McCall Winter Reunion

We traveled to McCall for another family reunion!

Getting there and settling in was extremely stressful. We were late leaving our home. Some members of the family were unable to join us until late in the day as they were working on a surprise. The ladder on the camper got bent in the process of trying to back up and park. Packing and unpacking was a huge project. By the time we got every thing moved into the cabin, it was too late to ski--a major frustration for the dedicated skiers. Needless to say, we started out with a bit of tension in the air, actually more than a little. I must admit that I was worried that this was going to be a long week! Thanks to the diligence of every member of the family pulling together to make it work, our reunion was a great success. Here are the memories.

The book "30 Memories for 30 Years" was presented by our children. They spent many hours creating it to show their love and appreciation for their parents. We felt their love, especially after all they did to make the week such a great one!

All but two members of the family were able to attend the reunion. We really missed Sariah who is in Uruguay on her mission and Brian, Elly's husband. We're glad our friends Satoshi and Emily could join us.

Matthew is the king of Wii. That was the first thing he did when we got to the cabin and, boy, does he get into it!

We had a family Wii tournament. It was entertaining to watch everyone play. Did anyone win? I couldn't figure out why everyone was laughing at my serve. How do you serve a tennis ball without throwing it into the air first? Never mind that it's not actually there.

Interacting with those little grandkids all week was pure delight!

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a karaoke bash. Toe-tapping Maggie was a hit! Thankfully some family members could find the right key so the rest of us could join in at the top of our lungs, hitting a few notes here and there.:)

I was sorry I missed the pillow fight....

...but thankful I didn't have to try out the hot tub.

There was plenty of entertainment!

We laughed a lot in the Categories game. I've never heard such heated discussions over such topics as whether or not Mickey Mouse is a living thing. Does he, after all, reproduce?

Nathan, Matthew and our friend, Satoshi took skiing lessons every day. They were fearless! They were skiing with Ryan, Jacob and Grandpa on the black diamond run by the end of the week. I had a blast skiing with them after their first lesson on the beginner hill. It didn't take them long to pass me by.:) The highlight of Grandpa's week was a comment from Matthew after a day of skiing: "You're the best Grandpa a boy could have!"

While the boys were skiing, the girls (and Owen) found lots of ways to entertain themselves. They read, played, created jewelry, slept and took Owen to the emergency room to discover that he did indeed have an ear infection. One afternoon they explored beautiful McCall.

Thanks, Jacob, for these incredible photos.

We spent another afternoon playing in the snow....that is until it started to rain.

It was Owen's first experience with snow. The little boy from Florida was awe struck!

Becca, the one-eyed pirate baby.

Trying to get everyone ready for the family photo shoot is always a huge challenge. Then there is always the wise guy who has to make a face in every picture. Can you find the culprit?

We had a few sad faces when it was time to go home. Matthew was sad that every day had been "only about 10 minutes long" and that he didn't get to do everything he had hoped to do at the reunion. Nathan was unhappy that he wasn't going to get to go skiing again for a very long time. I think Uncle Ryan probably felt the same way.

We ended our week with, according to Matthew, "the best lunch ever" at the local pancake house.

Thank goodness for kind, loving, helpful, entertaining, creative family members to make a reunion such an unforgettable success!