We had a fun time at the beginning of August having a family reunion up at Bear Lake! We've gone up there the last 3 years and it looks like we'll be going again next summer. The weather was a little cooler this year but it worked out pretty well. We had to change our dates and venue at the last minute so we could make it to our nephew's wedding. I'm grateful it worked out. We had all our children and grandchildren there except our son's family who just moved far away across the ocean. There were 22 of us.
After a yummy dinner of tortellini and French bread, we started Monday evening with icebreaker games planned by Lincoln and MiCayla: telephone charades, murder with a wink (like tag with winking), and another game played in a circle with everyone's eyes closed. My knee was hurting a lot so I didn't participate much but enjoyed watching and holding grandchildren.
The next day we had delicious pancakes with lots of different syrups and then we headed out to the beach. We took the "lily pad" that came with the house--a big floating rectangle that lots of people could get on. We also brought several kayaks, a shade, and fortifying sack lunches. We rented a jet ski for four hours which was quite popular. The weather cooperated and a few people got some sunburns. Talmage's was particularly impressive.
Dinner that night was fish tacos which were quite good with a killer sauce and the best black beans. Then we had our family trivia game. The questions (made by me) were a little challenging but everyone nailed the category of finishing the movie quotes:
"Imagine the most horrible thing you can think of..." (and multiply it by 6!)
"Waahoo! I'm the first one on the new road!" (It rides purty smooth.)
"I've got my wedding to arrange..." (my wife to murder, and Gilder to frame for it. I'm swamped!)
We also celebrated Cole's first birthday!
Wednesday morning was delicious breakfast casserole. Afterwards we took a family picture in our T-shirts.
This was the grandchildren with Oma and Opa plus Lincoln because Addy didn't want to be anywhere else but in her father's arms.
Then we had our Undokai courtesy of Everett who is carrying on the tradition Michelle started about 20 years ago in the Hansen family. He did a good job and, of course, my team won. :)
Yellow team looking very friendly and not quite as ruthless:
Red team: (much more ruthless)
Somewhere in between those two extremes was the blue team:
I have a few videos from the Undokai:
Afterwards we played 9-square, courtesy of Bruce and Michelle's set.
For lunch we had a yummy taco salad. That afternoon, Mindy led a craft, also courtesy of Michelle who gave us the idea and some of the pieces. It was spinners with a marble under a CD and colored paper on top.
We also did a treasure hunt. David and Stephanie sponsored an escape room.
For dinner we had hamburgers and hot dogs and watermelon plus oven-baked s'mores--it was raining outside so we couldn't build a fire, sadly.
That night we visited the hot tub and played card games.
The next morning we packed up and drove away. Scott and I went straight to Clyn's wedding at the Oquirrh Mountain temple. It rained the entire first hour as we drove through the spectacular Logan Canyon.
Favorites:
Giant lilypad: Jay, Felix, Katie
Pickle ball: Sallie
Beach: Jan, Susanna, Talmage, Lincoln
Minecraft: Camille
Undokai: MiCayla, Katie
Games in the evening without kids: David, Stephanie
Kayaking: Stephanie
Family Trivia: Everett
Jet ski: Caroline
Craft: Mindy, Addy
Park: Max
I think Scott and I liked all of it!
And here is our time-capsule video:
It was a great reunion and we plan to get together again in two years!
This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well. Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance and let me teach you, who laughed at my stories and winked at me when I was sad. I can just see you trav
This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen): The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen): I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica
Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact: They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the
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