Waite Family Reunion 2011- Part 1

My dad's side of the family, the Waites, have a family reunion every other year. This year we went to "Smokey Campground" by Alturas Lake.

It was a great place for a family reunion.

There was a main lodge that had a kitchen and a large eating/playing/socializing area.

The kitchen had a huge gas stove and grill, 2 regular ovens, many pans/pots/bowls/utensils, 3 refrigerators, a deep freeze and a nice stainless steel counters and serving area. It was awesome!

There were also several fire pits, amphitheaters, picnic benches and outside games to play.

We were spoiled with cabins to sleep in... don't know if I ever want to sleep in a tent again, if I don't HAVE TO.

There was one bathroom facility that was shared. It had flushing toilets and 2 showers.

When we arrived, we hunted for a cabin. We settled on cabin #3.

These were older, but nice cabins. Ours had 4 bunks (that would sleep 8), a wood stove, a table/chairs and places to hang clothes/jackets/bags.

Although these cabins were "nice" they were still cabins. The dust, dead flies on the table and the sign that read, "Remove dead mice from traps", made my kids a little uneasy at first.

We teased Rylee that she had been expecting a 5-star hotel. She wasn't sure if she wanted to sleep on the dusty mattresses with mice and dead flies. When it was dark and she was tired, she got over it. :)

We shared a cabin with Amber, Daisylyn and Sterling. With 2 pack-n-plays and our queen-sized air mattress on the floor, we were snug, but it all worked out just fine.

Abree-Lizzy-Audrey

The kids were dirty, but happy, from sun up to sundown.

Keaton (John & Kendra's youngest)

Jason and Tim took advantage of the nice horseshoe pits.

Jackson trying to untangle the balls to play Ladder Ball.

There was also a tether ball pole that was a popular place for the kids to be.

Friday night was potluck for dinner. Everyone pitched in to make a great meal.

Treyson is proof that dinner was yummy.
Look at that face.

I think Sterling would rather be crawling on the floor getting dirty, than be in his stroller.

He was a very Happy Camper. :)

Molly, Candice & boys

After dinner clean-up, Amber lead us in a few get-to-know-you type games.

First game we had a paper with things people had done. We had to match the actions with the people who had done them, by getting their signature or initials. Example: Has gone on a mission, Has served in the military, Has skydived, Is the oldest child, Has a unique talent, Speaks a foreign language, etc.

Grant-Necha-Lynn

Grant also challenged us with a "Family History Quiz". We were to answer the questions by filling in the ancestors/family members who the question applied to. It was a hard quiz, so could be turned in by the next morning..at 9 o'clock sharp!

Dean was very serious about this quiz. He and Candice read/studied the family history book on the way up and asked enough questions to get a good "grade" on his quiz. He won a set of new scriptures for having the most correct answers.

Half of John & Kendra's sweet family & Karan.

Al, Vicki & Neil

Next get-to-know-you game, we passed around a ball in a circle. On the ball there were numbers. What ever number your hand was touching, you answered the question.

We learned several people were afraid of spiders and what they would do with a million dollars.

Molly's husband Scott & boys

Levi LOVED crawling around.

His hands and face were a happy shade of brown/black, at all times.

Check out those cute fingers.

Wanna share a Cheerio with him? :)

This is Lydia, Sarah and Neils 10th child! Isn't she soo cute. She seemed happy and bright-eyed the whole time.

Melanie, you can't tell much by this picture, but I think she looks a little like your Lydia. What do you think?

After most of the kids were in bed, a card game of "Hand and Foot" broke out. It was soo fun, but had to be-continued the next night, because of the late hour.

What a fun first day... on to the next.

After dinner, Abree started not feeling well. She huddled next to me and got quiet. I finally tuned-in and asked if it was her stomach. Yes. We got her a bowl and she threw-up 3 times that evening. We could tell it was mostly the Jell-o salad she had got seconds on, so I wondered if she had over-ate or if she was sick. She curled up on the floor and fell asleep, while we played cards.

After going to bed that night, I was on high-alert all night. I jumped at every sound , worrying about waking babies or sick kids. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night. By the next morning, she was hungry and asking for breakfast. No one else got sick, so I assumed she had, had too much of a good thing. Whew.

Service Lasagna

As a Beehive class, we wanted to do some type of service, for new mothers in our ward.

We decided to make lasagna and bring it to 4 moms who recently had babies. They could put the lasagna in the freezer or use it for dinner the next day.
Sister Vane and I had pre-cooked the noodles and ground beef, but the girls grated the cheese and assembled the lasagna in pans.

The leftover noodles did not go to waste. :)

After the lasagnas had been assembled, we crammed into cars and caravanned to our destinations.

We were a site to see... a mass of Beehives swarming the front steps of each home. I'm sure they heard us coming, before they saw us. Beehive girls can be loud. :)

We got to peek at the new babies, at 2 of the houses.

So cute!!!

"COnGRatULaTioNS!"

... from the Beehives.

ONE

Levi turned ONE this week.He put on his 1 shirt and was ready to party.

Doesn't he look so cute?

Candice did a great job getting everything set up and decorated.

Don't these cupcakes look so yummy?
I haven't had mine yet...it's in the freezer. :)

We got the party started by having Levi open his gifts.

He was semi-interested in the wrapped gifts, but LOVED the cards! He opened and closed them, tasted them, but mostly scanned them throughly and pointed to the pictures.

Ooooo, a card from Treyson.

Some of the gifts he received.. and loved playing with later in the evening.

Then it was cake time.

At first he kind of just looked at it and fingered it. Then his mom gave him a little taste of the frosting. Oh, it's yummy. He picked it up and really went for it.

Wanna share?

After Levi had his chance to eat some cupcake, it was everyone else's turn. The kids rushed to the dessert table and devoured the tasty treats.

Levi did a good job with his cupcake.. even put a little in his hair. The 1 shirt will probably never be the same... but you only turn ONE, once. :)

Happy Birthday BIG BOY Levi!!!

Love you!

Getting ready for the big ONE.

This BIG guy is turning ONE.

So his momma and I got together to create some party decor FUN.


First project of the day, was a 1 shirt for him to wear on his BIG day.
He's going to look SO cute!

Next up, was a circle garland banner.
Levi LOVES balls, so we went with anything circular, spotted or round.

Next, pinwheels... just because they are so darn cute.


Our original decor idea and inspiration was a circus theme, so we covered these cans in tickets. They will be used to hold treats or whatever Candice chooses.

Quite a productive day, don't cha think?!
Notice the little pinwheel for Levi's cake and the cute cupcake toppers Candice made too.

Can't wait to see how it all comes together.
This is going to be FUN!!!