Jex Reunion "Boot Camp" 2013

We had a FANTASTIC time at the Jex Reunion this weekend.  The theme this year was Boot  Camp, and boy was it fun!  We were able to be there Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon and enjoyed every minute.  It's the event Emma waits for all year!  Thursday evening we set up our tent in Grandma and Grandpa's yard, had a pot luck dinner, and got reacquainted with our Jex cousins.  The kids watched "Brave" in the garage and lasted through the whole thing.  By 11:00, it was definitely time for bed!

Friday morning came a little too early (after a night of rain, which is always fun when you're sleeping in a tent).  Our family was in charge of breakfast, so Dave and his dad and Uncle Craig's family were cooking away while everyone else got together for a little PT.  Uncle Don and Aunt Jenner had everyone get into formation and practice marching.  The kids did great!  They marched up and down the road and learned all kinds of military terminology.

Getting the spacing of the formation just right.

Grandma Jex and Aunt Lisa watching the marching with baby Levi.

Left, Left, Left Right Left. . .

After they had completed the morning march, everyone was given a dog tag to wear for the remainder of the reunion. 

I loved the caricatures of Grandpa and Grandma and each of their kids!

When they were finished marching, Uncle Don had all the kids spread out on the grass for push ups, sit ups, and other exercises.  It was a hoot to see some of the littler ones giving it their all.  Emma cracked me up with her jumping jacks.  It looked like she was a little bird trying to flap her wings!  She amazed me by being very serious about the exercises.  She did it all!

Look at those push-ups!

Even Joely got in on the jumping jacks!  And look at Emma's tongue. . .she means business!

We spent the rest of the morning playing at the school playground and visiting and then headed back to the house for lunch.  There's seriously a LOT of food at the Jex reunions.  We seem to begin preparing a meal as soon as we've cleaned up the last one!  After lunch it was time to head to Bear Lake.  The kids were so excited, and it ended up being a perfect afternoon to go.

After playing in the water for the first hour or so, Joely curled up in my arms and slept soundly until we left.  She was toast!

Emma and Carson loved finding seashells along the shore.

Once everyone had cleaned up from being at the lake we had an amazing Dutch oven dinner.  The annual Jex family talent show followed.  We didn't have a skit to share this year, but I loved seeing what all the other families did.  One of my favorites was when Shane and Jenny's family sang a song from "Follow Me, Boys" to Grandpa Jex.

"We'll follow the old man wherever he may go. . ."

Grandma got all bundled up for the show.  It gets pretty chilly at night in Laketown.

The girls with Kate, one of their fabulous favorite cousins.  She was awesome to play with them and help them during the activities.

After the show we had dutch oven cobbler (five varieties!) and ice cream.  We got the kids to bed and then all sat around the campfire listening to Aunt Deb, Aunt Gail and Aunt Lisa reminiscing about growing up.  I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time!  We followed it up with a few rounds of our new favorite, The Name Game, before it was 1:00, and I decided to head to bed.

Saturday we enjoyed more PT, a water grenade toss, and lots more food.  The kids also got their fair share of time on the tire swing in.

Joely thought it was hilarious to sit in the swing like this.  She just giggled and giggled.

Almost to the top. . .

From the very beginning of the reunion, Emma and Parker were buddies.  Emma told me Friday afternoon, "Parker and I just keep running into each other!"  I thought she meant literally, but she was just trying to say that they kept seeing each other and playing together.  They were so cute!

Emma and Parker buddied up for the sit-up contest.

Every year, Grandma Jex gives the kids 10 pennies and they can spend it on penny candy at the Old Rock Store.  When Dave and I were first married, there really was an Old Rock Store in Laketown that we'd all walk to together, but they closed.  So, a new Old Rock Store was created in Grandpa and Grandma's yard!

Carson was old enough to actually "work" in the store this year and help the little kids pick their candy.

Joely wanted to show Grandma every piece of candy she'd bought with her pennies.

 

Joely was addicted to her candy.  She thought she should be able to eat all 10 pieces in one sitting.  Given that it was the end of the reunion, she was exhausted.  So she spent about 10 minutes screaming, "I WANT MY CANDY!" when I put it away.  It's funny, because only a few minutes before that, she had been screaming, "I WANT MY TOOTHBRUSH!" when I'd taken that away from her (after about 15 minutes of brushing).  You can always tell when it's the last day of the reunion because the kids begin having regular meltdowns.  :)

We had the annual raffle, where each family brings a basket of goodies and then gets another one through the raffle.  This year I made an Italian Family Fun Night basket with Italian dinner and dessert, games, and a movie.  The only person who couldn't get it was Dad, because I'd given him and Mom a similar basket for Christmas.  I didn't think it would be a problem, but sure enough, Dad won our basket in the raffle!  Pretty funny!  He gave it to Aunt Lisa to enjoy since he already had his own at home.

