Until Next Year....

We had a great reunion.

Thanks Uncle CF for what you did!

We came down to give hugs and wave goodbye.

There were a few ice cream cones left.

The boys were the happy recipients.

Mama Jane and Gito came by to say goodbye.

The boys were excited to see them

and give them hugs.

Tenderheart was obedient and was buckled in the car.

He was excited to go home.

We had a wonderful time being together.

Wicked Spoon

One of my very favorite things

about the family reunion was the Wicked Spoon.

A friend posted about her get-away to Las Vegas

and how much she enjoyed this buffet.

I really wanted to go there. 

So an attempt was made for Friday night.

It failed.

Sweetheart agreed to take me in the morning.

His sister offered to watch our children.

Her offer was kind and generous.

We went and tried nearly everything.

The polenta was delicious.

I tried caviar for the first time.

It was all so yummy.

There was an incredible dessert bar

with multiple types of gelato.

The boys sampled almost everything.

 

Here is the chocolate of a chocolate dipped strawberry.

He ate the strawberry and wasn't sure about the chocolate.

We had a great breakfast.

It kept us incredibly full.

Thanks to a kind husband to make a special memory for me.

Bodies

In March, this boy learned about the human body.

To be more exact, the digestive system was his specialty. 

While in Las Vegas, we took advantage to go and see an exhibit.

Bodies is displays multiple body systems with cadavers.

Each system of the body is shown.  

Sweetheart didn't want to attend,

and Hurricane didn't want to go either.

We saw and discussed a lot.

Shark Exhibit

In Las Vegas, there is a 3-in-1 pass. 

You pay for 3 attractions with one price. 

We picked the Shark Exhibit, Bodies/Titanic, and the Adventure Dome.

Half of us went to the Bodies exhibit

while Sweetheart and Grandpa went to the Titanic exhibit.

Aunt Mimi and Uncle Beck's family joined us at the Shark Exhibit.

Or we joined them....

Anyhow we went together. 

We are grateful for Handsome Ben.

Even though his friends were with us,

he stayed with our boys and built a memory with them.

Monterrey Bay Aquarium is the partner with the hotel to show off the sea life.

We saw piranhas, octopus, sting rays, tortoises, and other sea life.

A petting tank was available to feel the sting rays,

Uncle Beck and Underfoot played in the water a long time.

Bellagio

Our trip down the strip took us to the Bellagio hotel.

The hotel has a fountain show and a seasonal garden.

Each season the hotel changes the interior of their garden to a new theme.

The current theme was an oceanic wonderland.

The plants were amazing as was the display.

The boys went through it quickly.

We tried over and over to get a good picture of us.

The late hour may of distracted us.

After looking at the garden, we ventured outside for the fountain show.

The boys watched it very closely.

Walking the Strip

After Kà, the group decided to go to walk the strip.

We saw a lot of the sights. 

If we put Sweetheart in the middle, he was handed no cards.

We stopped for water and continued to the Bellagio.

Handsome Ben was the perfect buddy for the evening.

He stuck with the boys like glue.

I put on MapMyRun when we returned and it was 1.5 miles.

Cirque du Soleil - KA

After we went to the timeshare presentation,

we were given (*bought at a reduced price) tickets to Kà.

The whole family went to the show.

The skill the performers have is amazing!

The boys liked the show.

We enjoyed the moving stage 

especially when the stage when perpendicular. 

I put my hair up and wanted to see how it looked.

Talent Show and Family Home Evening

We hosted family home evening for the group.

The invitation was given for anyone that wanted to share a talent.

We had bells, a violin, drums, guitar, piano, singing, a repeat after me song, and much laughter.

Part of the talent show had a white elephant.

The prices ranged in popularity.

The chocolate was most prized.

A game of jeopardy was created each with a back story. 

The written answers were given, and the response was to be in the form of a question. It's a type of journal to remember for our children.

I'd rather be...

• in France. (Who is Grandpa?)
• a Rodeo Star. (Who is Grandma?)
• a Race Car Driver. (Who is Mama Jane?)
• in my Sweet Trailer. (Who is Uncle A?)
• at my Chiropractor. (Who is Noodles?)

