Reunion in Liberty

My parent's celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary (July 30) by gathering with their six children/families for an ancestor/heritage themed reunion over the weekend (July 31-Aug 3).  We currently reside in Utah, Idaho, South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania and China so getting together is no small undertaking.

Jantzen, Tanner, Aaron, Heather, Brinley, Tricia, Cameron
Jessica, Anna, Quinn, Elsie, Thomas

Aaron and I arrived in the area before the others so we treated the kids to lunch at Zuppa's and then met up with McKay and Tricia's family at an airplane museum near Hill Airforce Base.  The cousins had not seen each other in two years but it didn't take long to reconnect.  Soon after, Libbie and Jeff's family arrived along with G-ma P.  We toured the facilities and saw a whole lot of planes.  Quinn was quite fascinated and wanted to know exactly what type of plane Great G-pa Kerr flew during World War II.

Quinn, Sadie, Elsie, Xander

My kids thought Xander's willingness to cheese it for the camera was hilarious!

Anna, Tanner, Tricia, Jessica

Planes inside and planes outside.

This bench in the shade of a plane was a coveted spot with the heat.

Brinley trying to avoid the camera...

Thomas (photobomber), Tricia, McKay, Heather, Tanner

Check us out!
The first of several matchy-matchy moments...

Libbie and Heather

Short attention spans and the heat were motivation enough to move on to our next destination where we met up with Hilary and Adam's family.

Jenna, Brinley, Tanner, G-pa P, Jantzen, Aaron, Adam, Britton, Jeff, Benson

The older cousins were able to take family names to do baptisms at the Ogden Temple together.
And what did the rest of us do while we waited?

It didn't take long for Libbie to scout out the area and spy a nearby ice cream shop.

I've had some amazing ice cream over the years and I'm of the opinion that this was not "Farr Better" but it did hit the spot on a hot summer afternoon.

This vintage ice cream parlor was packed with people but somehow we managed a partial group shot. Hilary, Korinne and Jameson were on site but I guess Hilary was taking the picture?

Mckay, Thomas, Tricia

Anna, Elsie, Quinn

Don't let Quinn and Elsie's long-sleeve shirts fool you - it was hot outside!

Anna, Jessica, Cameron

You can see the temple parking lot behind the kids so we took our short walk back to the temple grounds and met up with the others.  Near perfect timing.  After changing clothes, we were on to meet up with the rest of the family at our next destination - Liberty, UT.

My parents found this 7-bedroom home in the beautiful Ogden Valley for us to stay in.  It provided ample space for all 33 of us.  Each couple had their own bedroom and most of the cousins slept on the floor in the basement family room.  Tanner made his own little sleeping nook upstairs and slept right under the window.  It cooled off a bit in the evenings but not as much as it does for us back home.

Will (5), Thomas (7), Jameson (3), Quinn (6)

Along with a trampoline and hot tub in the backyard, my parents brought this bouncy house for the kids to play in.  I can imagine the conversation these boys were having with each other before G-pa arrived on the scene to save the day.

Hooray for the Handy-man G-pa P!  He can fix anything.

Tif and Jen on taco salad dinner duty.

Assignments were made for meal prep and clean-up which helped get everybody involved.
The food was so very tasty (and healthy) all weekend long.

McKay, Taylor, Aaron - caught donut-handed...

The only contraband around...stale donuts from South Carolina?

Saturday morning oatmeal breakfast bar was so delicious!  I especially enjoyed the raisin spice muffins my Mom made using her grandmother's recently discovered recipe (Lillian McMurray).

Lost track of how many watermelons were consumed over the weekend - it was a lot.

Here's proof that Adam attended the reunion!

Steel cut or regular old-fashioned oats with every topping imaginable.

Next up - time for a little exercise.

Nobody bothered finding a real trail but we decided to head out anyway and stumbled upon a nice dirt road.  Tanner recognized it as part of the Ragnar race course he participated in back in June.

Aaron, Quinn, Jantzen

Tanner & Anna

Aaron & Heather - nice views

After breaking a sufficient sweat, the crew turned around to head back to where we parked the cars.

Tricia, Hilary, Heather, Libbie

Tricia, Hilary, Tif with June, Heather, Libbie

Not sure how Tif ended up carrying June most of the way up and back but she packed in an extra work-out for sure.  June had her opinions about certain people that made us chuckle.

Jen and Taylor went on a bike ride instead of joining us for our awesome work-out.  It seems Hilary and McKay went out for a ride later on as well.  They did not, however, borrow Jen and Taylor's matchy-matchy outfits - just their bikes.

Aaron & Shawn

After lunch, we toured this home in Huntsville, UT where President David O. McKay was born in 1873.  His great grandson conducted portions of the tour and gave interesting information about the house and its history.  Free tours are a service provided by descendants of President McKay.

Taylor, Libbie, Hilary, Heather, Tiffany, McKay, Dad, Mom

My brother, McKay, was named after David O. McKay.  My father's mission call to serve for 2 years in the Central German Mission headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany (1967) bears the signature of the prophet David O. McKay who was serving as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the time.

Although I didn't take pictures of the upstairs, I found the abundant sleeping quarters impressive.  Someone counted 13 beds...a great utilization of space.

Quinn and Elsie standing in the most modern of the 3 kitchens.

Two additional kitchens were added on to the house over the years as family dynamics changed.
I like historical stuff and found the tour interesting.  But on to the lake...

G-ma, G-pa, Quinn, Heather, Brinley, Cameron (side view)

Yes, we were wearing beach attire because Pineview Reservoir was our next stop.

