One thing I admire about my dad is his passion for family reunions. I can't remember a time when we didn't go to a family reunion in the summer. If I am not mistaken, he is the person who organized the first family reunion for our family in the Czech Republic. Some of my fondest memories are of our reunions in Seymor Texas and Raymond, Alberta, Canada. Last year there was a family reunion in Seattle which we weren't able to attend but we're glad we could make it down to Texas this summer for the party! Mom and Dad rented a beach house for a few days in Galveston. It was so much fun! I LOVE the beach and have missed Galveston so much! Jimmy and I used to go down almost every Saturday during the summers we lived in Houston and we took Ali several times when she was a baby. Our kids like water but they have both been very cautious so I was nervous they wouldn't enjoy it right away. You would have thought they went to the beach every day with the way they jumped right in! Neither of them hesitated for a second and they were instant beach bums!
James hanging out with Grandpa, the original beach bum. My dad loves the beach! While we were there, he was driving up and down Seawall Blvd. looking to buy a beach house! Classic Dad!
And Cory was in his natural element as well, digging holes.
No matter where we lived growing up, Cory was in the backyard digging a hole of one size or another. In one house he dug a hole so large all of us kids, and probably the neighbors' kids, could fit down in it. He also had some boards on top so it was like a little fort. In another house there was a wooden fort/playhouse and he dug a tunnel from the outside that you could crawl through and come up in the playhouse.
Hanging out in the bunk room with cousins. Our kids didn't sleep there. Maybe in a few years they'll be old enough to bunk up.
The flu ripped through the family reunion leaving only a few untouched. Ali got it the first morning we woke up at the beach. She was such a trooper and still had such a great time.
The morning of the 4th we went to the ward pancake breakfast. We have the privilege of knowing the national champion in Mounted Shooting. She is one of the most amazing women I know and she's in my parent's ward. Not only is she a national rodeo champion, she is also a cancer survivor, wonderful story teller and all around fantastic lady. After we ate our breakfast we got to watch her do her thing at their arena. Writing this makes me so homesick. I love living in the woods in Texas and miss all the good people there.
After the breakfast all the girls went to Harwin, the jewelry district in Houston. We LIVE for Harwin and it just wouldn't be a trip home without it. I buy all of Ali's bows there and also had a princess crown on the wish list for her. She found the perfect one and it's fun to have something besides the dollar store crowns to dress up with.
After naps the kids marched around the pond to the Overture of 1812 and waved flags! It was adorable! We had a BBQ and fireworks and it was pretty much perfection.
The older guys took over after the sparklers were done and put on a show with the big fireworks. It was awesome to see the fireworks going out over the pond. The younger kids were a little scare of the loud booms, plus they had been waiting all day to play with Grandma's jewelry so they retreated into the house.
They would take breaks every once in a while and watch the fireworks out the window.
The next day was Cory's birthday. It's not a birthday at Mom and Dad's without the tower of Blue Bell ice cream.
We had family pictures on the same day and the reward for the kids' good behavior was getting to dress up the kitties! They picked out fabric and grandma sewed the skirts. The kids loved every second of it.
Just a shout out to my Lover! He's such an awesome man and I'm glad he's mine!
I am so happy I got to spend a week with my family! We haven't all been together since before Ali was born and it was so good to see everyone! The first night we arrived I sat in my parent's living room and just looked around at each person. It was very surreal for some reason. As I went to bed that night I thought about how much I loved my siblings and how happy I am for each one of them and the people they have become. Plus, aren't they all such pretty people?!
My little brother Adam will be deployed in a little over a week and I am so sad I feel like my heart might break into a thousand pieces. I just hope he'll come home safely.
