Big Smith Family Reunion

We got home from the Peterson Reunion on Saturday just to turn around the next day to go to the Big Smith Reunion in Albion, Idaho. An entire school campus was rented and it was perfect for our big group!

First night was a potato bar and lots of visiting and exploring our new place.

There was one building that we used for accommodations for eating and sleeping and then there were all these other building that were all boarded up that they use for a haunted house in October. In the back corner of the property they had a large pasture with so many different kinds of animals and we took many trips back there with different people. Both my girls especially loved all the animals.

It truly was a perfect place for our big group. We had our own little room with a queen sized bed and bunk beds for the girls. We also chose a room that had our own bathroom and shower. It was perfect for us and a nice quiet retreat especially for Baylor the first night who was a bit overwhelmed with all the new people she was meeting. The property was huge and had a basketball court, a sand volleyball pit, horse shoe pits, disc golf course that you could set up, a pool, and a hot tub. There was also some fun climbing/playground things for younger kids.

Uncle Kent brought some bubbles and the little kids especially loved that throughout the days we were there. After dinner it was more playing, visiting, and some cake to celebrate being back together after all these years.

We took another evening stroll so the girls could see the animals again. They were feeding the emus some of the grass/weeds that were around and both Baylor and Myla got bit by them.

A perfect first evening and looking forward to more fun and more family time.

Monday morning the bouncy house got blown up and it was another fun things for the younger kids.

Then it was swim time! The water slide was a big hit. There was a nice large first step into the pool that Baylor liked to hang out on and Paige loved swimming all over with her life jacket and playing with cousins. She really hit if off with Riley from the get go and they were together pretty much the entire time.

Aaron brought the big soccer ball and the kids had fun with that for a while during the day. Then it was more playing in the pool, playing with cousins, and of course more visiting. I love the Smith side and how inclusive and loving they are.

Carly had a little too much sun and she took a break in our nice air conditioned room and Baylor was reading a book on our bed. I came in to check on them and Carly had fallen asleep like this. :)

There was another trip to see the animals and this time we found a cat and the girls loved him.

The farmed happened to be out and feeding some of the animals when we were out there and I got to hold a day old baby goat. It was the cutest thing!

Traditional Burrito Bust

Uncle Kent brought homemade ice cream and root beer!

In the evening we played the stick game that we played at our 4th of July get together. It was super fun to watch. There was a couple of rounds and everyone that played and watched enjoyed it.

Dale asked me to put together a slideshow of past reunions and it was fun to have this big group watching, reminiscing and talking about all the pictures.

Tuesday Baylor took advantage of there being no one in the bouncy house (which was the only way that she would go in it.)

A group of girls found another kitten wandering around and they took it back to the farmer and he said that if there was someone in the group that wanted it then they were free to take it so the rest of the day wherever there was a group of girls there was this little teenage kitten in the middle of them. I don't know if that kitten got put down the entire day.

We all then got to tour the haunted houses. The first one had the most props and was pretty scary. I had to keep telling myself that no one was going to jump out and scare me. Both girls even went through it. Baylor would hide into my shoulder if she thought something was too scary.

The third building was Paige and I's favorite. It was clown themed and there weren't too many scary things in it but they had the music on and the lights on so it was like going through a circus house.

After lunch there was nothing going on for a couple of hours so our little family took advantage to go find the gravesites of some relatives. Nate's Grandma Smith grew up in Burley so her parents and some of her siblings are buried there. Dale and Glenn both fought and died in WWII and their gravestone is impressive and I cannot imagine what their parents went through losing both their sons in the war.

There is a museum on the property that they opened for us all about the property. It was a school for teachers for a long time and has quite a fascinating history.

Nate had fun playing disc golf in the afternoon while I visited. Paige and Riley were together most of the time and I really didn't see much of them since they were having so much fun.

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The gathering for pictures after dinner

Such an amazing group of people!

Dale and Margaret family pictures

It was the last evening that pool would be open. All the kids took advantage even though it was a little windy. Baylor lasted just a couple of minutes and then sat by me with her towel wrapped around her while we watched Paige.

