Steve Waite Family Reunion

This year we had a Family Reunion

with our children and

grandchildren

Preparations began early ....

Charlotte is CRAZY about
Elsa from Frozen so .....

Linda made her a new Frozen Quilt

for her Birthday which

we would celebrate during the Reunion

We also decided to make these

Giant outdoor chalkboards ... Well,

Linda decided .... Steve went along with it.

Prime

Sand

Paint

Decorate

one picture for each grandchild

As the time drew closer, we began shopping

The piles began to grow

the food was planned

eating and sleeping arrangements for the 

babies were made

we dug out our 5 gal igloo and

collected extra chairs and

tables

By Saturday, July 25th, we were READY !

Sunday Morning.....

Linda Throws her back out .... Oh NO !

Sunday Afternoon 

7-26

Trudi's Family arrived

after a long 3 day road trip

from their home in Iowa.

Grandpa showed the kids our

new little fountain

we relaxed on the back patio while

Wyatt filled his water gun

in the fountain

Cora had fun playing

in the dirt

We set up the old Tepee GiGi 

made like 35 years ago

Charlotte found some 

outdoor toys

There were  balls to play with

and garden critters to be "rearranged"

Day 1  

Monday  7/27

Debbi and Kevin's Family arrive

and the Reunion Begins!

Debbi came in via air transportation

at 10:30 a.m.

Steve took Wyatt and Charlotte

with him to pick her up.

After they got back to Star

and while we were waiting for

Kevin and his family to arrive

Wyatt ate lunch in the Tepee...fun stuff!

Cora and Charlotte got a little

"Swing Time" with Debbi

Cora & Debbi playing

"My Little Pony"

and....

Wyatt found the Lincoln Logs

Kevin's family arrive around 4:30

and dropped all their

stuff off at Matt's house then

Came out to Star....picking up some

fried chicken for dinner

 on their way.

Connor and Crew liked the

outdoor chalkboard

Charlotte & Cora joined in the fun

while we were getting dinner ready

The grandkids liked sitting at

Grandpa's "old" folding camp table together

and everyone enjoyed eating outside...

in the shade of the covered patio.

After dinner the kids had fun

playing in the yard

Connor and Wyatt letting go with some

indian whoops

The girls (Jetta, Sienna, Camrynn) 

decided to show off their

cheer leading skills and soon

Everyone was joining in

(Crew)

and giving it a try

(Connor)

Wyatt and ....

Cora

Trudi & Morgan are pretty

cute spectators!

Before long the BIG SURPRISE

showed up

hmmm....what could it be?

Can you guess?

The kids knew what it was and boy

were they excited

We told them they had to wait until the

man setting it up told them they could 

go inside....

When he finally said "OK you can go in now"

it was like a vacuum sucked them all

in instantly

Even little Sydney got in with

Sienna's help.

For Family Home Evening we

planned to Tie Dye some T-shirts

Twisting and banding the shirts

We thought the bounce house might be

a distraction problem but no....

The kids were excited to do their own shirts

(with a little help from the grown-ups)

Every one did their own thing

then each shirt went into a ziplock bag

for about 12 hours

We finished up just as it was getting dark.

Debbi and Wyatt .... silly picture!

Our first day had come to an end,

Next.....Day 2 !

Day 2

Tuesday 7/28

Today will be a busy day with the

Bounce house and lots

of Water Fun!

1st thing on the schedule was to

blow up the bounce house

once that was done.....

We began rolling out the

Slip 'n Slide

Matt poured some "no tears" baby shampoo

on it to make it "slickery"

and they begin....

Connor

Crew

Charlotte

Jetta

Sienna

Wyatt

Next we brought out the....

pump style water squiters

squirting the slip 'n sliders

and.....

Each other !

Wow .... this is fun !

We had a little wading pool for the

babies, but Cora & Charlotte kind of

adopted it.

We also brought out the sponge water bombs

but didn't get any pictures of them

Debbi and Cora spent some quality

"Swing Time" together

By early afternoon we decided to start

rinsing out the tie dye shirts.

We were anxious to see how they all turned out.

It took a long time but Jen and Debbi

finally got the job done and

into the washer they went

Jetta putting all the shirts into the dryer ....

soon we will be able to try them on!

