Be prepared for photo overload!!
I think this was our first official Saunders Family Reunion ever, and it was an absolute blast! We have little get-togethers here and there but nothing more than a couple hours. We went down to Taber Friday night and had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows, played games and took a group photo. We played the game "4 on a Couch" and it was hilarious. Everyone writes a random fact about themselves on a piece of paper and then the paper goes in a bowl. 4 people are called up to the "couch" or bench in this case, and then one of the facts is read. The person who's fact is read tells the truth while the other 3 make up a story to convince everyone else that the fact is about them. The group then asks the 4 on the couch questions to see who the fact might actually be about. It's quite funny! Definitely recommend playing this game!
Saturday was a delicious pancakes and sausage breakfast followed by fun relay games. The kids had a blast and the weather was perfect for all the water games. Another game we had to fill out all of grandma and grandpas kids down to great grandkids which was actually pretty hard. I knew most of my cousins' kids but some were hard and some I didn't even know had kids (how sad is that!). But it was a great game and made me want to get to know everyone a little more.
After all the game we had delicious walking tacos (tacos in a bag) for lunch followed by even more games. Leilani really did an awesome job planning everything. One of the games for the afternoon was a sumo challenge. We formed a circle and two people tried to knock each other out of the circle or knock the ball out of the other's hands using these giant exercise balls. It was hilarious. Then Ethan and Zac put t-shirts on that had candy glued all over them and the kids had to try and catch them and pull the candy off. HILARIOUS. Thankfully Leilani put the kids in groups of younger kids first and then the older ones last. It was so nice to see how the older kids shared their candy with the younger ones without having to be asked. Such a good group of kids!
After the games Aunt Ruthanne brought grandma down to the campsite for a visit and I took group and family photos with grandma. Grandma and Grandpa had 8 kids and 5 were there - Gordie (passed away when I was about 16), Tom, Marilynne, Mike, Cyndi (out of town), Allyson (my mom), Greg (out of town) & Ruthanne. I'd love to see how big we are when EVERYONE is together!
5 of the 8 siblings and their spouses - Tom & Wendy, Marilynne & Dave, Mike & April, Allyon & Dave, Ruthanne & Ken
5 siblings and grandma (L-R : Mame, Ruthie, Tom, Mike, Ally)
Rob & MacKenzie and Mame & Dave with Grandma
Sean, Thea, Millie, Katelyn, Scotland and grandma
Tom & Wendy's family, Jessica, Eli, Ida, Jeff, Carson, Quinn, Ivy, Stacey, Dahl, Ty, Reid, Rex, Grandma (missing Nena, Aaron, Chuck and Sandra's family who are in Victoria, Dave and Lisa's family who are in California)
Stacey and her boys, Dahl, Ty, Reid and Rex with Grandma
Zac and Maddie (came all the way from Cedar City, Utah!) with Grandma
Jenny, Andee, Ryder and Grandma
Victoria, Adam, Thalia and Grandma
Jessica and her kids Eli and Ida with Grandma
Ethan and Janie and Grandma
my family
Great Aunt Jeri, her son Jason, his son Dillon and grandma
Allyson & Dave's family (missing Dave and Ashley and the girls who are still in Australia)
Ken and Ruthanne's family, Mitch & Kristen, Bentley, Brinley, Raquel, Max & Leilani, Benson, Addison, Hunter, McKay, Jorden & Candace, Emerson, Walker, Spencer & Courtney, Hadley Eden,
After the photos a food truck came down and served delicious frozen yogurt, we had face painting and glitter tattoos, then yummy BBQ pork sandwiches for dinner. After I finished painting faces I sat and held grandma's hand until we could tell she needed to get home. I really love my grandma!! It's sad to see her not remember people but try her hardest to. After grandma went home came skits and then stories about grandma and grandpa. It was so much fun, I even got in on one of the skits and got to pretend to be pregnant haha that was easy to fake. I loved being able to spend time with those there. A huge thanks to Aunt Ruthanne and Leilani and all others who helped for the awesome job of organizing everything. I can't wait to do it again!!