Territories

• Peed in the HVAC duct at Youth Conference (Who is CF?)
• Marked Liberty Square (Who is Uncle A?)
• Toilet Seat Smashed His Jewels (Who is Uncle A)
• Ferris Wheel (Who is Grandma?)
• Met in the Men's John and fell in LOVE (Who are Noodles and Alma?)

Monopoly

• Real Estate where Pinto is buried (Where is 15 Woodhaven?)
• Real Estate where Cat Jerky is made (Where is 542 25th Street?)
• Real Estate where Chapel Master Key Caper (Where is the Alamo Chapel?)
• Real Estate where Beck and Ford were the prime suspects for a fire (Where is Los Cerros Middle School?)
• Real Estate where all their dreams come true (Where is Bollinger Canyon Ranch?)

Car Woos and Whoas

• Drove the may-pops Datsun (Who is Auntie M?)
• Ticketed Prime Parking at SFO (Who is Grandma?)
• His lunch time fun turned into long weekend flip over (Who is Beck?)
• His high speed chases (Who is CF?)
• Her collision at 0 mph in the SRVHS parking lot (Who is Noodles?)

Random Items

• He served by rototilling the backyard to hide his treasures (Who is CF?)
• They "cheered up the sad" at SRVHS (Who are Noodles and Auntie M?)
• She made bread 3x a week (Who is Mama Jane?)
• They fell in love on the dance floor. (Who are Grandpa and Grandma?)
• I can't remember the last one. I didn't write it down.

Family Reunion Locals

• Mosquito Lake (Where is the 1st Family Reunion?)
• "Call me T-Bone" (Who is T-Bone in San Diego?)
• Year of the Bark and Fish of Fury (Where is Clear Creek Family Ranch?)
• Bunsen Peak Hike and Many Geyers (Where is Yellowstone?)
• Juanito Bandito stars there (Where is Bear Lake?)
  

Missing J-Bob

Our cousin, J-Bob, wasn't able to come to the reunion because of work.

We took pictures and sent them to him so he knew we missed him.

I stopped at 2.

Those 5 faces were all pretty sad.

I didn't want to make J-Bob any sadder.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is an amazing structure.

The cement is still drying.

All the dam jokes were made while we waited in line

to see the movie and then down the elevator to the actual tour.

We decided we needed to employ the buddy system on all field trips.

Underfoot chose Handsome Ben.

Hurricane chose his Dad.

Better said his Dad chose him, and Hurricane got a free ride.

The girl cousins stuck together literally.

They were buddies most of the week.

The room we were in shook a little, and they commented it was weird.

Family pictures are my favorite.

It proves we were all there.

The turbines behind us were huge.

Train and Family Pictures

Grandpa, Grandma, Sweetheart, Auntie M, Beck, Noodles, CF, Uncle A Missing: Mama Jane

The family reunion had a train stop this year.

The parents and siblings gathered to pose.

The patriarch loves trains like his father before him.

The rest of the family gathered to show how the family has grown.

We have a pretty merry bunch.

And the bonus is most looked at the camera.

The train stop was scheduled to take 15 minutes.

One hour later we were climbing into the cars again to go to Hoover Dam.

Hurricane follows the tradition of loving trains.

He wanted to take pictures of everyone as well.

He settled for me taking his picture.

He then recruited to have his picture taken with others.

The boy cousins climbed all over, under, and through as many trains as they could.

They eventually tired and just sat.

The Brain wanted to find his own way.

He didn't want his picture taken

but paused long enough when his name was called.

Hurricane consented to have his picture taken with me.

We were told to make a funny face.

I insisted we have buddies for everywhere we went. 

The buddy he picked didn't stay with him so by default I was his buddy.

He didn't like it at first and warmed up to the idea.

Sunday

We went to sacrament meeting and the Primary.

After church, the boys went with their cousins

to the Las Vegas Temple.

Underfoot got hot so he made a wardrobe change.