Eyre Family Reunion

Two years in the making. 2-1/2 days of loaded fun. Two sleepless nights. Power outage. Rain. Rain. Rain. Not enough food. Gobs of pictures. And this years reunion is in the books.

Aaron and I have worked on planning this reunion for the past two years.
Our Theme: Wave Your Flag. A year ago we gave every family a CD to announce where and what we would be doing. We had SO much fun putting this together.

We asked each family to create a family flag to represent their family. They were AWESOME!

Our family schedule for the couple days looked like this.

Eyre Family Reunion 2013: Wave Your Flag
	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
7:00 AM	Bedroom Assignments	Sweatin' with Kaden & Aleea	Morning Hike w/ Aaron
7:30 AM	Master: Kelley Family		Sweatin' with Kaden & Aleea
8:00 AM	Bed #1: Mom & Dad	Morning Devotional - Brett	Morning Devotional - Liesl
8:30 AM	Bed #2: Lombardo Family	Breakfast:	Breakfast:
9:00 AM	Loft: Woods, Susan, Tyson Eyre family,	Trent, Travis, Tyson	Liz & Melissa
9:30 AM	and any children who want to.	Women: Book Group led by Nikki
10:00 AM	Check - in	Uncles & Kids: games	Eyre Tent of Talents
10:30 AM		outside, fishing, hiking	Closing Flag Ceremony
11:00 AM	Opening Flag Ceremony	Free Time
11:30 AM
12:00 PM	Grab sack lunch and go to lake	Lunch - get you and your family
12:30 PM		your own lunch.	Lunch - leftovers
1:00 PM
1:30 PM		Family Games outside	Pack up
2:00 PM			Clean up
2:30 PM			Go home
3:00 PM			Cleaning Assignments:
3:30 PM			Master Bed & Bath: Kelley Fam
4:00 PM		Freshen up for family picture	Bed #1: Mom & Dad
4:30 PM		Family picture	Bed #2: Lombardo Family
5:00 PM		Dinner:	Kitchen: Travis & Trent Family
5:30 PM	Dinner:	Nikki & Dave	Bathroom: Richins & Tyson Family
6:00 PM	Mom, Dad, and Susan	Carlee & Brett	Vaccuming: Susan
6:30 PM		Fireside	Loft: Wood & Lombardo Family
7:00 PM	Fear Factor	Aaron & Melissa	Family Room: Mom & Dad
7:30 PM		Bedtime for little ones	Outside: Preston & Lauren & all the
8:00 PM		Adult Minute to Win It Games	kids.
8:30 PM	Family Movie	movie for kids upstairs
9:00 PM
9:30 PM	Family Devotional - Ron	Capture the Flag
10:00 PM	Cracker Barell
10:30 PM C	ookies/Games

The Lake

The ginormous down pour!

Despite the rain, we had a blast at the lake.

 

Fear Factor

12 and under: moldy cheese, vegetable juice, baby corn, lemon slice, dog food (really it was canned corn beef...sick!)

barf bucket

We had two winners in the kid fear factor. Mason and Beckham. They each got a bag of cold cereal.

 

Adult Fear Factor: 13 and up

Baking Chocolate bar, pickled onions, wasabi peas, sardines, anchovies, and REAL DOG FOOD.

Emily was such a trooper! I think she did all of them, but couldn't hold back the tears on some.

Travis was the winner. He ate the rest of the can of dog food and although Liz tied him since she ate the whole can of sardines, I'm sorry, but in my opinion the dog food wins out TOTALLY! He got movie tickets.

 

Hannah and Nathan dared to try the chocolate, because how bad could that be right? Everyone said the chocolate was the worst.

Preparing for the popcorn and movie night. How to Train Your Dragon.

Everyone got tickets for participating, being good sports, helping out, being kind, or winning at the games we played. It was all to be used for our Tent of Talents that we had the last day. Some of the kids really rocked it on those tickets!

Kaden and Aleea did a morning workout for anyone who wanted to. Apparently, they kicked butt!

 

Family Fun games in the yard

Cheetoe Toss

 Sack race

 Kick ball for about 5 minutes until the rain and lightening came. Oh, and the power went out. Awesome!

