Hunt Family Reunion: 2014

Big Bear Cabin, Bear Lake (found on VRBO.com) with the Hunts flag collection. They are very patriotic, you know.

TH afternoon we spent picking up food. We used Sam's club click and pull feature. It was awesome. If you are hosting a lot of people and want to speed up the shopping, its a great way to go. We got to the cabin around 5 or 5:30, and Tara, Nathan and I made dinner. It was Chicken Hoagie Sandwiches--which were a big hit. Probably our most successful menu . . .it's the recipe people asked for.
Then a few minutes to talk about the schedule. After Hot Potato and Musical chairs, we went to bed early.

FR morning we met for photos. Apparently the traffic was poor due to parades, so we started a big late b/c our photographer could not get through. Don't have her photos back yet but hope to share them soon.
After photos, we changed clothes and put some red white and blue in our hair. Boys started building their forts for the fireworks competition.We also made giant bubbles--which was a lot of fun.

 

 

 

Nancy's traditional flag cake

Friday afternoon we went to the beach. We were able to rent a water trampoline. The big kids just loved it. Hunts brought 2 canoes--and people rode out and back from the trampoline all afternoon. Great fun. We left a little early to get a head start on dinner:
Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers

Fireworks battles

We only did our own fireworks. Pretty sure we were driving home when the big ones went off. Chad knows someone who uses simple fireworks to create a battle. They use cereal boxes, etc. to build a fort. Then you are partnered up with someone for your battle. You are given a bag of fireworks similar to the person who you are fighting against. There are some plastic animals inside. The winner is the one with animals left standing after the fireworks have all gone out. It was pretty cool, but all of Andrew's animals melted when his fort caught fire.

Sunset on the 4th

Saturday morning was not so early--we had some open time for games and more bubbles. Made sandwiches for lunch, ate Raspberry Shakes in Garden City and then headed to the beach. One of the best things we did was get the phone number for the shake place. We called in our order at 10am. They made them, stuck them in the freezer and all we had to do was pay them when we arrived. The line for the beach was even worse than on the 4th. This day we'd rented a boat that pulled a banana sled behind it. Each person got to go on the boat and I think everyone had a chance to get on the sled . . . which was fun, too.
We came home to Pork Carnitas.

After dinner was a group meeting. We called it SST (story, skit, or talent). Each family got 10 minutes to have the stage. Nathan told a story about one of his inspiring early ID ancestors, Josiah Call, that he remembered hearing as a child at a family reunion.

Eddie really wanted to have a dance party with glowsticks in the dark. My three youngest and two of the Seattle Hunts shared this bunk room. We had a short dance party on Saturday night.

Then, a meeting to de-brief the reunion. Some stayed up to pack, others to make a model Stephen had brought, some went to bed.

Sunday morning was a scramble to get out in time for 9 am church. We did it with minutes to spare. All 26 of us were able to sit on 3 rows far back in the gym. Joining our sacrament meeting was Elder Quentin L. Cook, whose family owned land at the back of the church property. The bishop estimated 1000 to 1100 people in that meeting. Pretty cool.
He said that the gospel changes hearts, and a changed heart can become a broken heart, and a broken heart is healed by Christ, which can be a turned heart--turned to others. I hope my kids remember hearing him & feeling the Spirit in that giant sacrament meeting.

Although my photos are few, it was a great weekend. 26 people is a lot to take care of and things went almost as smoothly as possible--a little better planning could have improved a few details. It will be nice to not be in charge next time! It's a lot of work, but worth it.

Summer 2014: Week 5

This week was a blur . . . putting together final details for Nathan's family reunion.

26 people.
One big house.
Lots of fun.

Nathan and I worked to prep lots of the food. We cooked Carnitas (remember how last time we suggested having parts catered or purchased?)
and grilled chicken. LOTS OF IT. Formed 36 turkey burger sliders.
Questioned why we didn't delegate more.
Remembered it's cause we like the details to be ours.

Nathan took scouts cycling and Bryn had a church activity cooking.
(There are differences between men and women).

I shopped for all the last minute things:
Simple dawn
Hair ties
Adam's peanut butter
and knitted while sitting in the orthodontist's office.

Remembered that last week I wrote a poem (which is dedicated to Caitlin):

Hustle your bustle,
Or my muscle
Will
Hustle your bustle.

This week I bought Andrew a shirt from the men's department at Target. It fits!
I predict that in a year he'll be taller than me. Not ready for that, but it's coming.