Taylor, Jen, June, Tif, McKay, Tricia

Fortunate to snag this shady spot since they were few and far between.  We didn't pack along extra gear (beach umbrellas, chairs, etc.) for this outing - but managed to find enough towels I think?

Elsie & June

Quinn & Thomas - 1 year and 1 week apart in age

Korinne, Anna, Jenna, Brinley

Tanner  - first time on a paddle board

Sadie & Elsie

Looks to me like Quinn was doing all the work...

...or maybe not.

Tanner & Quinn

Everybody took turns trying out the paddle board and two kayaks.  If I took a poll, my guess would be that the cousins enjoyed playing on and around this extra long log in the water the most.  It kept them entertained for longer than I thought possible.

Tanner, Korinne, Brinley, Anna, Britton, Benson, Cameron

I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this 'aunt on a log'.
We spent the right amount of time playing in the water and having fun before heading back to the house to clean up and prepare for dinner.

Hilary, Libbie with Xander, Tiffany, Kristen, Heather

Sunday morning (fast Sunday) we leisurely prepared for 11am church and attended a local ward in the area.  Apparently, it's a popular time for visitors and it was obvious that we were not the only family reunion group in the congregation.

Jantzen, Quinn, Jameson

After church, it was back to fun and games for these kids.

Aunt Tricia is super awesome in the sentimental department.  She kept this Thomas the Train wheeled backpack given to her by Hilary after Britton outgrew it.  Not knowing Jameson would arrive on the scene and be completely fascinated with Thomas the Train, Tricia hauled this "treasure" across the country and gifted it back to Jameson since her own boys (Cameron & Thomas) had outgrown it.  Jameson was very excited about his special surprise!

Brinley working on a puzzle - again.

I didn't realize we had a few puzzle sleuths in the family until this reunion.  Aunt Jen, Jenna and Brinley took this puzzle apart a half-dozen times only to complete it all over again.

Tif and Aaron - preparing the yummy grilled chicken we enjoyed for our Sunday meal.  It was hard to keep little fingers from swiping the goods off the fruit plate - Jameson was caught on camera:).

Thomas, Jameson, Xander

The youngest three boys in each of their respective families.

Tanner and McKay - a new shade of blue for the day...

Hilary & Tricia

Libbie & Jeff

After I walked around snapping random photos, Libbie insisted on snapping one of me.
My attempt to strike a "Libbie pose"...

G-ma and Tif spent lots of time in the kitchen working hard.

Anna & Xander

There are many budding musicians in the family.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the various piano melodies played by the cousins.

Brent & Kathy (G-pa P's sister) brought a few of their grandkids (Cole & Riley) along with her son, Dustin & Larah (kids Parker & Cassidy) to take family pictures on Sunday afternoon.

The color-coordination helped keep us organized into individual families.  McKay & Tricia - green.  Aaron & Heather - yellow. Tif & Shawn (royal blue). Hilary & Adam - red. Taylor & Jen - orange. Libbie & Jeff - light blue.  G-pa & G-ma - turquoise.

Behind the scenes...taking our places.

It's like G-pa P always says, "What a good looking' bunch!".

The footprints on our t-shirts were to remind us to walk in the faith of our fathers and follow the light of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  At the end of the reunion, G-ma also gave the children a small foot-shaped flashlight as a reminder.

Abigail and Sadie loved their role as photo bombers.

Taylor & McKay

Taylor, Steve (Dad), McKay

Dad, Taylor, Libbie, Hilary, McKay, Heather, Tiffany, Mom

Dad and Mom on the ends with the siblings in chronological order with youngest on the left.

All of the grandchildren with G-ma & G-pa!
Tanner, Elsie, Abigail, Jenna, Jessica, Quinn, Brinley, Sadie, Anna, Korinne, G-ma, Will, Thomas, June, Benson, Britton holding Xander, Jantzen, Cameron, Jameson, G-pa

Jen, Anna, Heather write names/ages of each child on fabric squares.

After family pictures, we corralled the kiddos again for a messy but fun footprint/paint project.  G-ma hopes to someday make a quilt with each grandchild's footprint and age on a square of fabric.

Brinley - making her footprint

Footprints of the oldest (Tanner - age 17) and the youngest (Xander - age 2) grandchild.

Abigail and Elsie - checking out the drying squares in the garage.

Britton, Benson, Jantzen, Cameron

These boys were seriously concentrating on their game of chess.

Sunday evening the adults gathered for an informal family history discussion where each family was given a copy of two remarkable books.  We also shared a few ancestor stories and spent quality time together.  I sure think all of these people are really amazing - it's a bonus that we happen to be related!

Hilary took on a major project and spent two years doing research for the book she produced, Thomas and Mary Parry Price; The History of a Coal Mining Family from Wales.  We are very happy to have a younger, talented family historian amongst us.  The other book entitled, Gathering As One: The History of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, includes information about ancestor Henry Grow whom Brigham Young relied upon as a bridge builder to help in the design/construction of the Tabernacle which stands as a witness "to the collective sacrifice made by members of the Mormon faith."

Monday morning we woke to a serious rainstorm that altered our plans of going to the Lagoon Amusement Park as the reunion came to a close.  With everyone packing and cleaning, it didn't take long to load up and head out.  The party officially ended as we gave hugs and drove away.  We certainly enjoyed our extended weekend together and appreciate all of the planning and work that went in to this fantastic reunion.  Thanks Mom and Dad for making it happen!  Until next time everybody....