 

Me and my lovely

 

Minute to Win it - Adult Time

 

We asked everyone to make something to contribute to our Tent of Talents. We have some pretty darn spectacular talent in this family! The coveted items were, dad's quilt, Carlee's photo shoot, Travis' babysitting, toys, Aaron's kid picnic bench, and so much more! There were scrapbooks, manicure sets, art kits, kids capes, handmade Christmas ornaments, fresh garden vegetables, homemade lotions and lipgloss...oh my word it was fabulous! I thought my kids were going to die to have to wait until the very end of the reunion to try to win what they wanted. I was happy that all the kids got what they wanted. Phew! That never happens.

 Liz was the very lucky winner of dad's quilt! We all wanted it!

 

There were enough babies to pass around this year. They received more attention than just about anyone!

 

 

I'm calling this reunion a success! Everyone that came and participated had a blast. The adults and teenagers stayed up both nights playing volleyball, or board games until the wee hours of the morning. The rain didn't dampen our time. There wasn't enough food and so badly wish we had not underestimated that important part. I'm so thankful that Aaron had the same vision of what we wanted this reunion to be. He is so super fun and truly made planning this a blast.

 

The random

 

 

 

 

Pretty Darn Spectacular Family!

 

10 Years of Wedded Bliss?

I really can't believe 10 years of marriage has come and gone. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary yesterday. All I wanted was a night at the temple we were married and sealed in, with my honey.

 

So I reflect on the past 10 years. Has it been wedded bliss? Um, no. Not always anyway. There's been lots of happy times for sure, but there's been far more growing than anything and I'm grateful for that. Here's my top 10 things I've learned in the ten years of being married.

 

10.  Learning to communicate is essential

 

9.  Serving each other is key

 

8. Support each others dreams

 

7. Laughing and crying are a good part of marriage

 

6. Don't keep secrets

 

5. Know your roles and embrace those roles.

 

4. Let go of pride and say your sorry.

 

3. Live within your means

 

2. Be forgiving

 

1. Marriage is worth it! It's worth the work and effort it takes to keep the flame alive.

 

Aaron and I are so different in so many ways. I have come to really appreciate our differences. He has made me stretch and grow and I know I have him too. I'm grateful to this man who loves me fiercely. I'm honored to share his name. And I feel intensely blessed that I have a companion who feels the same as I do about marriage and knows it's worth every effort!

 

Spencer W. Kimball said: "While marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be, more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person."

Pioneer Day

One year, I may find myself ambitious enough to take my kids downtown for the fantastic 24th of July parade that Salt Lake puts on to commiserate our pioneer history. Or, maybe we'll find one of the ample pioneer activities that have the children dress up as pioneers and teach them all kinds of historical facts of that time. For now, I'm sticking with things like, swimming all day and BBQ's with family in the evening. Fortunately, Dad always is prepared with some good 'ole fashioned pioneer games and we usually listen to him share some family history of our great pioneer ancestors.

No pictures will be posted of our swimming, as I promised not to post them of two siblings that were with us. Lame! Just know we had a rip roaring time! Fun was had by all!!!

Kids who test limits

All kids will test their parents to some degree. They want to know what they can and can't get away with. Will parents be consistent? Well, we have a little man who tests us constantly. It's amazing to me really! I'd like to say that Aaron and I are pretty darn predictable with what the rules are in our house and what the consequence is if the rule is broken. We always give a warning, so their is no room for confusion when or if the rule is broken. And STILL he tests us. It's remarkable.

Last night was family home evening. There's always a treat that the kids can hardly wait to have. It just happened to be ice cream and Abby was in charge and passing each cone out to everyone. When Nathan got his, he immediately got upset that his wasn't big enough. We immediately told him that he could have none or he could say thank you to his sister for serving him. He continued to throw a fit. Aaron took the cone away from him and ate it himself. (We actually gave him a couple warnings instead of just the one we normally give...it was ice cream after all!) Of course, the tears really began to flow now. He was devastated and instantly decided that his cone was just fine and that he really did want it. Too bad. Too late. He was one sad boy watching the rest of us enjoy our ice cream. And no, we don't enjoy the sadness. But I desperately hope that these simple and harmless lessons will pay off when really big choices will come to him as he grows up.

He may always be one who tests the limits. After all, one of his parents was a bit of tester growing up. (wink! wink!) In the meantime, it's a bit exhausting since he can be almost as predictable as us.

Lagoon and some really fuzzy pictures

Ivory Homes took their employees and families to Lagoon yesterday. I was sort of excited. Excited for Aaron, Hannah, and Nathan. Our last Lagoon experience was a nightmare for Abigail. She hated almost every ride, and how much fun would Joe be able to have at Lagoon? Well, apparently a lot! We had SO much fun! Even me!

