Paddock Family Reunion of sorts.... 7/2015

We decided to get everyone together for the 24th of July weekend.

We were going to stay at the cabin then go to Panguitch for the Owens reunion there.

My dad panicked at the last minute and decided camping there was too much for him, so we headed up to Jeff's parent's property instead.

We invited The Munfords,and all  the Dettamantis

George and Ricki brought their family and Josh and Ben and Angelie came to part of it.

Kaden and Karver, Jamie's family and Callie Jeff and I were all there.

Lindsey's family got the stomach flu a few days before and it hit most of them pretty hard, so they didn't dare chance traveling and camping.

I was bummed because I have really, really been trying to get all the grandkids together in one place for way too long.




Piled all the kids together for a picture and it actually turned out pretty cute!

After the boys did some "man stuff" I told them to pose for a picture that showed how manly they are. This is what I got. Karsten is a hoot!

We sat around and gabbed a lot, which was kind of nice.
We kept the food low key and enjoyed the weather and company.

Cute picture of George and Ricki
He is hilarious and together they are a whole lot of fun!

We threw in a quick birthday party for Brodeyn since he got gypped out of a party this year
          He thought it was great! Being 4 means a cupcake and a song keeps you happy!

We decided to go to the caves because we had so much fun last time we went.
It was fun and a nice little outing
 

Those of us who went in had fun, even the little boys liked it
I was surprised they went through

Callie bonked her head down there and got a good goose egg

These guys  were some that went under and through the caves

Got some cute pictures so that's always fun
Kaden and Karver

Braelei gave Jamie an excuse to bow out

Grandpa and Karver hanging out

 

Karsten decided he was going to start cutting down trees
The boys all thought it was pretty fun
Pretty soon we were all over there watching
Kaden decided to help them push them down after they sawed through them
I have some cute videos of him pushing them over, of course the kids were very impressed with his strength
 

 

The cheering crowd...

Guess Jamie couldn't resist

This kept us all entertained for a few hours

Kaden was the hero and center of attention for sure

Hafen's and Munford's brought their puppies
Kaden brought Nestle so it was a little overwhelming trying to keep them all out of our hair and from fighting with each other
Braelei loved George and Ricki's puppy

Kaden brought his new bike and Jeff just couldn't resist.
After he came back from his test drive there was a line of grandsons waiting for a turn



Brodeyn was first
I think his smile says it all

Braxton and Kashden took their turn as well

These boys all had so much fun together
The 4 older boys, Karsten, Braxton, Kyler and Kashden
all slept in a tent.
One morning we heard them up, it was still dark so I was a little bugged. Soon it quieted down and I went back to sleep. I figured one of the dads had gone out and gotten after them. Little did we know they had walked 2 or 3 miles in the dark down to Duck Creek to buy a soda at 5:30 a.m.! They were put out it the store wasn't open, and all of us were amazed, upset and a little entertained listening to their story. Since they all arrived home in one piece, I guess it turned out ok. Holy Cow, boys will be boys alright!

Karver and Brodeyn
Karver is obsessed with swinging
At one point Kaden paid Kaitley $1 to push him for 5 min.
In fact a lot of paying and bribery went on
Some of the kids made a little money or earned a soda out of the adults laziness

We had good food, good fun and a good time
I wish Lindsey's family could have been there to make it all complete
Maybe next year...

On Saturday morning we went to Panguitch to the Owens reunion. It's a little hard to go now that my mom is gone, but I love seeing all my Cousins, Aunts and Uncles
My  Aunt Karen was there. I love her so much. She had been fighting Ovarian cancer for 2 years. Her and my mom were very close and she took it pretty hard when my mom died. I was grateful they had seen each other before she passed away, but my Aunt Karen blamed herself for her death because she was visiting her at her apartment when she fell out of her chair and broke her femur and shoulder. In the end after all those years of fighting horrible health and diabetes that's what killed her. No matter what we said, even my dad talking to her, she felt like it was her fault and we all blamed her.
I am so glad I got to see her that day. I wish I would have talked to her longer and hugged her one more time. I wish I would have told her I loved her. I could tell she didn't look or feel well that day. She looked so much like my mom did those last years. She looked worn out and in pain. Her kids told me she was declared cancer free 6 months before so that reassured me a little more. That next week, I got a call saying her body was full of cancer and she had less than 30 days to live. 2 weeks later she was gone.
I am going to do another post about her.
I guess that's not a very good ending to a happy camping trip, but life is all connected like that and that is pretty much the way it is.
I guess that's why we have reunions, so when things change we at least had that last connection to hold onto for comfort.