Family Reunion '08

Ready for an epic length post? It's been more than a week in the making, and it's long! (Watch the videos though, none of them are very long. It's just that there's a bunch!)

Every summer Brian's extended family (his great-grandmother's children and on down) gathers together "up on the mountain" for dirt, fun, and catching up. It's a really neat tradition, SO many people come. Here's a quick video look at the campsite, so you can see how many campers there are! And this was Friday afternoon, so I don't think everyone was even up yet.



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For my two little ones, the weekend was all about their dirt bikes. They rode every second they could! I'm amazed at how good they are, and how cute their little bikes are.

Here is Jas, with his Dad and a few uncles, in a picture I like to call "How many boys does it take to air up a tire?" I'm sure there's a joke to be made somewhere.

Alex zips around on his bike. He's quite careful, I was impressed. His little bike is kind of hard to handle, so he takes it pretty easy.

And then there's Jason. Remember my cautious son? He's not so much on his bike! By the time we left the reunion he was already looking for jumps. JUMPS!! Just like the ocean, his dirtbike seems to bring out the speed gene in him.

Here are the little boys and the big boys, getting ready to go on a ride. The big boys were nice enough to take Jas & Alex along. They felt so grown up going on a real ride!

Not enough bike for you yet? Watch this short video of the 5 boys taking off.

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We managed to do a few other things while we were up there. Brian caught a cool bug. We looked at it for a bit and then Jason found somewhere safe (away from Alex and his feet!) to release it.

I got to spend time with Maggie. (I'm her favorite aunt, she told me.) Want to see a video? Of course you do!



Krissy is all grown up now. I'd be sad if I wasn't so stinking proud of her. (I think Kris on the 4Wheeler should be a new required family reunion pic for my blog.)

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Saturday was Jason's birthday. He's 8! How did that happen? Every time I fold his pants I marvel at how BIG the kid is. (Less than a foot until he's as tall as me, he thinks it's the funniest thing ever.)

We sang Happy Birthday to him during breakfast.



And then we opened a few presents. Presents from Nana are always a hit.



But Brian had a surprise up his sleeve, and outdid Nana. (Even though it wasn't the Ipod Grandad thought it would be!) There were other great presents too. Cool dinosaur toys from Mike & Pam, a Sigg bottle (with candy!) from Trisha. He's loved, and it shows!



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And then, the final big event of the reunion, fish pond. I think they liked their prizes!

Steven was concerned that he wasn't getting anything, so we made sure he got a little something.



And Maggie got to do her first fish pond ever!



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All in all, it was a great weekend. There were bugs, my hair didn't get washed the entire time, cooking in the camper is a pain, but between the great company, the conversation and the exciting games of Settlers... who had time to notice? I'm already planning for next year.

My camera is finally back!

After entirely too long in California, my camera is back and it actually works now. :) Here's the very first picture I've taken with it.

Alex would like you all to know the title of this picture is "A Muddy Moment."

They were outside for roughly five minutes when the doorbell rang and there they were. Click on the picture and view it full size, to truly understand the scope of HOW muddy those two were!