Family Reunion 2012

Last Christmas when we were all together with Jonathon's family, we decided that we wanted to start having Family Reunions. After much discussion, it was decided that Jonathon and I would be in charge of the first ever Terry H. Family Reunion.

My family has been having bi-annual family reunions since I can remember, so I have had plenty of experience. My mom has also been in charge of several of them recently, so I saw the behind-the-scenes planning, shopping, cooking, etc. While it was a bit daunting to be in charge of the first one, I felt like I knew what I was doing and could handle it.

The planning started months ago. The whole family probably thought I was crazy when I sent out the first family reunion email 5 months ago detailing the plans for the reunion, the meals, the assignments, etc. I understood that it was early, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew what was going on, when they needed to get off work, and had time to train for the races, etc. I used a lot of ideas and structure from my family reunions and then tried to incorporate things that Jonathon's family would like. For history's sake, here is a copy of our basic itinerary:

We wanted to have a really inexpensive reunion because many of the kids are still in college or high school. We tried to plan meals and activities that would fit into that criteria. I couponed almost all of the food, so the price per person came to only $10 each for 4 days. I started buying the non-perishable food 2 months before so that I could get the best deals along the way.

Finally, after all of the shopping, planning, and stressing, it was time for the reunion to officially begin...

Day 1 (July 1, 2012)

The reunion started Sunday night at Jonathon's parents house. It was fast Sunday, so we wanted to have a big, nice meal. I made Cafe Rio Pork burritos/salads. They turned out amazing! I had never made the pork before, but it turned out delicious. After our big family dinner, we had Grandpa and Grandma H. tell some stories from their lives. Jonathon's grandfather has an incredible life story, and I learn something new every time I hear him speak. He told us about his childhood, leaving home to work for the railroad at age 16, going to war in the Pacific, fixing one of the guns that saved their ship from a kamikaze, and being in attendance in Tokyo harbor when the peace treaty was signed that ended the war with Japan. Grandma spoke about what life was like at home during the War, and how it forever changed her. Both Grandpa and Grandma have created a family legacy of faith and doing what is right, even in difficult situations. That is what I wanted everyone to get out of the evening. We ended with Brownie Sundaes topped with fresh raspberries from our garden. It was a successful way to start the reunion.

Day 2 

We started the day with delicious crepes made by Tera and BJ. It is a family favorite, and everyone ate way too many. Then Tiffany, Tera, and BJ were in charge of Ultimate Frisbee. They set up the field and created teams. It ended up being the Oldies vs. the Young 'uns. The Old team held strong for a long time, but eventually lost :(

Then we went back to the house to pack up for our camping trip. We did a lot of research on places in Utah to camp. We wanted somewhere that had camping, swimming, boating, mountain biking, and especially bathrooms. Yuba Dam State Park seemed to have everything that we were looking for, so we reserved 3 camp sites way back in March. We had never been there before, so it was a leap of faith, but it paid off. It turned out to be a great place! We had a large grassy area with a picnic table and fire pit that was next door to bathrooms and showers. We got lucky because it was really an ideal location. We set up our tents and then headed down to play in the water for a bit.

Later that evening, we roasted hot dogs and s'mores and then turned the rest of the night over to Nathan and Emily who were in charge of our Campfire activities. They planned some fun "Minute to Win It" games. Everyone got to participate, and we all laughed so hard.

One particular challenge called Junk in the Trunk made a person put on a belt with a kleenex box attached to the back. It was filled with ping pong balls. The person had to get all of the ping pong balls out in one minute. The 3 people who attempted it were so hilarious! Jonathon climbed a tree and tried to hang upside down to get them out. Nathan did some fancy breakdance moves where he tried to bounce upside down on his hands, kicking his feet up behind him. Finally Dad, calmly and casually did a perfect headstand and the ping pong balls gracefully fell out. Here are some of the "Minute to Win It" pictures:

 Crista stacking apples/ Dad's headstand

Mom picking up a paper bag with her teeth/ Aaron and Amanda moving M&M's with a straw

We spent the whole evening together and had a great time. The only hitch occurred when we were going to bed. We discovered that our tent was on top of a family of mice. When they lifted it up, 4-6 mice ran out from underneath. Yuck! I still don't know how Jonathon got me to sleep in there after that.