After Water fun and lunch we got ready

for our July Birthday Party.

Since it was Jetta's birthday she

got to blow up the balloons

Sydney (and Morgan) had fun

playing with them

Our big birthday activity was a

Butterfly Pinata 

Everyone got a turn trying to break it open

(sorry I didn't get pictures of all)

Charlotte

Connor

Sienna

Camrynn

and Jetta who ....

finally broke it open

candy and toys scattered everywhere

and so did the kids!

Even little Sydney got in the act !

Next on the agenda was

PRESENTS !

Charlotte 7/11 and Jetta 7/28

Both girls enjoyed some fun gifts from

everyone.....

there were stuffed animals, "pierced" earrings,

"Frozen" items & a musical toothbrush

just to name a few

After the gifts were all opened we began

handing out the tie dye shirts

Grandpa and Wyatt modeling

their shirts

And Sienna was very COOL !

A fun group shot followed by

a "silly" picture

We had pizza for dinner, got things picked up

and were ready for the

"Family Get-Together" to begin.

People started arriving at 7 p.m.

Hugging was involved!

There were aunts, uncles, cousins and

more cousins and

more cousins

It was a fun evening of visiting....

Bouncing.....

Water fights.....

Slipping.....

Sliding .....

big kids helping little kids and .....

a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday 

with everyone enjoying some Cake & Ice Cream

 in the shade of the patio and

under the trees

Day 2 was a huge success !!

Day 3

Wednesday 7/29

We Started this day off with a Movie

"HOME"

those that didn't go to the movie met up at Matt's House

After the movie we all went to

Burger King for Lunch

We managed to quickly fill up the

play area .... all 19 of us !

Everyone ate well, cleaning up 

Every last bite .... Amazing !

hmmm.....it looks like 

Debbi thought Morgan should have

some soda pop ... ha ha

the kids had fun climbing and ....

sliding

with

each

other

aren't these two little girls cute?

Cora & Sydney

After lunch we all went to Matt's house

for the rest of the day

There was fun on the trampoline

Charlotte, Crew, Wyatt & Connor

Cora gave it a try

Crew doing the splits ... yikes !

Sienna doing cartwheels

Connor being silly

Wyatt catching some Air and ....

Debbi, Jen, Cora & Lani just relaxing

There were Bunnies to pet

Wyatt & Connor

Cora

Charlotte

Charlotte & Sydney

And a pool for getting wet !

Crew, Connor, Sienna, Wyatt, Charlotte

Cora getting her feet wet

The boys got a little batting practice with ....

Coach Kevin 

handing out some pointers

We Bar-B-Q'd hot dogs for dinner

and had Popsicle's for dessert.

We took some random pictures ....

Camrynn & Jetta playing video games

Cora "helping" in the kitchen

Morgan ....

Playing with some toys

Sydney had fun with the 

Little People toys

Jetta Loves her Dill Pickles

Camrynn & Debbi just Hangin'

Matt has a flock of ducks living just behind his

house near a canal.

His girls have discovered if they open the

gate to the canal 

and have bread crumbs,

the ducks will come in their yard.

Charlotte feeding the ducks with Camrynn

Charlotte thinks they are her little playmates

All the kids had fun feeding this bunch

Cora just wanted to chase them!

It was another fun day for

everyone !

Day 4

Thursday 7/30

PICTURE DAY !!!

We were up bright and early this morning

so we could meet our

photographer by 9 a.m. in Eagle 

(about 10 minutes away)

Wyatt waiting for the photographer

We met at a beautiful spot by the

Boise River

Our good friend, Rebecca, was the

photographer

Everyone waiting their turn

Debbi says "I'm Ready" !!

Rebecca was amazing

Cora didn't want to cooperate during her

family's shoot so

Rebecca followed her around the area and

into the water just snapping candid shots of her

Such a beautiful spot for a Photo Shoot

The kids were all really good but soon this

little "log bridge"

caught their eye

George "challenged" Wyatt so he was

the first one to try crossing it.

Jetta gave it a try

Sienna too

and finally Connor

They all crossed it several times

sometimes they made it without falling and

other times.....well, it's a good thing

it wasn't very far to the ground!

We decided that little bridge would make a 

great place for a grandkids picture.

