Saturday, September 12, 2009

Parker Family Reunion

A few weekends ago we were able to go to the Parker Family Reunion up by Clint's Well. About 30 min or so from Flagstaff. The weather was beautiful and we didn't have much of a storm at all. We rented a motor home from some friends to avoid getting drenched in a tent for the 2nd year in a row. Even though the weather did not call for us to need an RV it was nice to have a toilet and shower nonetheless. We enjoyed hours of quad riding and rides in the rhinos. The kids haven't cared much to ride with it being 110 degrees out so it was nice to have wide open space to take advantage of. The camp site was awesome and perfect for all 70 of us who came this year. I was glad that so many people came. It was so good to see those that we have missed the past years. I took this pic of Gram and thought it turned out great. Nana Parker is the greatest grandma. I cant think of someone who is more giving of her time and talents than she is. I think if it wasn't for Nana we would not have any blankets in our home. I appreciate her loving example and the great person she is. I truly feel so blessed because i am one of hers through marriage. I am so thankful that my children have been fortunate enough to know her. Some kids don't get to know much about their great grandparents. My kids not only know her but LOVE her and know that she loves them. We are blessed because of her!!!!The greatest Father in law!Reed planned so many fun events for us to all take part in. It was a competition between all the kids and all the adults. We started out learning some new skills and practicing them a bit. After that we started the rotation and were scored on each event. The Kerby's showed everyone how to rope while Kevin taught us his awesome skill with a bow and arrow. I was excited to learn how to shoot a bow since I had never done that before. We finished the comp off with a 3 legged race an egg toss and the gunny sack race. The competition was fierce I will add and i think the only events I did any good in were shooting the bow and the egg toss. It was a great time though and the kids had a blast. Tate was trying so hard. He is just a tad competitive and these activities out of his comfort zone were a challenge. I was glad all the kids got a prize or he may still be upset. This pic underneath is him rolling. Too funny!Ty needed a little help keeping the bag up and hopping. She thought is was so fun and has been hopping around the house in a pillow case ever since.Kevin with his fancy bow. I was quite impressed with all his gear and how accurate he is. Jace being a good uncle and showing us how to get it done in the roping dept. By the looks of Tate's shirt I would say his day was fulfilled. I couldn't quite get that shirt back to its normal white self:) I had to post these next few pictures because I thought they were funny. Roanan was so sweet to Ty and was happy to be her partner in the 3 legged race. Actually he was her partner for everything. Sorry Roanan I think you may have been at a slight disadvantage:) Either way he was happy to work with her. She was not sure what the 3 legged race was all about. I just told her to hold on and try to walk. The 1st step she fell down and started crying. With help from parents they finished but she was mad at me. She wouldn't stop crying until I untied her leg.
See how sweet he was, he was totally concerned with her being upset. After the races I think she realized she found a new friend and they were inseparable the rest the time.
Uncle Doug with all of his cute babies.

I must add the food was quite delicious. I went up there thinking we were only doing 2 meals together and the rest we were on our own for. I was mistaken and could not have been happier. We ate like royalty. There is nothing better than breakfast outside and over the fire. Ty and Ridge thought they were so funny all weekend making faces instead of smiling at me. It was actually funny to see them talk about how they were going to both make silly faces at me. We are so lucky to have cousins that are all close by and that our kids are such good friends with.

We had such a good time and I am excited to see what next year brings.

Brooklyn For V.P.

B decided at the beginning of the year that she wanted to run for student council. I knew it would be a good experience for her but as a mom I was worried about it. Her little heart can be so tender so I felt best to explain that just because she was running for VP didn't mean she would win. There were 7 other kids running for it and I just wanted her to understand the possibilities. She was aware of how it all worked and still wanted to do it regardless of how the cookie crumbled. She told me on Sunday that Monday, the next day she was supposed to have 10 signs to hang up in the halls and stickers to pass out. We were at my parents for dinner and Summer helped me make stickers and then when we got home I was up until 4am making posters. We got them taped up at the school and prepared for her speech. We made a t-shirt that said vote Brooklyn 4 Vice Pres. She did such a great job on her speech and didn't even seem nervous. They actually video taped the speeches and then played them the next day. I'm sure that helped not having to do it live. Needless to say she won and is having a blast. There are extra responsibilities that come along with her position but she sails through all of it. Her grades are excellent and she manages to get it all in and still have time to be a kid. Good Job B we love you and are so proud of you. Keep up the good work!
Ty was so excited to go cheer for B as her speech was played in the cafeteria for all to see. She kept clapping and saying theres Brooklyn.I had to document this picture of B because she was so embarrassed that I was taking a picture of her. I didn't think that kids were to cool for their moms quite yet. Any how I thought it was funny and I know that she loves me regardless if she is to cool for me:)