Nathan had Wednesday off. We tried to get out early, but ended up leaving just before noon. We hadn't really packed, and that can slow you down.

We drove across WY and watched "How to Train Your Dragon."  We have two secret with movies in the car.
#1 Redbox
#2 We save them for the late afternoon before dinner when everyone's a little cranky about having been in the car so long.

We stopped in Kemmerer, WY, which does not have a lot of options, but enough. We chose a local diner, Adimiah's, and should have all eaten Mexican food, because it was obvious our server's native language was not English. We didn't, but it was great food. We got to Bear Lake around 7pm, which was early enough to drive up the hill to check out our cabin and get one shake so we could see which size was best.

7:00 PM, Weds

 I really love Bear Lake. It's so big and changes colors throughout the day.
We drove to Logan and got to our hotel late. Fell asleep even later.
 The next morning we found this hiding behind the blackout curtains.

 And this on the bed. It was the only moment in the hotel room he sat still.

 My mom's sister lives outside of Logan, so we went to visit. It happened to be time for the fresh peas, so we ate several handfuls. So good. Wished you were there, Mom.

 My uncle's hobby is precious stones. He had the girls pan for some--which they found and brought home. They were in heaven. When we left, Caitlin asked, "Mom, can I be his apprentice?"

 While they looked for rocks, I had my aunt take me to my grandparents' grave site. Sure love them.

 When we stopped at Aggie Ice Cream, we were not surprised at all to run into two of Nathan's brothers--getting ice cream before lunch. It was a treat to meet up with them.

The rest of week 5 is in the next post--about the reunion.
One of our friends in the ward has 8 children and they had a reunion here. So we let one of their daughters' families stay at our house. In exchange, they watered our garden for us. So great.


Week 5 down, 6 to go.

Summer 2014: Week 4

I am in love with this swim team photo that I didn't take. Andrew is somewhere in this group.

(This week I decided to write these one day at a time, because I can only remember that much. More detail).

M--We got Bryn ready for girls camp. Her first girls camp. (I still remember mine). She got herself ready. Most impressive was the time she took to make gifts for her secret sister. Saw two other moms while I was out shopping for the last minute flashlight we needed--out getting their girls ready, too. FHE was about what makes a successful missionary & chocolate dipped pretzels that were a girls camp fundraiser.

T--Bryn left for camp.
Housesitting for a friend.
Spent the day in the car again. Swim team, soccer camp for Diana M-FR this week, football camp for Andrew.
Read books to C, D for 45 minutes, only 30 for E. (He needs his space in the summer b/c he gets it all school year long). We read Mr. Lincoln's Way, which Caitlin recommended to me. It's worth a read if your library has it.
Caitlin and I spent some time alone. We talked, laughed, lectured, listened, and cried. Only one of us cried. Then, we played a couple rounds of Spot It, alone. I think she will forget the former and remember the latter.
I decided when my older kids have something big that takes them away that I am really going to focus on those who are home. So far, I love it.
Activity days talent show. Caitlin played Fur Elise & did a great job.
Lightning/hail storm just as we were going to bed.

W
Swim meet, soccer camp, taking care of neighbor's house, football camp, baseball game.
Meanwhile, Nathan drove 4 hours to go to Girls Camp with Bryn. I don't have pictures but might in the future. Nathan said it was beautiful.

TH
In addition to the regular run of swimming & soccer, we also had out of town friends visit for dinner. They are moving from UT and are good friends from our TX days. We hosted them for dinner and a few minutes at the park before they had to leave. Nathan was home in time for scripture study--much earlier than my worst fears. Also the end of football camp.

FR
Today was the last day of soccer camp for Diana. Another baseball game. It was a loss, but they tried harder. Andrew played well. He walked to first, which was all he needed. He stole bases & ran home. Meanwhile, Nathan stayed home and mowed the lawn. Exciting times.

SA
Nathan hosted the scouts for a "Pioneering" experience at the church. They built a monkey bridge and timed each other racing over it. The kid who came home with the gash from the re-bar? Our very own.
We skipped the swim meet in favor of prepping for the family reunion. We bought over 20 lbs of meat to cook for it! (And, some other more exciting ingredients for family fun). Bryn came home from girls camp and had time to start her first load of laundry before running off to babysit for the evening.

4 down, 7 to go.

Summer: Week 3

This week:

M: Is always laundry day. We made 7 pints of Strawberry & Blueberry freezer jam, one of our favorite flavors. One pint was gone by Wednesday.

