Thompson Reunion 2011

This year's reunion was different from past years because we were with family for 11 days instead of 5. This was also the first year that our family planned the reunion and the first year without Mom. The reunion started on the 7th but the family started arriving on the 1st so we had a pre-reunion.
This year Utah passed a law that we can shoot off our own aerials. People were shooting them off in the past anyways so instead of Wyoming getting the taxes from us, they decided to allow us to shoot them off and get the money. Smart!
On the 2nd we had our own firework fun at our house. Family and friends joined us and we bought a lot of fun aerial fireworks that we can't wait too shoot off again next year.
On the 4th we went to the Provo Parade. I think this was the first time we actually watched the parade on the 4th because we were always out of town or didn't want to wake up early to go. Later that day we got together for a BBQ in honor of Leanna turning 21 years old and then we went to Nephi to watch the big fireworks. If we're home for the 4th we always look forward to going to Nephi to watch the fireworks because they shoot them off so close to you. Evan and Alex loved them!


And Alex was having too much fun with the glow sticks and staying up way past his bedtime.

The next day we all went to Salt Lake City to watch the Bee's play. We always try to do something baseball during the reunion because the Thompson family are huge baseball fans.


Before we headed to the Reunion location on Thursday, we went to a session at the Timpanogos Temple. Leanna went through for her first time because she's leaving on her Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints September 14th to Edmonton Canada. It's so special having all us siblings Endowed and being in the Celestial Room together.



This year the reunion was in Midway. It was a nice short 40 minute drive :). The house was amazing! 6 Bedrooms, 5 1/2 Baths, 1 1/2 Kitchens, 3 Family/Living Rooms, 3 Laundry Rooms, Theater/Media Room and loft.

We got settled in our room before heading out to Salt Lake.


Back when Mom was alive her and Dad went to a live auction and bought a spot to practice with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was her dream and she never got the chance to use it so Michael was given that Honor.


Friday we spent most of the day at Deer Creek Reservoir. We rented a raft, borrowed a canoe and Aunt Becky's brother came and let us use his boat. It was so nice of him to do that for us because it made for a very fun day! It's been a while since Matt and I have been on a boat and it was Evan and Alex's first time.
Alex wasn't too partial to the life vest. I don't blame him but gotta be safe then sorry.


Evan didn't seem to mind it.

Fun on the boat




Alex helped drive


These are videos of Matt and I on the tubes. Mine isn't as interesting as Matt's because he wiped out. That was the point though for the guys to see how long they can stay on. I did get pretty good air but managed to stay on.


Matt also tried wake boarding. I was too chicken to do it because of my experience with water skies.
Since we were out there for a while and it was nearing his normal nap time, Alex actually fell asleep after I finished my turn on the Tube (So fun!). I didn't think he would but I was so happy he did.

He even stayed asleep after getting off the boat. It allowed me to enjoy my day because he was well rested. Evan was having so much fun on the beach and playing in the water when he could. It was hard for him to get into the water because there were rocks between the water and land. Some guy moved rocks out of the way so he could park their jet skies. When they were out playing it allowed Evan to be in the water. When Alex woke up he also joined in on the fun. He loved the sand.

He loved it so much that he had to sample it.



Alex also loved the canoe! When it wasn't out in the water he had to be sitting in it.





Since we were out in the sun a lot we skipped our evening tour at the Olympic Park so we could relax because we planned to hike Stewart Falls the following morning(Sorry, no pictures). The last time I hiked it I was 8 months pregnant with Evan but I didn't go near the falls. This time I did and loved it. It was really hot that day and we forgot how moderate the hike was. We figured since I could hike it 8 months pregnant it was easy enough but it turned out to be harder then we originally thought. Maybe it was the two kids we had to carry. Evan didn't want to walk so Matt carried him and I carried Alex. I loved how the falls cooled us down because of the heavy mist and there was still so much snow on the ground. After our hike we realxed, had a yummy dinner and played games with water balloons.
Sunday we went to church. Matt wasn't feeling well so he stayed home with Alex. We came home to this :).