Day 3

We woke up Tuesday morning thankful that our tents hadn't blown away. The wind was intense, and stayed that way for much of the rest of the day. Mom and Dad chipped in money to rent some Wave Runners at the lake. I reserved them 3 months ago and called to confirm the reservation the week before. Unfortunately, they still made a mistake and rented one of them out. The guy at the front desk felt terrible because he knew it was his fault, so he bent over backward to make us happy. He let us have a ski boat and tube for the same price we had paid for the Wave Runners. He also gave us 5 hours with the boat and 25% off our fuel. We ended up spending less than we had planned and had an awesome day on the water. Nathan and Jonathon captained the boat and took everyone for rides.

We left the lake around 3 PM and headed home. I knew that everyone would be tired and sunburned, so we planned a relaxing night. Aaron and Cameron were in charge of the family Wii tournament. Everyone competed in Wii bowling and the winner won a trophy and Rolos that we dubbed The Rolo Cup. It ended up being no competition at all because we were in the midst of greatness. Emily bowled a 237! No one else was even close. She was Amazing!

During the bowling tournament, we all snacked on popcorn. We wanted to have fun with it, so we made 5 HUGE batches of yummy flavored popcorn. We made 2 batches of Chocolate Peanut Butter, 2 batches of Caramel M&M (we modified this recipe slightly to make the caramel softer), and 1 batch of regular buttered. We couldn't get enough... It was truly DELISH!

Day 4 (July 4th)

The Fourth of July started out bright and early. Seven members of the family signed up to run the Freedom Run in Provo. Two people ran the 5K and the other 5 ran the 10K. The race started at 7 AM. Those of us who weren't in the race went down and found a spot along the course to watch as they ran by. We got to see most of them pass and cheered them on. They all got really cool shirts, water bottles, medals, and chapstick.  Jonathon trained hard for it and did a great job, averaging about a 10 minute mile for the whole 6 miles. That was his goal, and he was happy to achieve it. Everyone did a great job.

Our seats for the race were also right along the parade route, so we stayed put and watched the parade afterward. I made portable yogurt parfaits for everyone, so all of the racers ate their breakfast while they watched the parade. If it hadn't been 100 degrees with no shade, it would have been perfect. As it was, we enjoyed the parade, but couldn't wait to get out of the heat. BYU had a float, and we also saw Gov. Gary Herbert, Orrin Hatch, Nie Nie, and Cosmo. Overall, it was a pretty great parade, although Christian bemoaned the fact that they didn't throw any candy :(

After the parade we headed over to Uncle Curtis and Aunt Irene's house for a BBQ. The kids played great together and the adults had plenty of time to eat and chat. Grandpa and Grandma also came, so we got a picture of them with their Great-Grandkids. Have you ever seen such cheesy smiles? I love it!

Then we went home, took naps, ate dinner, and got ready for the fireworks. I stayed with the sleeping kids, while the rest of the family found great seats right outside the Stadium of Fire. They got to listen to the Beach Boys perform and then watch the fireworks.

The 1st ever Terry H. Family Reunion went out with a BANG... literally!

It is a bit bittersweet to have it over. It was so fun planning and anticipating, and now it won't happen again for 2 more years. Overall, I was thrilled with the success of the reunion. It went really smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time. The best part about it is that with 9 children in the family, we won't be in charge again until we are 50! I am so glad to be part of such a wonderful family. Everyone got along so well and there was absolutely no unnecessary drama. It was just so much fun spending time together and enjoying each other's company. I can't wait until the next one... Nathan and Emily, it's your turn!