T: Andrew skipped his Young Men's activity to go to an 8:00pm baseball game. After a streak of disappointing losses, this time they won!
I took Caitlin, Diana, and Ed to the old fashioned candy store in old town. The girls complained about the $.50 price ceiling I gave them, but eventually found something they wanted. Ed chose pixie sticks, (2 so he could give one to Andrew) and the girls picked out taffy.

W: Swim meet. Very windy but OK. We brought SPOT IT, a game we learned at the Neuffer's last summer. I left in the middle to go to a different pool for lessons for the littlest among us. Friends commented on our children's progress in the pool, that felt good. Our friends came over for lunch.

TH: What happened TH? Maybe this was the day I asked Bryn to braid my hair?

It was taking a long time . . . and then I realized she'd done fishtail braids . . . and it all made sense. But I think it was Wednesday.

Now I remember TH night. My parents came to see our new furniture.

FR: Nathan took the girls camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. A dad in our ward said he was going with his girls. It turned into 10 + families of dads & daughters. They came home the long way and saw a lot of wildlife.

Nathan thought this campground can accommodate 1000 people.

Beautiful girls, beautiful scenery

The boys and I went to a local pizza restaurant (where they hand toss--so fun to watch). Then, we did our duty and helped clean the church. The next morning we went on a long walk together. Very pleasant time with my boys. We may have also had a sewing machine lesson . . . but I was not allowed to take photos. Baseball practice and more shopping. The day ended with Monsters University from Red box, which Ed and I hadn't seen. Very cute show.

3 weeks down, 8 more.

Sidenote about life in CO:
One of Andrew's friends was at snowboarding camp this week. They keep it open until August . . . then the snow is done for the season. Can't believe it.

This week (summer edition)

 

1) I finished a mini quilt. It's to give away to a stranger . . . I am going to receive one in the mail from another stranger. Strange, isn't it? I love the colors & hope she'll like them too.

2) First swim meet. My kids were excited to compete and get ribbons.

3) Diana & Ed started swimming lessons. We are at the pool from 7:15 until 11 am.
I like to knit or sew poolside. . . my kids have played at the park while siblings swim . . . or play UNO. I love summer mornings.

4)We drove 100 miles to buy some living room furniture I'd seen on Craiglist. We have enough couch space to seat our family! This necessitated attaching a U-Haul trailer to our car. I am not stretching the truth when I tell you finding it was an answer to prayer. They match and are clean and look fairly new.

5) Neighborhood garage sale. We made $51. It will start Diana's savings account.

6) No one would pay $ for our old couch. But when we listed it as FREE on Craigslist, it was gone within the hour.

The first piece of furniture we bought together . . . Adios

   
7)The only trips to the library this week happened on bicycle.

8)FR night date to Andrew's baseball game. It was a bad game but a fun date.

9)One of our favorite sister missionaries moved on . . . and her second cousin with the same last name moved in.

10) Gave Ed an apron for Future Father's Day and he doesn't love it yet. (He needs a new one).
"Why did you give me an apron? I wanted a toy." 

Have a good week.
Two weeks of summer vacation gone.
(We loved this article about a father of 8 sons).

This week

Two trips to the library
3 piano lessons
At least 10 trips back and forth from the pool
3 kids on swim team, 2 for the first time
1 very encouraging coach
4 corn plants leveled to the ground by our garden bunnies
5 seeds planted that will soon be mowed down by said bunnies
(Why didn't they eat the plant starts until we planted them in the garden)?
4 new families at church
(our ward is exploding . . . due largely to the digging that's proceeding on the temple)
Innumerable legos



Two baseball games
2 river otters spotted
1 up in the rafters


National Doughnut day celebrated (one day late)

Pony riding class = one happy Caitlin

 

11 weeks of summer vacation, 1 down

Sportsmanship Award

Andrew played flag football again this year. He was delighted to make it on the team he's been wanting to play on for the past 2 spring seasons. It is the same coach he had for 3 years of tackle, and the boys he's known since arriving.

The team had a rough season but Andrew made a lot of progress in his game. He was catching balls and pulling flags with more confidence than we'd seen in years past. He scored 7 or 8 touchdowns, including one in the final (heartbreaking) tournament game, against the top seeded team. He worked really hard, walking straight from track practice to flag football. Track started right after school ended until 5pm, flag from 5:30 to 7pm. You can imagine the nights that he had Scouts at 7pm following that were long, long days.

His team won the Sportsmanship award, which was a free dinner at a local burger restaurant, a nice way to end the season.