Awkward Family Photos - Smith Edition

Every family member has had a hand in planning parts of the Reunion.  Today we did an obstacle course, some awkward family photos, pizza at a family favorite, riding atv's in the desert, and a tinfoil bonfire sing-along party. Basically, it was an epic reunion line-up.  We're up at bat tomorrow with the family service project.

I love this tree. 

Crawling under strings during the obstacle course.  Reminded me of some spy movie where they need to avoid the lasers to steal the priceless jewelry.

Monopoly game. Playing with cousins is fun.

Pizza party.

All of the inlays got to select photos from a huge stack and then the family members got to re-create the magic.  Below are some of my favorites.  Let the awkward begin.

This is Ryan's youngest brother.

There he is again, and that is the exact same stuffed animal.

Ryan is on the bottom, crying.

I think he still feels like crying in this position. 

In the desert, riding around on atv's.

Calvin chatting with his Grandma.

Now that is actually a lot of tinfoil dinners.

Hanging around by the fire.

Calvin roasting some marshmallows to make some smore's.  

What a delicious, fun day!

Super Sunday

 The debate was wether to get into Mesa in time to hang out before a huge family party, or to attend a 9:00am sacrament meeting that would have us racing to town to catch the party on time.  As I love sacrament meeting, and am especially fond of Christmas music (and I knew there would be loads of it on the Sabbath before Christmas) we opted for the late start, early church, and lightning fast potty brakes. To pass the time, we listened to the entire Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol." It was delightful, and so incredibly well written.  Such a lovely story.  We pulled into Mesa about 5 minutes before the Wright Family Christmas bash began.  NO flat tires, no speeding tickets, no keys... luckily we found them after the party.  Safe and sound in AZ.

Calvin heading into church, showing me his undershirt.

Snuggling in the hotel bed.

At a gas station they had the most amazing metal art on display.  

The round cactus were fantastic.

Another favorite was this riverbed rock scorpion.  I don't know where I would put it in my house, but I'm sure I would find a place.

Hanging out in the car for 8 hours.

Dishing up at our Mexican fiesta!

The end of the meal is always a talent show.  Preston sang for the crowd.

FYI: The facility we were at is called the Wright House, which had been in the family for years.  Ryan and I had our wedding luncheon here just 15 1/2 years ago.  Time flies.

St George

Instead of being in Bountiful, we are resting comfy in a St George hotel room. Our drive was a success: no car accidents, minimal fighting, few bathroom stops and enough time after our arrival left to play.  This afternoon we went shopping for family, ate at a Chinese Buffett, swam in a hot tub that could hold 25 (but we were the only ones in the pool area:~). We finished up the day with a fake concert at the Tabernacle; fake because the hotel told us it started an hour earlier than it actually did.  So our 6 o'clock arrival to a 7 o'clock concert wasn't a total bust because luckily the choir was practicing and we were able to catch about 20 minutes of polished songs, which sounded wonderful, especially the Carol of the Bells. The lights at the Tabernacle and the temple were wonderful. What a lovely day. We're off to a great start on the Smith 2014 Christmas trip.  And in only 11 short days we get to say, "Smell you later to what has been an eventful, action packed, best of times-worst of times kind of year. 

Sandwiches and soda. And crazy big eyes.

The tabernacle looked lovely.

I'm a fan of the lights that go on absolutely every single limb in the tree.

Chinese Buffett, and they ben had fresh sushi, how lucky is that?!

We're leaving, Not on a Jet Plane

Less than 12 hours from now, we will be cruising in our minivan, heading South like birds for the winter.  Destination: Arizona. Pit stop: St. George; fun in a hotel, sort of halfway point. We will be gone for a wee bit, and traveling with pets, and crashing with family isn't always the best idea. We have farmed out our animals, and as much as I love my darling turtle Athena Xena (Annie will miss her the most, for sure) I am going to absolutely miss our lovable Grandma Dog: Cricket the Dog Hero.  If I could only leave one of my kids instead... I wouldn't, but we are all going to miss our Cricket.  FYI: Ryan is home from his business trip (West Coast, I think?) and will have had enough time to use the loo, brush his teethe, and get some rest before we take off in the morning.  Welcome home hon, now drive us to St. George.  

We have a big family picture coming up, and Calvin wanted to look especially dapper.

It was definitely time for a haircut, and I think he looks very handsome.

Isn't this a lovely pic of Utah's Dixie? 

Wikipedia said that's the nickname for St. George.

I wonder if it really is...

Percussion

Top 5 Things that made Calvin's percussion concert awesome tonight.

1) The entire concert of 9 songs was over with in less than 45 minutes.

2) The song choices were fantastic. we even got to listen to Charlie Brown's Christmas song.

3) Plenty of seating, good seating where it wasn't hard to see your child

4) A printed program so we knew exactly what to expect : 9 songs

5) Calvin got to play the bells, and it was wonderful.

Not the best spot for him to be during his big moment. This was taken just before he performed, and during his song, he stood behind those giant metal tubes hanging down. I almost jumped into the band seats to get a better picture, but I refrained.

Twas the...

Today was made especially special by the performance of my youngest (for now), Owen Ryan Wallace Smith. The first grade puts on a fabulous Christmas program every year; Owen is my third child to participate. His English teacher is a gifted pianist and Owen had such a great time, although appeared rather somber during the performance.  Lots of songs, lots of actions, everyone had a special part (Owen recited part of the poem "The Night Before Christmas") and the whole thing was under an hour. It was totally awesome! What a show! Simon and Annie were able to see it during school today, and Annie loved it so much that she joined Calvin, Preston and me during the second performance. 

Handsome boys!

He's in the front row, far left.

He got to sit next to his good buddy.

I love his sock.

Ice-cream afterward to celebrate.  I told him to pose like a professional singer, 

since he sung his heart out tonight.

What flavors did we go with?

Annie and Simon: Egg Nog

Owen: Rainbow Sherbet

Me: Mint and Chip. I am seriously never disappointed with mint and chip,

Test #2

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for your well wishes and prayers on my behalf over the last 24 hours.  I did the followup 3-hour glucose test today, where I got to hang out in the lab for the entire time.  I waited on pins and needles all afternoon for the call with the results.  Then on a whim I checked my inbox, and saw that my midwifes office had emailed me, which could only be good news! It turns out that I am feeling crummy and tired because my house isn't as clean as I want it, and my husband is out of town so I'm flying solo, and we keep running out of milk, and some of my kids are earnestly trying to be on the naughty list (no names will be mentioned, but they know who they are)... I'm not feeling lousy because I have gestational diabetes, because I don't! Boom, baby.

Today I opted to give the orange flavor a whirl.

It was terrible, but not as awful as the fruit punch yesterday,  Now I know.

When Ryan is out of town, my littels often lobby to have a sleep over with mom. It was Owen's turn last night. Fun facts: sometimes Owen snores, and I love his bed hair.