Lape Family Reunion '09

D and I had a wonderful weekend hanging out with my mom's side of the family that lives out here in Utah (which is pretty small compared to everyone who still lives back east) for our annual Lape Family Reunion. My parents and siblings were unable to come down for it, but D and I enjoyed every minute we were there. (Even the part of waking up at 7 in the morning to the kids playing Pokemon outside the tents!) I have a ton of pictures to post, and most of the post is basically for memories, and for the family members who were unable to come and experience the fun. I will try to spare those pictures that some family members would not appreciate seeing on our blog as well :). Hope you enjoy!

Day 1 - Friday

Miss Abbie

Trying to get D's attention...it worked! ;)

Frisbee was a BIG hit!
We decided this is Jessy's road rage face - watch out for when she turns 16!

Abbie was seriously into the game too!

Beautiful sunset!!
Me and Christopher jumping. I really am way too out of shape to keep that going. He totally wore me out! (P.S. Christopher is going to be 9 tomorrow!! Happy Birthday, Ferf!!)
D was having some fun with the camera :)
This is Parker's tonsil shot
Ben
The boys decided this is what a gopher would look like just before it gets hit by a car. Nice, boys...Nice.
They call me "evil eyes" :)
D brought a couple of telescopes and fortunately the sky cleared enough for everyone to get in some good observation of the moon. D took this amazing shot (and a few others) through the eye piece of one of the telescopes. Cool, huh?
*As a side note, when I asked Aeryka if she wanted to look at the moon through the telescope, she said, "Kiarwin, (that's what they call me) I can already see it!" Haha. Smart little girl!

Day 2 - Saturday

Painting the shed so we could write our names on it.
Alice, Abbie, Aunt Sharon
Slip-n-Slide Time!!
Matt had this same look on his face every time he slid.

Parker was into spinning down the slide.

Robby

Aeryka

Jessy & Parker

Nicholas

Ben looked like he was in pain every time he went - the water must have been cold!
(Or maybe it was his bone-y rear-end sliding across the ground?)

Then D joined in the fun

I love this boy!!

The kids love their cousin Darwin, too.
Christopher's favorite thing...WATER!!

Abbie

The source behind the spraying - Sarah.
When they were done with the slip-n-slide, they decided they needed a pool :)
Adding more water to their tarp-pool.
So much fun on the slip-n-slide made everyone sleepy!
Randy & AbbieAfter napping, it was time for more water.
This time in the form of a water balloon fight!After water ballons, it was time to get ready for launching bottle rockets.
D was teaching the boys how to make a proper bottle rocket :)
The boys.
Everyone got a turn to pull the string, launching the bottle rockets into the air.
MattRobby
Nicholas - I love this shot!
The spectators :)
Ben
Parker
Christopher (with Alice and Randy)
AerykaAbbie
Jessyka

Day 3 - Sunday

After church it was time for croquett!
The cutest couple in the world!!
Me and Ferfy
Getting ready to paint names on the shed.
Aeryka had the privilege of being 1st!
The process...
The finished product :)
Abbie and her kool-aid mustache.
4 little monkey's sitting in a tree...
...or was it 5?......6?...
...or was it 8?
Uncle Bob (a.k.a. Poppy) and Christopher (a.k.a. Ferf) eating dinner and sharing hugs.Evie cooling off in her pool.
The cool shot D kept trying to get of Evie shaking off.
(D, Randy, and Uncle Bob tried to get this shot for like 15 minutes. They kept putting Evie back in her pool, and hoping to get this cool shot. After lots of persistance, it finally paid off!)
The finished product of the shed.
*As a side note, when Uncle Bob had finished painting "Poppy's" on the shed, Alice says, "Dad, your 'P' is going to drip." Haha. I guess you really had to be there...it was pretty funny :)

Painting the shed with everyone's name on it started as a tradition back in NY at my grandparent's house when I was just a baby. Here's the original shot of the original barn, which no longer exists, unfortunately.

(My family's names are in the center, kind of toward the top.)

Thanks for a fun Family Reunion weekend everyone!! We love you all!!