Christensen Family Reunion

Oh how we love our family!  Cody's extended family on his mom's side has always been so good about having regular family reunions.  Being in dental school and living across the country the past few years has made it difficult for us to attend, so we were sure to go this year now that we live closer!:)  We had an amazing time and really enjoyed catching up with everyone and building those relationships.  There's nothing better than family:)

Well, we started off the fun with a 14-hour drive to Utah.  Really... I was kinda dreading it.  Cody needed to work the first couple days of the reunion, so I was on my own to get us all there!  I was soooo nervous, and thought I might crash and burn!  Cody planned 3 places for us to stop & stay in case we were all burnt out.  Maybe it's the girl who likes a challenge in me that got us there all in one day, but we did it.  We arrived at my brother's home in Bountiful around 11:00pm that night.  The kids did amazingly well.  I prayed for weeks leading up to it and told all my friends/family to pray for me too.  Prayers were answered and the ride went oh so smoothly.  I was so proud of my kids for keeping each other entertained and not having to pull our the DVD players or iPad.  Hopefully we built some memories along the way that will last a lifetime! 

 

The cousins had so much fun playing together the next morning.  Brielle and Evie are just a couple weeks apart in age and were instant friends.  (When you only see family maybe once or twice a year, it's like meeting them all over again for the kiddos!)

Parker was super cool and gave all the little ones piggy-back-rides:)  So glad we got a chance to see some of the Moon clan!

Well, we headed down to Provo to gather with the Christensen fam at Grandpa Hal's and Grandma Fran's home.  It's always so delightful to see everyone... especially when it's been so long!  I feel so blessed to be part of such an incredible family and rub shoulders with such good people.  They are examples to me and I love and appreciate them so much.  After everyone had gathered, we dug in and had some grub.  Bri found the girls to hang with... cousins Alexis, Carissa, and Kayla...  Aunt Malinda and Aunt Karlee:)

Chandler, Conner, Ammon, and Matthew

Kyle practicing for the talent show

Uncle Danny is a total natural with the kiddos...  they all just adore him!  He was the MC of the night and let Brielle, Porter, and Treyson help in leading the music:)

Kyle on the piano

then Conner

and Alexis too

Karlee performed "I'm not that Girl" from Wicked and played the part beautifully.

Treyson

then Matthew

Jaden and Brielle warmed my heart singing "Gethsemane."  Jaden didn't miss a beat and Bri kept right up with him.  Seriously such a proud mom moment listening to your kiddos stand in front of a large group and sing their little hearts out about their Savior:)

Kayla ended the night with a beautiful contemporary dance to "Let it Go"

The following day we drove down to Ephraim and stopped at Cody's great grandparents home for the kids to play while the youth and adults attended the Manti and Payson Temples.  A few cousins and Uncle Der stayed at the house to watch the kids.  This home carries a lot of history.  It sits right on Main Street in Ephraim and was owned by Cody's great great grandpa who purchased it for his son as a wedding gift.  This is where Cody's Grandpa Hal grew up.  Grandpa Hal's parents have passed, but the home is still well kept by the kids and is enjoyed and used by their posterity.  

Kert, Catherine, Danny and Monique took the youth to the Payson temple to perform baptisms for the dead

Kert, Catherine and the younger boys

Danny, Monique, and the crew

Alexis and Karlee

Kyle and Conner

Then it was back to the Ephraim house for lunch and fun on the farm

Christensen brothers

Ammon, Ty, and Matthew are pretty awesome uncles to these two sweeties:)

Alexis . Karlee . Kayla . Carissa . Helen

Cody's mom and Great Aunt Carol

Aunt Teri and Grandpa Hal

Rachelle and Malinda

Casey & Kimber arrived while we were eating.  So good to see them and their cute cute boys!

Then it was off to the farm for a hay ride around the surrounding land... it was beautiful and so fun!

