Ireland Family Reunion!

We were so excited that Mason and I were both healthy and strong and that we were able to attend our biyearly Ireland family reunion in Branson, Missouri. My sister Mendy and her family moved to Douglas, Wyoming a few months ago and we were also very excited to be able to attend the baptism of their oldest daughter Brooklin on our way to the reunion. We left Utah on the morning of June 17th. We caravanned with all of my family that lives here which turned out to be a little bit of an adventure. My parents excursion broke down just about a half mile from Little America(a glorified rest stop, and hotel). We had to wait a while for a tow truck and in the mean time Doug and I took my mom to Rock Springs to get a rental car. It was a blessing that we all were driving together because every car was needed to get my parents and their car load there the rest of the way. It turned out that it was just a bad O2 sensor, and not the transmission like they were afraid of. So Friday we went to Mendy's house and got a tour of their new cute house! They have done a great job making their house a really nice home! We then went to the hotel we were staying at with the Cattoors and went swimming. The Dad's and kids had a blast! The next morning we attended Brooklin's special baptism and then headed back over to their house for lunch! Thanks Mendy and Darren! We had a great time even though it was such a short visit!

After lunch we drove to Lincoln, Nebraska where we stayed the night at a nice Marriott(Thanks Ashley!). The next day, Father's Day Sunday, we attended a 9:00 sacrament meeting and then drove the rest of the way to Branson. It was fun to see the different country side and even took a few pictures of the Missouri river that was flooding. (We had to take a different course then we normally would of because of road closures due to the river flooding.)

We were thrilled to arrive in Branson about 5:00. Jeff and Rochelle did a great job planning this reunion and finding a huge house for all of us to stay in. We owe them big time for giving us the best room in the house because of our little newborn. The kids had a blast! There was a hot tub to swim in, frogs to catch, and lots and lots of cousins to play with! That first night we just waited for everyone to get there and swam in the hot tub a bit.

The next day we stayed around the house and had a scavenger hunt planned by Beth, played games planned by Ryan and Marla. The kids and Doug also played in a creek that was near by.

That night we had family home evening that was planned by Scott and Kristine. They had each member of the family decorate a puzzle piece with their picture on it, then we put them all together and talked about the importance of each puzzle piece and how each on is different but together we make up a great puzzle(family). It was a fun lesson!

The next day we all headed to a place in Arkansas called Lost Valley Park where we went on a beautiful hike up to a cave. Isaac, Mason, and I hung out at the mouth of the cave, but Brynlee, Jacob, and Doug went to the end of the cave. It was a great hike!

After that we sent swimming at a place called Steel Creek which was near by. We all had a lot of fun!

Isaac throwing rocks with cousin Rebecca!

Mason rode in this little sling for our hike and other outside activities. He was nice and comfy!

That evening we just hung out and played more games!

Mason loved to be held by everyone. Cousin Rachel was especially helpful with holding him!

The next day started with the Ireland Olympics which Jeff, Rochelle, and Doug planned. It was a lot of fun and a great competition which seems to be a must with the Irelands! After the Olympics and lunch we had a big talent show.

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Doug showed his tricky talents of whistling with his hands and making a loud whistle noise with grass. Jacob showed with talent of cartwheels and back bends. Brynlee was going to show her skills at air hockey, but the talent show was upstairs and the air hockey table was downstairs. Isaac was sleeping during that time so he was not able to show his talent either. And I was the photographer! That evening we got all gussied up for our family picture. It is great that Beth is a pro photographer and always is prepared (Others might not agree with me as I heard a few complainers while she was posing all of us!)

Thursday morning was a little disappointing as we all packed up and headed our separate ways. Most of us spent the afternoon in Branson catching a show or two. The show we went to was a magic show with Kirby Van Burch. The kids loved it and Doug and I were impressed with all of his illusions. We went to that show with Grandma and Grandpa, Marla and her family, Beth and her family, and Jeff and his family. To kill time before the show we watched "Born to be Wild" at the IMax theater and ate lunch at McFarlans there in Branson. We then went to a fish hatchery and then headed to the show.

After the show Beth and Todd and their family, and our crew headed with Jeff and Rochelle and their family to their how in Centerton(Bentonville), Arkansas. They have lived there for over 6 and a half years and this was the first time we were able to make it to their house. They have a beautiful house and it was so fun to stay a couple of nights with them. There were two things that we really wanted to do while we were over there. One was to eat a good barbecue and the other was to have Blue Bell ice cream. We had pulled pork from Whole Hog barbecue and lots of Blue Bell ice cream. Both were highly recommended by Jeff and Rochelle and also my brother Jeremy and his wife Ashley who served their missions in that neck of the woods.

On Friday morning we went to a Wilderness Safari that was nearby. There were lots of different animals that the kids could pet and hold such as kangaroos, monkeys, snakes,etc.

We then went for a drive and saw a lot more animals camels, gazelles, lions, tigers, hippos,etc. It was really fun! Beth and Todd had to head back to Utah after that, but we stayed one more night.

We went swimming at their neighborhood pool and had a blast.

We also took a drive around the Bentonville area. It is a beautiful area!

We were very sad to leave the next day and hope we are able to go back to Jeff and Rochelle's one day. On our way back toward Utah, we drove through Joplin Missouri which about 4 weeks prior, had been devastated by a huge tornado. It was so sad driving through the town and seeing all of the devastation. But it was very touching to see all of the volunteers and groups that were there to help. I am glad we took the opportunity to drive through there. It was very humbling.

(We were impressed that this playground structure looked like it had hardly been touched while the building around it was pretty much all leveled.)

We then made our way to Denver where we stayed at Scott and Kristine's house. Doug and I had visited their house over 8 years ago for about 20 minutes while on our way to our honeymoon, but have not been back since. So it was really nice to visit them.

After sacrament meeting the next day, we made it home the rest of the way. It was great to get home and sleep in our own beds, but we had a great trip. Mason did amazing and I felt really good too! Thanks to all of our family for helping make it such a nice vacation!