Funday Monday: Do the Hokey Pokey!

Family reunions are the best, right? Wow! All those people loving each other and chatting and hugging and being so happy to see each other, right?  I love it.

My cute mother-in-law, Margaret, was in charge of her family's reunion this year and so it was held in the small town of Tropic, Utah.  This is where I went to high school, where I was an uncoordinated cheerleader and where I fell in love with my handsome cowboy. 

Alright so onto the tips and pics....

Funday Monday Tip #7: If there's a trail, hike it. 



Zoe found a new fancy cousin friend.  Ack! They're so cute, right?

 Margaret planned a fun hike for us on Friday morning.  It was down through this narrow slot canyon called the Cottonwood Narrows.  I love slot canyons.  They're so interesting....all the different colors of rocks and formations.  It's amazing how they can vary so much.


What a fun group of hikers, right? The only one
missing is our photographer, Cindy who
was kind enough to snap the pic.

It was such a great atmosphere for getting to know new family.  Some of them I had gotten to know off and on through the years.  But there were quite a few that I hadn't ever met before, or if I had it had only been briefly.  I was able to chat with Ryan's cousin, Cindy quite a bit on the hike and we laughed and visited and it was really great.

Towards the end of the hike I started to really look forward to air conditioning.  Gnats.  Heat.  Whiney kids.  Oh.  Wait....I think that was me doing the whining.  Snap. Complaining doesn't help, right? The hike took a bit longer than was planned since the little ones wanted to touch every rock, plant and bit of sand they saw.  They loved it all.

At the end of the hike, my husband overheard one little girl say, "We made it.  And we didn't even complain!"  Oh.  What a great example that little girl is to me.   

Funday Monday Tip #8: If there's a merry go round, ride it. 

Yep. I got on with Molly because she was aching to give it a shot.  I don't usually get motion sickness.  But after a few too many turns I had to get off.  Blech.  Pizza and spinning apparently do not mix for me.  Although I did have fun laughing and chatting with the kids before I got ill.

Funday Monday Tip #9: I there is a craft, try it. 

Margaret asked me to come up with a craft for the kids to do while the adults played some games. 

I threw together a simple thing that I'd been wanting to try.  I was feeling bad that I hadn't come up with something a bit more elaborate, but with a nasty flu that stormed through each and every one of us and also getting ready for Zoe's birthday party, I just didn't have a lot of time.  I was worried it would totally flop.  So I was pleasantly surprised when it was such a big hit!  Basically we made jewelry with t-shirt yarn and beads.  Easy peasy.  But it was as popular with the adults as it was with the children! 

Funday Monday Tip #10: If there's a game, play it. 

Margaret organized all sorts of games for the adults in the morning and then a bunch of games for the kids in the afternoon.  I did not do too well at the games.  Ok.  I totally stank.  But I gave them a shot!  (An A for effort?) Although I did beat Jim at the frisbee toss.  Of course, Ryan destroyed us all with his score.  And he finally just stopped playing, not because he missed but because he didn't want to keep going!  But I missed in the tennis shot and the badmitton thing and the free throw and only got one point in the bean bag toss.  Ugh!!  It was not a good sporty day for me.  So, I slunk back to the crafting table...*sniff*...where I was appreciated....

The best part of the games though?  Margaret gave away her old trophys (and she had A LOT...she is a VERY athletic woman.  Seriously.  Amazing.)  to the winners.  OY!  It was too funny.  There was a lot of chuckling over it. 

Funday Monday Tip #11: If there is hokey pokey music, or say the bunny hop or even a good ol' fashioned Virginia Reel?  Get out there and shake it all about.



I'm not entirely sure what dance move Weston is pulling
out here.  But he's having a great time doing it!





A giant family hokey pokey session. Brilliant, right?  Ha!  It was so much fun.  I had to jump out to snag a picture.  Luckily I got back into the mix for the Whole Self part and The Backside shaking.  Yep.  Good times.

 Margaret's sister, Lois, is a square dance caller and she had us out there swinging our partners round and promenading sweet corner maids.  It was really fun.  In fact, I even had a little gentleman by the name of Paul come up and ask if I would dance with him.  The next day I asked him if he liked taller women.  He said, "Yes."  Pause. "And I like babies." Yep.  That's a real ladykiller in the making. 

Funday Monday Tip #12: If there are awesome people around, befriend them!

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to know Ryan's cousin, Paige Lad.  Oy!  She is at least Twenty Shades of Awesome.  I had heard of her in the past from one family member or another.  Someone mentioned there was another writer in the family but I hadn't had the chance to meet her before this weekend.  So, yay!  I was thrilled to have her cornered at a family reunion where I could make her hang out with me. And she was so much fun!  We talked about writing, our projects, conferences we've attended and about every other thing that came up while we were making random t-shirt yarn accessories.


I made Paige model her lovely multi-colored headband.  Oh! And
she's wearing a necklace she made, too.  Yep.  We were having fun.

Now I just wish she didn't have to live all the way in Phoenix beause I think she needs to be my new best friend. 

Tonight I noticed Paige added a new post to her blog (I added her awesome blog to my roll on the side) and was shocked to see she'd written about ME!  Ack! I think I did a pretty good job of tricking her into thinking I'm way cooler than I am.  She said such lovely things about me.  Isn't she the greatest? I'm so happy I inherited her as a cousin. 

So.  The record must be set straight. Paige is the crazy amazing one.  She is easy to chat with, she's a brilliant writer (you just have to read some of the entries on her blog to see that or check out some of her writing projects), she is so stinkin' cute with her little blonde pixie haircut and beautiful smile, her kids are Supremely Awesome (which must be attributed to how cool their mom is), she plays The Superhero Game with her children (ack! Must start playing game with my family pronto!) and she danced the Hokey Pokey.  Yep. 'Nuf said.  Paige Rocks.

Alright, here is the last one....

Funday Monday Tip #13: If there is a dog your size, by golly try to ride it!

My sweet little niece, Cambree, got to ride her grandpa's horse.  She loved it.  And she enjoyed it so much that when she found another creature with four legs willing to stand still for a moment, she climbed on! 

Giddiyup!