This year for our Stoddard family reuion, we went to good old B-Town Bountiful to our old stomping grounds to give our kids a feel for the places and times we grew up in.
But first, it was to
Logan to help prepare for and celebrate Amber for her quincinera. The kids had a
great time with all the cousins, I love how they are all such good friends. We
had perler bead making, trampoline jumping, playing games, wrestling, messing around. They never get bored! We helped get ready for Amber’s Quincinera and
while stressful getting everything
together, it was a beautiful night! Emma
was in her court (kind of like a maid of honor), but since we weren’t around,
we decided to have her not dance with them all and Emma preferred to sit by
us. Emma looked gorgeous, shes growing up so quickly! We had tacos and rice and beans for
dinner, Adam was the master of ceremonies, she and her court danced, she got a
crown on her head from a friend, her Dad switched out her tennis shoes on her feet and put on a pair of woman’s shoes on her, her
mom gave her jewlerly, the grandkids helped Grandma Di do a dance to Wipe Out and give her
the last toy, a teddy bear with matching dress, and we did lots of dancing. Oh,
Meghan and I were asked to do speeches too.
I talked about inner beauty and quoted Audrey Hepburn “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for
beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge
that you are never alone.” And talked
about how Amber exemplifies each of these and how she never walks alone because
she is a daugher of God, a princess. We
had cake, Mom made a beautiful one and there were tres leches cupcakes. After that we had
more dancing, the cousins had a blast busting moves together and so did some of
us adults, though it was so hot. Then the really fun part, we cleaned it all up
after, lol! We were all exhausted and
she opened presents when we got there, she loved the photo book Emma made of
them. Then we were all ready for a siesta
after that. A great day celebrat
Saturday, we slept in, and I made a berry breakfast cake, then the adults all went to the Logan temple to do some sealings. It was awesome being there, we’d never been. What a special feeling in that temple. The sealer said he could feel the love and presence of family there and family that had already moved beyiond to the next life. After that, we went out to get ice cream at the Aggie Creamery. Yum! Back at the house, we helped clean up more from the Quincinera, played a bit and got ready for family pictures. We went to the park and did our pictures. The lady doing them did such a great job and got us all done quickly and happily. Everyone went to Bountiful Bowl for the next activity, but we went to our good friend Dennis Miller’s wedding reception. He had been sealed to Truly the day before and we are so happy for them and it was good to see the boys!
Sunday was pretty great. We started the day off with muffins and other stuff for breakfast then headed off to the Canyon Estates ward for church. So great to see so many! It has changed a lot, but there are still lots of core members. After church, we headed back to Mom and Dad/ Grandma & Grandpas to play and visit. We had a hot dog bar for lunch. The kids loved playing with all the toys and making up games together and we are never short on laughs. Good times! My favorite thing we did was probably the hymns/Primary song sing-a-long. Everyone got to request songs and my mom and I played. The best was when we came up with a mash up of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and "Book of Mormon Stories". Some of us went on a walk with dad and got an update on who's who and where they are now. We had a yummy dinner where we all contributed something. Then we had an international taste testing night, where we got to try all kinds of random foods from different international markets. It was a great Sabbath together!
Monday, we all headed to Lagoon for the day. It had been almost 3 years since we went last, so it was super fun. And even better to be there with all the kids! Sydnie even was fearless and went on some she was barely tall enough for and were pretty intense but she kept saying "higher! faster! Let's do that again!" Covey was brave too and went on Cannibal even! We loved being there with cousins and other family and splitting up in groups. We have a pretty fun family!
Tuesday, we went on a hike up by the Bountiful temple. The kids especially loved playing in the water up the canyon. The kids all did great (no complaining) and Sydnie even did 99% of it herself. Then we had a Relative Race competition where we had to do different tasks and be the first back. For example, we had buy 6 donuts from the highest rated bakery in town and take a selfie with the Bountiful city sign. We had to be the first back in the fastest time with the least amount of miles. We thought we had to buy 6 donuts from 6 different places (the directions were a bit dicey on this one) so we came in second. Then we had a smorgasbord lunch with all of the things we brought back. Our kids had the best time with their cousins and loved hanging with the Michigan crew. So fun to watch them all together. It was not long enough! After that, we headed to the Ryerses. Tayla, Kaison, Brody and Sawyer had gotten to the Ryerses the night before. It is always a happy reunion! I took Tayla and Emma shopping, we played, watched a movie, made dinner, did some painting, and went to play night games at the park. I taught them kick the can, and they loved it! We also played mafia. These guys have some pretty great cousins!
Wednesday, we started off the day with the older 4 girls going to the Zoo with Grandma Sue and I took the boys and little girls to the parks locally. Then we ended up going home. Everything that could've gone wrong did. First, we left a key with our neighbor to feed Jazzy and be around in case someone wanted to see our house we're selling. I checked it before we left but must have grabbed the wrong one and she couldn't get in and other neighbors helped. They checked the other locks and all the windows, no luck getting in. Then we tried overnighting one but all of the shipping stores close early on Saturday and were closed on Sunday. So Monday we overnighted a package. Tuesday, it was supposed to be delivered but came up damaged and they shipped it back to Billings. We were on the phone/computer trying to get some answers and get it back, but they were so not helpful. Said they would now have to investigate and that could take up to 2 months. So we called our local officer here, thinking if they could open our outside car door, they could get the remote for the garage. Well they were awesome and did, but then the door going to the inside I must have locked somehow. So I called some locksmiths but they all said without the owner they couldn't pick the locks (insurance liability or something), even though our officer or several neighbors volunteered to offer. So we decided to head out. We all had a feeling that this was a sign we needed to get home. So we hurried and packed up, and made it home and got in our house just before 11 p.m. It was a great trip and I am thankful for all our family and where we've been and where we are going.
