These are just some pictures of the highlights from my family reunion this year. I had so much fun with my family.
This picture is mainly to show off the flags. Each family made their own "Olympic Flag". It was so fun to see them all flapping in the wind.
One of my favorite things to do at the Cabin is play What if...? after the kids and such have gone to bed. My cousins Kristalyn, Jordan, Jennifer and I all sleep downstairs in a little alcove thing. My brother Cameron and two other cousins, Richie and Logan, joined us, and we play What if...? and laugh our heads off until about 3 in the morning. I love it.
My Uncle Mark (the one holding the megaphone) and his wife Tara were the ones that put this all together. It was so fantastic. This event was the frog tossing. Basically you take a frog and try to get it into a bucket. Sounds easy. It's not. My cousin Taylor is tossing the frogs here.
My cousin Chasey, after getting one of her frogs in the bucket. I just love the look on her face. Everyone was cheering for her, and she was so happy. I love her! She ended up winning a gold, silver, and bronze medal in three separate events, and when I asked what color her medals were, she told me they were "blonde, silver, and pink." Such is the life of a 5-year-old.
On my dad's side of the family, we like to play a card game called "Mormon Bridge." It really isn't like bridge, and has nothing to do with Mormons, so I don't know how the name came about. This was one event that my Grandpa Williams could participate in. Since he's gotten older, he has to use a cane and can't move as fast. He can still play cards though, and he loves that. He came in third place, receiving the Bronze medal. My dad's cousin Mark got silver, and my Mom got the gold.
It was also my dad's birthday during the cabin. He's 51!! We're excited about this because that means he won't die! (Billy Mays (sp?) and Michael Jackson were both 50). We're glad to celebrate this wonderful occasion with him.
Another tradition of the Cabin is the hike. My dad's cousins Mark and John R. are usually the ones who spearhead this event. Last year we hiked up to some hotsprings somewhere in Spanish Fork Canyon. This year, though, we decided to do something slightly different. There were some hills/mountain-y things behind the place we were staying. So we hiked up one mountain, went down the other side, hiked up another one, came down another one, and hiked up a small one, and then came down that small one. It was HARD!!! I realized I am nowhere near close to being in shape. I was at the end of the group, going slower than the rest of them. Oh well. I did it anyways. This picture is one of Kristalyn, me and Jen, looking exhausted about halfway through the hike. For being exhausted, I think we look pretty good.
The one thing about this hike was that the only trails were animal trails. So basically the whole thing was bushwhacking. These are Kristalyn's athletic shorts she was wearing about halfway through the hike. They were covered in little burrs. By the time we were done with the hike, the back of her legs had large welts and things on them. They were extremely red. I guess she didn't realize we were going to be bushwhacking for almost 2 miles. Fortunately for myself, I decided to wear jeans.
This is the most of the group that went on the hike. From left to right: Laura (my sister) Lindsay, Jennifer, Kristalyn, Logan, Josh (all cousins), and Mark (my dad's cousin). Cameron was taking the picture, and my dad, John R., and I were still all behind, trying to catch up.
One of the things we did was the "Really Unique Object Obstacle Course". We had to wear a monkey hat (as demonstrated by my cousin Jason) with two thumbtacks poking out the top. Those were used to spear two waterballoons. Then there were two bananas on the ground with velcro on the that you had to pick up with the velcro belt. After those were secured on your belt, you had to go and use the velcro belt to pick up two stuffed monkeys that were on the ground. With all four things stuck to your belt, you had to go and kick to balls across the finish line. Whoever coukld do it the fastest won. Jason ended up being the fastest, hence, the picture of him.
Another thing that made this Cabin unique was the fact that there was a fire on the mountain across from us. On July 2nd, lightning struck a tree. On the 3rd we noticed smoke coming from the mountain. It wasn't a lot. A bucket or two of water would have put it right out. My uncle Gary called the Sheriff's Office or something and they didn't do anything about it. They just brushed him off. And then my cousin Rick called in about two hours later to 911, where they told him it was a "controlled burn." It wasn't. It was up on very rocky terrain, up high. It would have taken probably half a day just to hike up there. It was not a controlled burn. Once again, they didn't do anything about it. It wasn't very big. It just kind of smoldered. Then on Monday, it hit something or something happened and it just exploded. It started moving really fast and burning lots of trees. As of yesterday, the 8th, at noon, the fire had burned 80 acres. They won't do anything to put it out until it threatens life and/or property. They are hoping it will just burn itself out. I don't think it will unless we get a wicked big rain storm, which, I suppose is possible. We have gotten so much rain this year. The fire was fun to watch at night. It kinda looked like a city.
You can see where the fire burnt. Up top, where it just looks like rock, used to look like the bottom of the picture, with trees and everything. Now it just kind of looks bald. My favorite part of this whole fire thing was that on the way home, coming out of Spanish Fork Canyon there was a billboard that said "Stop it before it Starts" in reference to forest fires. They were encouraging the general public to do what they did not want to do. It got a good kick out that.
This is my new baby cousin Ethan. I love him!! I have actually had the opportunity to babysit him twice. It's actually been kind of scary because I have come to the realization that if I had to take care of such a young baby like Ethan, I could. I am in no way saying that I am ready to be a mother, but if my life and another baby's life depended on it, I could. As it is, I'm just looking forward to another semester at BYU, and taking care of myself. Isn't he cute though??
Jason, his daughter Chasey, Kristalyn, me and Jen. I love us! The only on missing here is Jordan. He left on Monday to go back up to BYU-Idaho to finish up the semester. We're great.
I love my family. On the last day, my aunt Joanna's car had a leak in the oil tank I think, and so all of my uncles were trying to help her fix it. How many men does it take to fix a car? According to my Aunt Tara, 5 plus three teenage boys : ) While we weren't able to fix it, Mark and John R. were able to figure out to tow it. She has to drive all the way back to Dallas in her car, so hopefully they were able to fix it. 