Sharp Family Reunion

We planned a Sharp Family Reunion for right after Lisa's wedding this year.  Growing up there was a week-long reunion every year and they were seriously, usually the highlight of our summer.  The reunions have not been as regular or as planned over the last 7 or 8 years since we've been getting together for weddings, missions, babies, etc. lately.  My cousins, Brooke and Brandt, took the lead though and planned this year's reunion. 

And can I just say how grateful I am for family!  For this family!

Everyone of them means so much to me and I sincerely appreciate and love the vastly different personalities, the different interests, and the different lives of each one of them.  I love being around my family and I'm so grateful for their examples. 

And now on to the reunion (which I didn't bring my camera too so there's pretty much only pictures from day 2).

Games, Relays, Tag, Family Olympics, Water Games,  . . .

I think that I can attribute a good portion of my obsession with games and my competitive nature to our family reunions.  I would also venture to guess that almost any one of my cousins could kick butt in BLITZ because we played that constantly for 3 -5 years. 

This game was an adult only and it did get a little brutal . . . try running or jumping full force at Ansen and tell me how that works out for you.

This round was full force running with arms in . . . look at the minute by minute with Lisa in the white shirt.  When you can't see her, just know she's laying on the ground almost being trampled, but then she's up and going again. 

I think with the effort that was put into the participation of this game, every team thought they were the winners.

By the end of the late nights (talking, blowing up water balloons until 3 am, etc.), early mornings, the games, the tired kids . . . we were all exhausted and my body hurt everywhere.

I was in charge of water games one day and when I was younger the water balloons just would magically appear, but now I know someone was up until 3 am filling them up and someone had fingers that had been rubbed raw from tying them and someone had a sore back from being bent over a hose for 4 hours.

And then they finally had one that involved the kids . . .

only they had to be flung around from back to back and try to hold on.  

Brandt got the Trampoline Thing out and the little generation got to give it a shot . . . of course they LOVED it.

Addison was a little apprehensive about being bounced into the air, but with a little coaxing she finally let them do it . . . and her mom was right . . . she loved it.

A little Minute to Win It and the Price is Right (but no pictures) thanks to Brandt, Kelly, Brooke and Derek.

Shirts . . .

We're had family reunion shirts for as long as I can remember.  There was a few years in high school that we were not loving them, but we're over it now and it was a "wear the shirt or no breakfast policy" on Monday this year.  We wore them proudly.  Matt even barely made the shirt this year as #83.  Ansen's hoping to be in column #1 one day . . . I'll always be #16.

Kids, kids and more kids . . .

So there's 24 cousins.  I'm the 3rd oldest (oldest girl if any one's counting . . . too bad Britton doesn't read my blog) and my youngest cousin is 18 years younger than me, but only a little over 4 years older than Addison and only 2 years older than the oldest great-grand child.  So the next generation mashes right into the older generation.  There are 31 great-grand children now all under the age of 10, so it was kind of a zoo . . . but so fun!

Poor little Halle was such a sport . . . Several times a day, this group would gather around Kendall all taking turns holding the cute, little baby.

And who wouldn't want to hold her . . . look at the smile even after she just completed the "rounds."

Janet got out Jordan's old trailer and it didn't feel THAT long ago that I was clamoring for a ride on the trailer.

There's always a lot of food (good food), there was testimony meeting, an adult discussion, some dancing and lots of talking and loads of laughing.  Can't wait for 2013 when it's a reunion for Grandma's (and Grandpa's) 80th birthday!

 

The kids were beyond tired and by the end of a busy week, Lagoon, family, Lisa's wedding and the reunion, we needed a VACATION from VACATION. 

I think it took us 2 weeks get the house in order from the "drop and run" days.