Professional Pictures and Matching T-Shirts!

  My Dad really wanted to do the matching t-shirts thing.  We opted to have a number on the back that represented when you joined the family so Dad and Mom were one and two.  We got some nice professional photos taken as well.  

The whole family in matching shirts!

Everybody's number

A photo without the matching shirts.  

Benny and Logan at Benny's bed time

Mom and Dad with all their grandchildren.  Starting from the back: Aidan, Ashlyn, and Benny, Avery, Mackenzie, Maddux.  Middle row: Sam, Grandpa and Harper, Grandma and Hudson, and Logan
Front row:  Luke, Reagan, Addison, and Emery

Here's Daryl and I with the kids

This is the one picture that Harper smiled in

My kids are not natural smilers

Harper, Luke, Avery, and Emery

Sam, Mackenzie, Addison, and Hudson

Ashlyn and Reagan

Phil, Aidan, and Maddux (Heather was sick wasn't able to come. We missed her not beating us all at board games.)

Mom and Dad

Family Reunion

   Every three years my brothers and sisters with their families and the parents of course gather together for a family reunion.  This is actually the second time we've done this.  We went to southern California this time.  We found a giant house to stay at with a swimming pool, and that was good enough for the kids for sure.  We had a great time hanging out with the family.  The kids especially enjoyed seeing all their cousins.

Logan, Hudson, and Luke eating waffles.

Harper, Addison, Reagan, Emery, Sam, and Hudson 

Not only did Harper lose a tooth during the family reunion, but Addison did at well.

Emery and Logan playing Zelda

Benny hanging out poolside

This is pretty much what the kids did the entire time we were there.  Phil has Sam and is harassing Maddux as well.  I like how Aidan is relaxing in the background.

Luke with his pool noodle

Sam

Benny trying out a chair his size

Luke and Hudson having a bubble bath

Aidan and Avery playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Luke traveling in style

Logan catching up on some sleep

Legoland

     We spent two days at Legoland staying at a hotel across the street that provided us a room with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  It was pretty nice for our family.  Nellie, Paul, Reagan, and Ashlyn (who got to spend her 23rd birthday at Legoland like she always had dreamed of) were there too, along with our parents.  Then Chris, Alex, Hudson, and Addison came the second day to pick up Sam and Mackenzie who were in the area with their mom, and so they could help us celebrate Dad's 70th birthday.  Legoland was perfect for the kids in our age range.  The girls were all very excited to see the Lego Friends perform and get a picture with them.  Our second day we spent at the water park there and Addison was able to come with us that day.  By coincidence my cousin Lisa and her kids were also there at Legoland with her grandkids.  We all had a fun dinner together the first night, and was fun to bump into them.  The night of Dad's birthday we went to a fun restaurant in Carlsbad, and then watched fireworks at Legoland from our hotel room.   

Reagan, Harper, Avery, Luke(with his shirt on backwards because Cosmo was too scary), and Emery who was probably unhappy she wasn't standing by Reagan.

Luke was adventuresome and went on this ride all by himself.

Paul taking Luke, Reagan, and Harper on some awful spinning ride.  Harper is loosening her tooth on the ride.

Harper, Avery, Luke, Emery, and Reagan with Lego Friends.

Avery, Reagan, and Harper with the live action Legoland friends.  I think Reagan got shy upon meeting them and Emery refused to be in the picture.  

Reagan, Harper, and Avery 

Avery on the carousel

Harper, Addison, Reagan, Emery, and Hudson taking over my parents hotel room.

Luke playing Nintendo in the most comfortable way possible.

Alex, me, and Nellie in terrible lighting.

This is the place we had Dad's birthday dinner.  All the kids got cotton candy much to their delight. Here's Emery.

Hudson

Addison

Reagan

All the grandkids with Grandpa waiting for the birthday cake.

I think that's Addison with her arm around Luke, Harper, and Reagan watching fireworks from our patio.

Road Warriors

  It was time again this summer for my family reunion that my immediate family does every three years.  That meant a lot of driving.  This year we were all meeting up in southern California.  We left the last day in June and drove to good old Central Point, Oregon, and then the next day stopped at my sister's house in northern California.  The next day we drove down to Legoland for some pre-family reunion fun with my parents and Nellie's family.  We had Reagan drive down with us to Legoland in our car much to everyone's delight since my sister had to work.  It was some pretty uneventful driving all the way down the west coast.  Just the way we like it.

No drive down Oregon on I-5 is complete without a stop at Rice Hill for ice cream.  Daryl and Harper enjoying theirs.

Emery and Luke both eating strawberry and chocolate.  I was a real pushover telling everyone they could get two scoops.

Avery wanted to pose this way with her ice cream.

Reagan's house might be the coolest because of the pool.

Luke meeting Ashlyn's dog Charlie.

Luke singing with Reagan's karaoke machine.

Reagan and Harper having too much energy on our lunch stop on the way to Legoland.

Avery and uncharacteristically subdued Emery.  Mom and Dad were with us too.

Harper was a nice kid and sat in the middle.

Everyone going crazy at the hotel room after hours and hours of driving.