It's time to catch up with cousins, eat too much, stay up too late, and have more fun in a few days than we've had all summer. Yep! It's Family Reunion Time!!!
Doesn't Kenison look stressed excited?? The poor three babies got a lifetime's worth of lovin'.
Cousins and
more cousins!
Our first task scheduled for our reunion was to get some pictures done by a photographer.
We decided to all wear neutrals: navy blue, white, black, tan, cream, etc. with pops of turquoise.
We headed out to the woods at the cabin.
It's not easy to get a group picture with our growing crowd.
The last time we had professional pictures taken, Jessica was expecting.
Megan's wedding, December 2012
I knew it was time for a professional picture again, since Backmans are expecting another baby. Jessica, don't forget to give me a quick call when you decide to have Backman #4 so I can start looking for a photographer.
Jessica didn't tell anyone but me, Stan, and Shelly that she was pregnant. She just showed up at the reunion, waiting to be discovered. Either her siblings are too polite, or no one notice. I started saying rude things like "Jessica, have you put on weight? You look a little pudgy in the middle." After everyone looked at me like I'd grown an extra head, they finally got it. To be fair, Jessica is pretty tiny. I look a lot more pregnant than she does. A lot.
Jessica didn't tell anyone but me, Stan, and Shelly that she was pregnant. She just showed up at the reunion, waiting to be discovered. Either her siblings are too polite, or no one notice. I started saying rude things like "Jessica, have you put on weight? You look a little pudgy in the middle." After everyone looked at me like I'd grown an extra head, they finally got it. To be fair, Jessica is pretty tiny. I look a lot more pregnant than she does. A lot.
It takes a talented photographer to catch 29 people with their eyes open and an acceptably pleasant facial expression turned in the general direction of the camera.
Whoops! Myla, Koen, and Caden spotted Yeti off to the side.
Makayla, are your eyes shut for a reason?
Makayla? Eyes?
Makayla? Happy face?
Hello? Makayla?
One more
and.....we're done!
Really done.
Oh, look! It's the world's cutest grandchildren!
Koen is going to make a break for it.
My favorite children.
My other children.
It seems my other children are contagious.
Individual family pictures
I'm missing the Bassetts family picture because they booked a separate session with the photographer and their pictures were not included in our pictures.
The cabin comes with a convenient river to cool off in.
It also produces some nice white noise to lull one to sleep.
Shelly made us these cool giant bubble-makers with string, straws, and special soap.
Koen had a large squirt gun.
He was pretty excited to soak Daddy.
Koen is pretty proud of himself.
I provided a few hundred water balloons, put to good use by some of the dads.
Some of them had dye that was guaranteed to wash out of everything.
Let's hope that's true...
Some people had the good sense to stay out of the war.
Ah oh. Someone's reloading.
Yup, this is fun stuff.
At some point, Scott managed to become everyone's main target. Koen must be a persuasive guy.
Don't worry. Scott can give as good as he gets.
Things that are better than getting a water balloon in the face.
Uncle McKay is getting pretty soggy, too.
Way to do the "bucket on the head" trick, Hailey.
But watch out, Uncle Scott's out for revenge.
How did we go from little water balloon
to a big bucket or two?
Here's helpful Nora,
plugging in cousin Hudson.
Good job, Nora!
A few years ago, Hannah was one of the three new babies at the reunion. Now she's all grown up, talking to one of the three new babies of this reunion.
At some point the kids figured out the advantage of hitting the adversary from above.
It's a lot more effective to bomb from above than throw from below.
Caden and his cup shoes.
We worked up quite an appetite with all of that throwing and dodging. Everyone in the family signed up for a meal or two, which made it easy peasy
Makayla will eat a whole watermelon by herself if you don't stop her.
Good times!
This girl knows how to love her chocolate.
These babies are getting soooo spoiled.
Just so you know, that "It's my first one, but who's counting?' face doesn't fool anyone.
I might have given everyone below the age of 21 a personal flashlight.
At least this year I didn't buy the strobe lights. They even annoyed me.
Next up: A Dam And a Museum
Questions: How do the grandkids work out who gets to hold Grandma's hand in the picture? How is it that your children got shorter with each subsequent birth? How did two people turn into 29 people? How many hours did it take to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera (with open eyes)? How in the world can so many good-looking people all be part of the same family?
ReplyDeleteAnswers: First come, first serve. I progressively ran out of nutrients to pass on. Did you sleep during reproduction day in your biology class? Just one hour and an excellent photographer. We started with good genes ;)
DeleteSuch a fun reunion! Koen spraying Scott was a highlight for me. And yes, can we PLEASE do family pictures during a year I am not pregnant? That'd be great :)
ReplyDeleteAmazingly good photos. You've got Judy jealous. She can't round our family up for pictures - she may need to try a gun. Looks like a wonderfully fun time at the cabin.
ReplyDelete