Family Reunion Trip to Branson {Part 2}

On our first day in Branson, all of the kids (my cousins, sister, etc)  and grandkids (our kids) went hiking at the Ruth & Paul Henning Conservation Area.

It was HOT!! Luckily most of the hiking was well shaded.

The terrain was a little rough, but not too bad.

Our group ranged from 1 1/2 years to middle age. (I don't want to get in trouble for revealing anyone's age.) We had to stop for a few breaks along the way which gave us time to take pictures!

Here's Hannah with Beatrix, Levi, August, & Sophia.

A partial group picture.

I think we have all of the kids in this picture.

The hiking was FREE, which is always a good thing! Our hike lasted about an hour and a half.  Afterwards, a few of us went out to lunch while others returned to the condos for nap times.

Family Reunion Trip to Branson {Part 1}

Several months ago (or longer), my sister and I started talking about having a family reunion trip for our Dad's side of the family. Bethany contacted our cousins to get some possible dates and then this spring we actually moved forward with the idea.

Through our Dad's timeshare, we were able to reserve (4) 3 bedroom units in Branson. We tried to get something in Florida or Pigeon Forge, but there was not enough availability. Branson was actually a decent location considering where everyone was driving from. Plus, we were able to use Dad's timeshare points, so there were no costs for our accommodations!


 Each unit could be split into 3 individual units (ABC) if necessary. Here's a floorplan of a full unit:

So for our group, we had 12 bedrooms, 12 kitchens, 20 bathrooms and 12 living rooms. When we had everyone there, we had 32 people I believe. It amazes me when I hear people say that they have over 100 people at their family reunions! I can't even imagine. My father has 1 brother. My siblings and I have 3 cousins.

Everyone except my brother was able to attend. Plus, we included my Dad's cousin John and his wife. Another of my Dad's cousins came and visited for a couple of days during the week, but they arranged for their own unit.

Here's who we had in our group:
Dad & his girlfriend Judy from Indiana
Bethany and her family from Las Vegas
Uncle Ken & Aunt Brenda from Indiana
My cousin, Katherine and her family from Missouri
My cousin Kerry and his family from Houston
My cousin Kevin from Indiana
Dad's cousin John & his wife from Ohio
and my own family from Georgia
Dad's cousin David and his wife from Missouri & Texas

I'll include photos from our week in separate entries.

8th Grade Dance

The 8th grade dance is an end of middle school tradition.


Here are some pictures that our good friend, Eric Washburn took of Hannah & some of her friends before the dance. He takes gorgeous photos. His website is: http://ericwashburn.com/


Hannah

Hannah & Chris. I didn't get to stay around for pictures because I was at the dance doing final preparations.

Hannah & her friends.

Then here is a picture of Hannah arriving on the red carpet at the dance. This picture was taking by Mary Teren who was the photographer for the evening. Her website is: http://maryterenphotography.com/

Hannah had a wonderful time!

Yikes! No Posts in the Last Six Months!

As I sit down to write a new post, I discovered that I have not posted anything since late January, 2015. I can't believe that it has been nearly six months since I've posted anything! In a nutshell.....there just hasn't been much to write about. My blog is a lot like a diary and our life has been pretty routine. I also was going through a point where I just wasn't taking pictures of anything. Plus my hard drive failed several months ago & I still don't have everything back on my computer and organized.

Anyway....I'm back!