Family Reunion- Check

We survived and even loved last week as we camped at Ensign Ranch with Milo's mom's side of the family. We had the lodge and it was fabulous. Fridges, freezers, sinks, ovens. You should have seen the food that was trekked in to feed us all. Let's just say, much of it was trekked back out, ha! Everything went off without a hitch. Really it did. I'm not just saying that either, there was no drama. Just fun. We haven't actually camped for a family reunion since 2007, when I was still sick pg with Reed. I wont lie, I was a little nervous to go but I'm further along this time around and not sick like I was then so it went much better than expected.

I just love the whole property, it's so pretty. We had perfect weather too. Some might say a little on the cold side but it was just right. A tent is supposed to be cold in the morning, right?

We went for walks, Milo fished with the kids multiple times, they went down the slip and slide, all four kids rode a horse, went canoeing, and more. Sadly, I only have a few photos that I took with my smaller camera. This Tuesday I started to download my photos from both of my cameras and I accidentally hit my memory card while it was still in the card reader. It made a loud crack/snapping sound and I lost everything on it. Boo. I cried too, dang hormones!

The kids love to explore this little island called Beaver Island. Dane was brave enough to try and find a beaver, yikes. They scare me.

This picture just cracks me up. The girls (cousin Kristin with Kathryn) are posing with the flower they picked and the boys are laughing because Nathan sat on an unfortunate knot on the log that was sticking up a little to high, ha.

Shaila taking self portraits that turned into a laugh session. Jana relaxing in the background.

Marion and Jana were in charge this year and they did a great job planning and executing all the little details. Marion hung a shirt from every past reunion on the wall in the big room to add some nostalgia. I couldn't believe how many 'shirts' I've been around for. This is such a blurry photo but I love Marion's smile, I had to be sly or a hand would be covering her face. She had crafts for the kids, crafts for us, all sorts of toys for them to play with and just covered all her bases. It was perfect.

Since we were in the lodge (though we stayed in a tent) we had access to- an industrial kitchen, large dining room, gathering place with couches, bathrooms right there, ping pong and Foosball- things were much, much easier. We had a craft table that was set up the whole time, we had ice cream that wasn't from a Ziploc bag, Shaila made The Pioneer Woman's Maple Cinnamon Rolls (delish!!), I didn't get one bug bite, the kids could run and play on grass just out the back door, there was a huge family dinner on Friday night that would have been a nightmare outside and we had a family talent show that was just hilarious.

I'm still annoyed I lost those photos and videos but here's a mental picture for me later (not sure that will help but I'll try). Plus, someday I'm hoping to steal others photos once they post them, ha!

~Milo on the canoe with Nathan, Dane, Reed, Malcolm and Quinn. Couple photos looked like they were tipping....
~Talent show acts from our family- Milo singing Johnny Rebeck with the kids, they did an air guitar number, Nathan showed off his 'flexibility' (his favorite trick), Reed did a little breakdancing and wasn't shy even for a second, Kat wrote and performed a song about nature and Milo sang with his mom and sister. Wow, sounds like we took up half the talent show. There was lots more, I promise.
~Videos from above performances. Including the song from Shaila and Dylan, so good.
~The kids riding horses. First time on a horse for Reed, I was even the one to lead his horse around the field. Pretty brave for me. Kathryn and Nathan want so bad to be big enough for a trail ride and to ride their own horse (they have to be 8 yrs, 54" and at least 70 lbs). Maybe next year, Kat needs to gain 11 lbs and Nate needs to gain 5 lbs. Weights in their shoes??
~More that I can't even remember. Sad.

We go back in a month with my family and while the numbers will be much smaller, I know we'll have a good time. I love Ensign Ranch.