Aunt Jenner had brought a pinata (because of course, we needed more candy!) which was a hit, literally.  :)  All the kids got a turn and thoroughly enjoyed the activity.

Joely swinging at the army man pinata.

Carson taking his shot at the pinata.

Lots of people began to leave after lunch, and we decided to follow.  The kids were really hoping to go to the lake again, but we knew we needed to get home since Dave was leaving for his new job in Colorado the next day and needed to pack.  We gathered our exhausted, grumpy children together for our annual end-of-Jex-reunion picture with Grandpa and Grandma Jex.  Every year, at least one of our children refuses to smile.  This year it was Emma's turn.

Emma was terribly grumpy, but I can't quite figure out what Carson was doing. I think he was trying to get a piece of candy out of his teeth.  :)

We had such a great weekend.  As crazy as the Jex reunion always is, it's one of the best weekends of the year.  The kids can play and run around freely, the food and activities are awesome, and most of all we just love being with our Jex family.  Grandpa and Grandma have quite a legacy, and we're grateful to be a part of it!

Farewell to Big-D

Thursday was Dave's last day of work at Big-D (he only worked until noon), so on Wednesday night the kids and I met him at the job site to see the project.  We had a great time walking around and seeing all the progress they've made so far.  It's a beautiful home in an especially beautiful place.  There are three moose that live on the property and I'd really hoped to get a glimpse of one, but no such luck.  We took several pictures to remember this phase of Dad's life!

Dave and Joely in front of the Master wing.

I love the old world style of the home.  Doesn't the stone and the curvy roof make you think of a fairy tale cottage?  A very LARGE cottage?  :)

Dad's "office". . .the kids favorite place because of the water cooler!

We LOVE Dad and are so proud of him!!!

After we enjoyed our tour of the house we went in to Jackson for dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  The highlight of that for me was when another patron stopped to compliment us on how well behaved our children were.  Definitely a good moment!  We stopped at Smith's on the way home (always have to stop if we're in town) and got home late.  It was a nice way to "end" the Big-D era.

4th of July Weekend

Our 4th of July weekend started early and promised to be a bit crazy.  Dave got off work at noon on Wednesday, the 3rd, and we drove to North Salt Lake for fireworks with our dear friends.  We were so excited to see them!  We met the Coulams, Whetstones, Tagges and Essigs up at the golf course to share treats and visit while waiting for the fireworks to start.  The kids were thrilled to play with their friends, and the fireworks show was awesome (as always).  I'm so glad we made it this year!

All the kiddos (plus an extra kid who ran to join our picture when I told everyone to smile!)

Emma and Henry -- Best Buddies

After the fireworks we drove to Orem to spend the night.  Carson woke up early to head back to Star Valley with Aunt Eliza and Uncle Craig. They spent the weekend up at the ranch helping Grandpa Jex build shelves and a workbench in the new garage.  The rest of us slept in and then drove to Fort Collins.  We were excited to go to our second big fireworks show of the year, this time at City Park.  We had quite a crowd -- Grandpa and Grandma McClure, Uncle Brennan, Uncle Riley and his beautiful "friend" Tara, and Aunt Kacie.  So much fun!  The fireworks were delayed and lots of people left, but we stuck it out and were rewarded with the show.  The girls thought the bus ride to and from the fireworks was particularly interesting.

Waiting for the fireworks to start. . .

CUTE!!

Because of where we were sitting, we had to turn and look uphill at the fireworks.  Joely tried to escape a few times, but we never lost her (thank goodness)!

Enjoying the bus ride back to the car.  I think riding a city bus was a new experience for the girls.

The next day, Grandpa and Grandma watched the girls while Dave and I went and 

BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!  

After meeting our realtor (for the first time) we walked through a few houses in Johnstown.  It was a pretty easy decision to go for the house we'd figured we wanted when looking online.  We'll be building a cute little house in a beautiful neighborhood on the outskirts of Johnstown.  We're VERY excited!

When we tied everything up with the house, we went back to find Grandpa giving scooter rides.  Even Dad got in on the fun!

Originally we'd planned on staying in Fort Collins until Sunday, but we'd wrapped everything up with the house that we needed to so we drove home on Saturday.  That allowed us to go up to the ranch Saturday night and enjoy everyone who had come.  We had pizza and s'mores and enjoyed catching up with Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Justin, Uncle Craig, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Eliza and Grandpa Jex.  Carson and Emma loved playing with Lucas and Austin, and of course, four-wheeler rides were a must.

Hey, hey, the gang's all here!

A few people weren't quite so brave. . . :)

Grandpa gave lots of fun rides to very happy grandkids.

Austin especially loved the four-wheelers!

We had a fantastic, fun-filled, exciting and slightly stressful Fourth of July weekend!  We're excited for October when we get to move in to our brand new house and return to being Coloradoans, but boy will we miss Star Valley!