We had a main meal after church and then we had girl time! Since Julie is due next month and our cousin Erika resently had her first baby boy, I thought it would be fun to throw them a surprise shower. Laura and Leanna jumped on board and it turned out to be really fun.








We also bought a few gifts for Aunt Becky since she had her 5th child, a girl, around the same time as Erika. So really the shower was also for her.

Monday we said our goodbyes and we look forward to our next years reunion :).

Best Friends

With the first day of school coming near I can't help but think about my first day of 1st Grade. That's when I first saw my Best Friend Maryann. I played with her hair and she played with mine, we were best friends from the start. Who knew we would be friends 21 years later? We didn't.









I got to see her today for her birthday. It was worth driving an hour and a half to surprise her and sing her Happy Birthday.
Today after 21 years of Friendship
Happy Birthday Maryann!

Cali-forn-i-a

Laura went through the Temple for her first time and wanted to do it at the Oakland Temple. We were so excited for her Temple choice because Matt and I have attempted to go to this Temple a few times but circumstances never allowed it until now. That meant we finally got to check this Temple off our list and we got to go to California as an added bonus to visit family.
The boys amazed us by being so good both there and back. Never cried once, literally!
We left pretty late in the afternoon on Thursday so that made us travel all night but we weren't that tired. First thing we did was visit Grandpa Thompson. We did rest a little since we got there pretty early but he fed us and we were on our way for some fun. It was Julie's first time visiting so we took her to the Hilmar Cheese Company near Grandpa's house in Turlock. Unfortunately the top portion of the factory was closed due to a private party so we didn't get to see people making the cheese, but it was still fun sampling the different cheese's they had and walking around the place.



After that and having lunch with Grandpa we went our separate ways. Our family went to our Aunt and Uncles new house that we were staying at. They gave us the grand tour. I love their house! We had dinner with them and all of us together went to Josh's (cousin) Sport Banquet and had our second dinner. The banquet happened to be next door to Best Buy. After we were done we all went inside to show them the Kinect and to buy the new Michael Jackson Kinect game. It's fun splurging!
The next day was Laura's special day. It was raining pretty hard. We had an umbrella but I still managed to look soaked everywhere but my head. By the end of the session it stopped so we were able to take pictures.

Another great reason having Laura choose the Oakland Temple is that more family got to be there. I love that I married into such an amazing family and it made the sting of Mom not being there light. It still hurt but it made it easier. We had lunch together and went our separate ways again but got back together later that evening to go visit Grandma Haymore and have dinner.
Sunday we went to church and later went to our Aunt and cousins house the rest of the day/evening. We got to relax, play games and have yummy food.
Monday we planned to drive home early but we were stuck because there was a snow storm through Donner. We couldn't believe that we were snowed in and it was June but it allowed us to tour the Jelly Belly Factory :). We wanted to do it after the Temple Saturday but it closed early. If any of you are in the Fairfield area you need to take two hours or so from your time and go. It's free and it's an amazing tour for being free. No cameras were allowed but I quickly got a picture of this Jelly Belly sculpture of a duck. This is for you Julie!

I also got these of the boys and Matt with their hats before going in. Evan was excited!



During the tour we got to sample jelly belly's and some without the outer shell. The outer shell doesn't make a difference in taste but since they were so fresh they had more flavor.
Fun facts about Jelly Belly:
-It takes 24 days to make 1 jelly bean but it takes a second to eat.
-Blueberry flavor was created for Ronald Reagan's presidential inauguration in 1981 to make red, white and blue.
-During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Jelly Belly beans were served in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. A holder was designed for the plane so the jar of Jelly Belly beans would not spill during turbulence.
-The most popular Jelly Belly are Very Cherry, Butter Popcorn and Black Liquorish.
After the tour they gave us a bag each of Jelly Beans and we got to go to their taster table to sample as many Jelly Belly's as we wanted. That's a lot of free candy for a free tour!
We made it out just in time for the pass to open so it was worth it.