The last evening it was a lot of visiting and wanting to being together longer. It was a late night and worth every minute of lost sleep.

After lots of hugs and cleaning up it was time to leave. :( I loved every minute of it and loved spending time and visiting with all the Smith cousins. After we left we went to explore Castle Rock and Mike and Christy's family happened to also be going so we explored with them. It was pretty hot but really cool to see.

Until next time....

Peterson Family Reunion

We had a busy, fun-filled, and family filled July. We were out of town for three weeks and loved every minute of it except maybe all the driving. :) The first full week of July we had the Peterson family reunion in Ronan, Montana. 

We started out early Tuesday morning with our long drive. Baylor slept most of the way and they both did great.

We arrived and the place worked out great. The view was absolutely stunning and there was no one else around except some cows and deer.

There was a stream at the bottom of a hill that we all loved and we spent a lot of time there and so many fun memories were made in our own little personal stream. It was one of the first things we checked out when we got there.

The "switchback" hill to get from the house down to the stream

It was so fun for the girls to be with their Peterson cousins and I loved being with my family again. I always miss them and always look forward to any time I get to spend with them.

After dinner, the kids got their swimsuits on to play in the ice cold water.

Nate's entertaining way of cooling off... :)

They kept touching each other with their cold hands and their faces were priceless.

Enjoying each's other company and the stunning view before bed. We slept upstairs with lots of the girls. It was pretty hot and so we had as many fans blowing on us as possible.

Wednesday morning we woke up to some rain and the kids had fun dancing in the rain.

We took some time to play a game inside while the weather cleared up. I brought a big bag of candy and the kids play LRC (Left, Right, Center) with candy instead of the dice.

We then took a little adventure to go see Kerr Dam. It was stunning even with not very much water going over it. The view of the valley was also amazing! Nate was not a fan of the heights but Paige and I thought it was pretty awesome.

We then did some sponge relays in the yard before more stream time fun.

This time the adults joined in on the fun. The water was freezing but it was so fun. There was a small natural rock slide that the kids and adults all loved. It was such a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Lots of rides down the slide!

Thursday we started our day off with going to the National Bison Range. It was a pretty fun experience even if Derek forgot to get gas so our car went through it pretty quick. We had Baylor and Emily so they were fine with it. Charlotte, Juliette, and Paige were with Karlton and they had lots of fun with them. It was a great outing and fun to see all the bison!

There was a piano at the house and all the kids especially Paige loved playing it and doing little recitals.

Every day my mom brought some activities and information about each of the kid's great-grandparents (my grandparents). First was Grandma Peterson and my mom made some of her famous chocolate chip cookies and another day we built some things with Popsicle sticks in honor of Grandpa Peterson for his ability to make anything. For Grandma Walker the kids did painting and then for Grandpa Walker the kids wrote letters in honor of him being a mail carrier. The canvas painting was probably the favorite one and was so fun to watch them all create in their own way.

Then in the evening we did some more relay races before of course more time playing in the stream.

Friday was our lake day. It was a little bit windy and there were lots of waves which Paige didn't really like but it was a fun way to spend the day. I even went out swimming and the water was so clear. The cousins had fun especially the little boys with Uncle Tyler letting the waves knock them over and the older kids swimming out a little farther each time. It was fun to sit and visit and enjoy our last full day together.

And we took some family pictures at the lake since Sharolyn and Tyler were leaving directly from the lake that day.

What a family!!!

That evening it was nice to relax and we had a BBQ for dinner and some cobbler for dessert. The deck was a popular place all week for visiting and for a nightly game of things for the adults. It was truly a relaxing week and I loved every minute of all the family time.

These girls cousins always have way too much fun!

Oh how I love this brown eyed beauty!

We took some more family pictures down by the stream with the perfect background from our stunning view.

Our last sunset

We checked out Saturday morning and all went and checked out the garden of one thousand buddhas. It was such a cool thing to walk around and experience.

Prayer flags

We had such a great time and I already can't wait until next year!