus 3 more on the way!) We had their number printed on the back of the kid's t-shirts, so cute! Abbie loved hers and kept running around saying "I'm number 12!"

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Leah (number 16) comforting her cousin who didn't want to sit still

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Our little family

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Grandchild number 22 on the way

The awesome playground in the backyard of the house we stayed at

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Abbie loved shoveling the rubber "dirt"

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Leah loved this comfy swing

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Abbie discovered the fun of a squirt gun when we went swimming one afternoon. We were so lucky and had perfect weather the whole time we were there, it wasn't too hot and humid but it was nice enough to be outside a lot.

Waiting for the fireworks to start. Leah didn't feel too good and was tired but once the fireworks started, she perked right up.

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The beautiful Washington D.C temple

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We all got to go to the temple together one morning and that was an amazing experience.

A few of us also went to a fireside (where Earl C. Tingey was speaking) one night at the visitor's center

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All three of us preggo ladies, all due with boys!

Me and Leah at a pancake breakfast on the 4th

A couple of the cousins with their flag shirts on

Playing "Ring around the Rosie" while waiting for the adults to finish cleaning up

Leah with a sucker after our own little candy "parade" since we missed the town one

Abbie in the little car, she had a hard time giving this up to let anyone else have a turn

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Visiting an old friend from A2 who now lives just a few miles from Jared's brother. I'm so glad I got to see her and her family and chat for a while.

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Leah and her friend D.

On our last night there, Abbie and a few of her cousins were so excited to catch fireflies

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Abbie showing off all the bugs they caught

Leah with a silly grin riding one of the many cars in the backyard

We had such a great time with everyone and wish that we lived closer so that we could hang out more and our kids could get to know their cousins better. Thank you for a wonderful reunion, J and T.