4th of July Reunion

This year we found ourselves back in Sea-Town for our family reunion/4th of July/Dad's b-day. But this year was quite unique in that NOBODY was missing!  23 people under one roof and it was a blast.  So once again I will let the pictures do most of the talking since there was so much that we did.

On our way there we stopped at Dave Smith Auto and after a 6 hour business transaction we left with our new vehicle.  And yes, I still have to re-park each time I park since it is so much bigger than our van was.  It may take me a while to figure it out. On our way to the car dealership the girls were so sad that we were getting rid of the van but the minute they got in this car they never wanted to get back out. Now we were ready to play:)

 First things first: Space Needle, Monorail, Pike Place and the piers (with a visit to Ivar's of course).  That night Robert, Megan, Nae, Rob and I went out to dinner.  One thing I learned this day...Nae does a fabulous "subtle street dance"....as she proved to us time and time again.   

And of course we had to visit the Children's Museum. The girls have yet to visit Mom and Dad without a trip to the museum.  That night Evan, Kari, Mom, Dad, Nae, Tom and Amber went to dinner while the rest of us stayed home and played games.  One thing I learned...don't mess with Megan when it comes to Monopoly.  She's the real deal. (She has a killer handstand too)

 The 4th brought on a nice and early morning with the Yankee Doodle Dash.  Amber, Tom, Dad and Rob all did the 10K while the rest of us took the kids and ran the 1 mile fun run.  We have a lot of runners in this family!

 After about a million showers we attempted to snap some family pics.  This was an adventure all in itself.
I learned that there is no need to snap more than one pic since that is as good as it is going to get.

 We can't forget cake making!  Happy birthday Dad!  I learned to be careful around Amber when she has red frosting.....it may end up flying through the air right into your hair:)

 Then we celebrated the 4th with our traditional BBQ.

 Next was our first annual talent show.  This was my personal favorite.  We had a nice mix of serious, funny and mostly adorable with a finish of Dad on his violin.  How cool is it that he will play whatever you request?  Wicked cool. I learned that Griffin really does think he is one of the kids. I would also like to mention that the fireworks around my parent's lake are my favorite!  Just one more reason why we must spend every 4th of July in their backyard! 

Thursday was retro day at the skating rink!  How long has it been???!!!!  Way too long.  However, this was so much fun we are going to make this a tradition.  What a blast...(to the past!) hehe.  Here I re-learned that Dad can still beat me in a roller derby race.

That night babysitters were brought in and the adults went to ...wait for it....

AHHHHHMAZING!  Can I just say that Robert and I went to this play in New York when we were in high school (just a couple years ago) and this new version is SO MUCH BETTER!  Worth it .  I loved the changes they made, the singing, the actors, the chorus, the orchestra, our seats, the sets.  I pretty much loved it all. I Love me a good musical and this one was much better than good.

 Our last day brought our traditional beach day at the tide pools.  I particularly like this day for so many reasons and one of them is babies in swimming suits running around.  I have a weakness for baby chub.  Claire has been seen running around frequently in her diaper for this very reason.   We do have clothes for her.  Really. 

 On our last night together we had one thing left on our list....to catch a bull frog.  Naturally right? So we did.

An idea of how many of us there were...this isn't the only door with shoes waiting to be put to use either.  Poor Mom!