Danny manned the tractor

Jaden and Uncle Derek

Fran always takes good care of us:)

We love Grandpa C!

Teri and Malinda

Porter . Max . Uncle Danny

Derek

Miss Bri Bri

Janae and Aunt Monique

Chandler . Kyle . Jacob . Conner

Ty

Grandpa Hal . Uncle Lance . Brad the dad

(Grandpa and Lance shared some great thoughts about the testimonies and faith of our ancestors)

Karlee and Alexis

Uncle Dirk . Uncle Kert . Conrad . Grandpa

Casey and Kimber (and Quinn... I think)

Mom C is a fantastic Grammie (Baby Bryson snoozing)

Casey and Landon

Carissa . Alexis . Kayla . Karlee

Malinda . Catherine . Monique (the amazing SILs of the Christensen crew)

chatting it up with Uncle Lance

Malinda . Carissa . Kayla . Alexis

I bet Max loved this!

After our fun tractor ride adventure, we headed back to the farm house for some lunch and mingling.

celebrating Kimber's 25th birthday! 

Bielle, Max, and Porter licking the candles:)

the kids found some pretty stellar climbing trees

little monkeys!

Kyle . Kayla . Conner

We stayed in the basement apartment and Grandma and Grandpa's home.  It was a great set up for us:)  I've always wanted some bath time pics of the kids to hang up in their bathroom, so I took the opportunity with having a light above the bath:)

The next morning, my knight in shining armor arrived!!  Cody flew in, met us at the house, and then we drove up to Lagoon for a day of fun.

Max and Brielle loving the airplanes

Jaden too:)

and the helicopters

look at these rockstars.. they are total naturals with all those cute boys!

Linsey and her sweet baby Owen


Owen with his Grandpa Dirk

Grandpa with Landon:)

I've been riding Puff the Magic Dragon as long as I can remember!

They survived the Cannibal!

The whole crew

where's Brielle?

here she comes

she wasn't sure about being part of the silly pictures, but came around:)

us Cutlers! we miss you Tayli!

I love those big t-shirts on the little ones!:)

the Danny Christensen fam (Danny, Monique, Ty, Matthew, and Ammon)

the Remsburgs! (Dirk, Teri, Rachelle, Janae/Isaiah, Linsey/baby Owen)

not pictured: Amy

the Lance Christensen fam (Lance, Malinda, Alexis, Carissa, Chandler, and Jacob)

the Kert Christensen fam! (Kert, Catherine, Blake, Kyle, Conner, and Kayla)

Bryce serving his mission

Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids, spouses, and great grandkids

just the great grandkids :)

Miss Bri is the only great-granddaughter and this is the best we could get from her!;)

Landon lingered a little longer (say that 5x fast!;)

love these two... such great examples to all of us:)

the five Christensen kids (Lance . Teri . Danny . Nanette . Kert)

Casey and Kimber were baby free and ran wild to enjoy a few hours with Max:)

 cousins waiting to ride the bumper cars

a few water rides never hurt:)

even Landon got in on the mix:)

because when you're a dentist, you stop and take photos with large teeth;)

that night we stayed in a hotel with Casey & Kimber... our families have sure grown!
Look at at those cute littles:)

then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a fun run

camille . linsey . amy . derek

and we're off!

we could choose 1 or 2 miles...

crossing the finish line!

with Doggie in tow:)

lunch and piñata time

everyone got a turn to hit... form youngest to oldest

tons of prizes and candy... including these scary vampire teeth Jaden was impressed with:)

concluding thoughts and devotional from Grammie C

Brielle with her Great Grandpa Christensen

It was great to be with these awesome families again... we love the Christensens!  Can't wait for our next reunion 2017! :)

That night we headed to our good friends home, the Merkleys.  Cody and Mike went to high school together and survived the same dental school too!  They live in Provo now, and we couldn't miss the chance to stop in and say hi :)

.;

We had a wonderful time in Utah!  Simply blessed:)