Darrington Reunion 2008

Where do I start? We've been gone for the past week enjoying the Darrington Reunion. We were at Ensign Ranch near Seattle, Washington. It was so beautiful and I can't say enough about the magnificent weather. It was so nice to be outside enjoying the sun but not sweating our brains out.

Part of the reason I really enjoy this reunion is because Aubree and Sydney get a chance to spend quality time with their cousins on the Darrington side. They get plenty of time with the Stevens' cousins but the Darringtons are too spread out to get together very often.

Some of the highlights for me were:

1 - Going down the giant slip-n-slide - As Spence put it "It was a little ghetto-ish", however it really was a blast. The best thing I can compare it to is going sledding in the summer. There was a huge plastic tarp covering a hill and you got on a tube and sailed down. We had so much fun being "brave" as we attempted different tricks. After watching us on the video it doesn't look near as fun or exciting as it really was. I felt like a kid again.

2 - Being dumped on our canoe ride - Scott and I thought it would be fun to go out canoeing on the little lake. We decided to take the girls thinking they would enjoy it also. Well, we didn't even get off the dock before Syd and I went into the drink. Luckily I was already wet from the slip-n-slide and the water at that point was only a couple of feet. The scary part was looking up and seeing Sydney face down in the water. Needless to say she was very still the rest of the ride. It was a fun little ride.

3 - Watching the girls excitement as they got to ride horses aka "neighs" - They had horse led rides that the girls got to enjoy. I was proud of little Syd who bravely sat on the horse and walked around.

4 - Eating yummy food - I always know if the Darringtons are cooking it's going to be good. This time was no different. If only I could have had a little more pulled pork. It was all delicious.

5 - Hanging out in the late evening with the adults - As with every get together there are so many kids running around sometimes it's hard to have a conversation with others because of the attention the kids need. It's great once they are all in bed and we can sit and laugh with each other.

6 - The Darrington Olympics - It was fun watching the kids compete in different races. The adults even participated a little but the kids did most of the running. Melissa really worked on getting them tired. The dads carrying all of their children had to be the funniest. Scott only had to carry Aubree since Sydney was taking a nap. Watching Rob trying to carry 3 and Spencer carry 4 was pretty funny.

7 - Taking a gazillion pictures - Yes, this is a big shock but I took sooo many pictures. It was fun and I really enjoy it so everyone had to suffer through a few photo shoots. My family just happened to be the hardest of all. Aubree was fired up we took her from a movie with her cousins. We couldn't get her to smile for anything. Maybe next time. My goal was to get a cute close up of each of the kids. I remembered the last night that I didn't think I had one of Kendall so I grabbed her Thursday morning and we took a few. After we got home I realized I forgot Aubree. We still need to take one of her and pretend it was at the reunion. Oops.

8 - Traveling to and from the reunion - This may seem weird that spending approximately 25 hours in the car is enjoyable but I really do like it. Yes, it has its moments but overall I like it. It's one of the few times I have Scott's attention all to myself. We talk and talk and talk about anything and everything. We also got to stop in Boise on the way and eat dinner with the Harwoods. It was fun to see them and their cute new house. I really like Jessica's style and always see new ideas in her house. We spent the night with Philip and Karen and their kids. Thanks to Evan for giving us his room for the night.

Then we went to Richland and spent Sunday with Kim and Dave. Hopefully Dave will let us come again after Syd moved Dave's Star Wars toys. Sorry, Dave. Then we went to the reunion on Monday.

On the way home we decided the 12 hours wasn't long enough so we took the scenic route home and went through Spokane, the Idaho Pan Handle, Montana and then down. It really was beautiful and we made it all in one day. It was 14 hours in the car. We pulled in about 2:45 am and fell into bed. The extra couple of hours were worth it because it was so beautiful.

There were other fun moments but I stopped writing for few minutes and my mind is blank so I guess it's time to end this post. It was a fun little getaway and I can't wait to do it again in 2 years. Hopefully we can do it in conjunction with Scott's parents coming home from their mission. We were sad they had to miss this one but glad they are serving the Lord.