My favorite part, Lagoon A Beach. Heaven! It was 97 degrees yesterday and sitting my pregnant self into that cool water was divine! The kids had a ball and Aaron is in his element whenever there is water. Joe was exhausted and very content to hang out on my shoulder with an occasional splash in the water to cool him off.

Abby did MUCH better this time. She actually enjoyed most of the rides she went on and Nate and Hannah loved them all!

Joe was pleased as punch to watch them from the sidelines.

Joe didn't get a nap longer than an hour. He was exhausted and kinda a spaz!

I wish I had gotten a picture of us all, but we were too busy running from ride to ride and having way too much fun! Lagoon, you didn't disappoint as I thought you would. We had more fun than we could shake a stick at!

7 Months

I'm heading into my 7th month of pregnancy. Here's what I can still do at 7months.

- make meals
- make my bed
- get myself ready
- vacuum
- do the dishes
- mow the lawn and edge (but I want to die every time I do it lately)

Yep, that's about it. And I can see in the very near future (like maybe tomorrow) this will all change and I will throw up my hands and say, "I'm taking the next 3 months off because I'm way too tired!" Ha! We'll see how that works out for me. If only and I wish.

On top of these things I regularly do, I'm super busy getting our home school ready. I feel so blessed lately and things are coming together in ways I never could have thought possible. There is a movement of homeschooling in my area that is truly exciting. I'm THRILLED to be apart of it. I'm meeting incredible women and feel inspired just being in their presence. My children are going to be apart of something I could have only hoped for.

With summer coming to an end and school starting just around the corner, I'm amazed at how quickly time is slipping by. My kids are growing and changing. We've lived in the pool this summer and I have good little swimmers. We've played A LOT inside too and I have good little imaginationers, We've been to the mountains a handful of times and it is their haven on this earth. We've read the first two books in the Chronicles of Narnia series and Hannah is reading the Book of Mormon to us each night as a family. She's getting to be such a good little reader. The kids have taken theater lessons this summer and will be performing for us on Friday night. I can hardly wait to see it. We have our Eyre Family Reunion next week and I'm praying it's a success. Aaron and I have worked so hard to make this a special time with lots and lots of fun memories to be made. There's been projects around the house that seem to be never ending and ones that seem to never get started. Aaron is a working machine and makes his time at home count. The kids think there is nothing better on this planet than daddy time. I would agree. Little Holland is starting to move like a banshee in my stomach and sometimes it's fun to watch my stomach have a complete spasm as if she is really having a fun ride in there. There is still so much to do before she comes and I have little confidence that it will all get done, but oh well. Tomorrow we are off to Lagoon. Aaron, Hannah, and Nathan will love it. Me, Abigail, and Joseph will hopefully find some nice shade and some yummy ice cream to pass the time. Life is good. I'm tired, life's busy, my kids are happy, Aaron and I have some intense goals (when don't we) but we thrive off of goal setting and accomplishing them.

And now, I'm going to attempt to throw some food at my kids for lunch. Maybe I'll just pop some popcorn! I think I can push a button.


Fun in the pool with our favorite Uncle Dave

 pool friend - love that they were holding hands

 pool buddy - two peas in a pod

 fresh peach pie from our very own peach tree!

 Joe's one true love

 Squishy bum. Squishy kisses

Grandmas are for spoiling

We've had a near week of being pretty darn spoiled around here. Aaron's mother came to visit and each of the kids have asked if they could fly home with her tomorrow. But who wouldn't after the week she's given us? Each of the kids had a special night staying with her at the hotel. It was full of candy, movies, swimming, gifts, and activities catered to their specific interests, but mostly just personal attention that they each thrive on. I know she enjoyed it as much as them. It was a special treat for them indeed.

Aaron and I were lucky enough to steal her away one night for dinner and a show. Honestly, the play we went to was funny, but you would have thought that Aaron and his mom had never seen anything so funny in all their life! I laughed more at them than I did the show.

We visited the dinosaur museum. Always a favorite! We barely made it out alive!

 Joe's first sand experience. He really enjoyed eating it.

And a picnic up at beautiful Sundance! Love it there!

It was a wonderful visit. Come visit us again soon! I'm sure I won't hear the end of it until you do!!!



Summer Toes and Legs