All the grandkids except one,

Sleeping baby Morgan,

sat on the log for this picture.

so of course we had to do a little photo shopping

to get everyone in AND looking

and here he is......sleeping baby Morgan.

After the photo shoot the kids had fun just

playing in the water

and cooling off their feet

We arrived back at our house in Star around

noon and had some lunch then .....

Everyone except Trudi, Morgan, Cora & Debbi, 

who stayed home and got dinner ready

while Morgan was sleeping,

and Camrynn who was at her friends house,

decided to go bowling.

We went to the BSU Student Union ....

The games were discounted and

the shoe rental was Free .... YAY !

We had 3 alleys ....

one for the adult boys - 4

one for the little girls & Jen - 5

one for the little boys & Lani - 4

and Linda Took Pictures - 1

14 in all

Everyone picked out a ball

Connor, Sydney & Crew

and then we began

Jen & Jetta showing Charlotte how to do it

Then a big high five from her daddy

Crew knew exactly what to do

Grandpa and Sienna .... bowling buddies

Wyatt took careful aim then gave the ball a shove

Connor looking like a pro

hmmm .... Sienna is showing Crew how it's done?

Lani is letting her and

Jetta and Matt .... "in progress"

Sydney was just being cute

Cheering and clapping with her daddy

She even got to bowl with him a few times

There were lots of high fives coupled with

big smiles and jumping around

every time the ball hit the pins

After a L O N G walk back to our cars

and an equally L O N G drive back to Star

we arrived home to the yummy smell of

pulled pork.

By now everyone was getting worn out from

a very busy week of activities

but the kids still managed to have fun

drawing pictures and writing notes

on the giant outdoor chalkboards.

The boys settled in to some video games

first sitting up, then .....

laying down.

Day 4 was another busy, fun day

We can't wait to see the pictures Rebecca

took today !

Day 5

Friday 7/31

Our Reunion is coming to an end.

Today we will say goodbye to both

Kevin's family and Debbi

But first .... a little bit of fun !

load 'em up ....

FIRE !!!

These cousins had soooo much fun

together

and we .... the grown-ups,

had fun watching them play together

  someday these two, Morgan & Sydney, will

be good buddies

but for now .... Hang on tight ....

grandpa will take you for a ride

Crew "adjusts" the little turtle in the 

fountain .... one more time 

and the hugs begin

(Charlotte is sad they are leaving)

Connor and Crew give Debbi her goodbye hugs

Charlotte and Sydney share a "moment"

They are all loaded up and ready to roll ....

Safe Travels !!!

Next it was time for Debbi to leave and

get some goodbye hugs from

the Lansford kids

Cora

Wyatt

and Charlotte

It is such a sad time

Bye Debbi !!

Saturday 8/1

Today is our 46th Anniversary and

Georges 47th Birthday

So Happy Happy A & B to us !

This morning George and Steve ran a

cable under the house from our modem

 to our TV so hopefully now we will 

be able to stream some movies

In the afternoon we visited with a friend from Bend.

It is always good to see any of

the "Bendites" ... 

We still miss that town and the people

we rubbed shoulders with for so many years.

Sunday 8/2

Today it was time to say goodbye to

Trudi and her family.

Morgan gets buckled in while

Wyatt & Cora climb in the back seat

Morgan is happy .... so far

Wyatt and Cora get the "Way-back" seats

Charlotte shares the middle with Morgan

and all her stuffed animals and blankets

All set and ready to go ...

we wonder if they will look this happy in

a few days?

just checking .... we go "that" way, right ?

ha ha .... Geroge knows the way

and away they go ... the first day of a very

long trip back to Iowa.

(btw, they got home on Wed., about 5 p.m.)

The house is very quiet now ....

Everyone is either home or on their way ....

Linda can now work on getting her back better ....

Steve will work on putting the house back together ....

and ....

We already miss everyone !

At least for a little while we will have

this gentle reminder of

how much fun we had this week

ahhh, the joys of having a slip 'n slide !

We have made wonderful memories 

during our week together.  

The cousins got to know each

other better, 

we got to see many of our extended family

and soon we will have

wonderful pictures from our Photo Shoot.

Aren't we glad

Families Can Be Together Forever

Lucky Us !