Hopefully this won't crash my Blogger account...pics from the Rod & Deb Cushing Reunion!

Our big trip for the summer was up to St. George (then Salt Lake City) for a Cushing reunion.  Boy, were we spoiled!!!!  Many, many thanks to Grandpa Rod and Grandma Deb for a wonderful week together!   Here were some highlights, in no particular order: 

Cousin time, and lots of it

Random photos that really captured the magic and beauty and fun of this vacation for me!

Fun dinners and games around that table; plus Heather and Ver's selfie tradition!

Stairs leading up to the...boys cave!

Celebrating McKaleigh's SIXTEENTH birthday with her!  Watching her walk out of the Hurricane DMV with her LICENSE!  We love you, McK!

Volleyball with Uncle Brett, Grandpa, and Uncle Matt

Finding matching MarioKart shirts for the boys, shopping with Aunt Heather, Aunt Jaymie, and McKaleigh, and cute smiles from Lilly

Grandpa offering to get his toenails painted, no lie

Enjoying the outdoors (once the heat went down) and watching some tennis matches!

This was way fun to watch!  We felt like millionaires having a tennis court on the grounds of the home!

Fractured Prune Doughnuts (Thanks, Brett and Jaymie!), cute Charlie, being lazy!

The pool was MAGICAL!!!

Alex's rubber band bracelets that he made for everyone, Lego t-shirt, cinnamon bundt cake  (thank you, Matt and Heather!!!), and that big wonderful kitchen

Watching our first Tuacahn play, The Little Mermaid, with Grandma and Brett and Jaymie's family

Boys being boys, watching the World Cup on the little screen, selfies, and those big leather chairs

Some pics of the home, located in Bloomington, UT--WHOA!

I made a list of our favorite things--I hope I'm not forgetting too many!

Swimming!  Tennis!  Volleyball!  Basketball!

Watching the Little Mermaid

Celebrating McKaleigh's birthday!

Visiting Zion National Park and going on the Narrows hike with Brett and Jaymie's family

Shopping with the girls

The boy cave upstairs where lots of Nintendo DS was played

Watching movies

Playing in the pool

Playing hide and seek in that gigantic house

Games, especially Dominion, golf, and What Ifff, and that iPhone Charades game  ("Mosh Pit!")

Big boys golfing trip

Soda in glass bottles

Fantastic food and plenty of it

Grandpa getting his toenails painted

Alex's rainbow bracelets

MarioKart t-shirts

Lots of time to talk, talk, talk, and sleep, sleep, sleep, and swim, swim, swim, and eat, eat, eat!



There were some sad-face moments--Grandma got hurt and a bunch of us got sick.  But we lived to fight another day!

Fun in urgent care--Wade was having a hard time breathing and had to get 3 breathing treatments.  

One more fun day with Matt and Heather's family and a visit with GGPa Rod and Grandma Nan before we had to head back to Ridgecrest

What a FANTASTIC vacation!  Thanks for everything and thanks for the memories!  We love our Cushing and Cropper peeps!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Beach Trip Monday was our big family day--all of us, including Great-Grandpa Rod, Nan, Nick, and Rochelle drove to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  It was HUGE and wonderful!  I wish I'd taken more pictures, but at least I have a few to show for the wonderful day we had there.  I didn't capture it, but we were able to see a brand-new antelope taking its first steps during our ride around the park.  It was so sweet!

Jason treated me to an electric scooter--I'm so grateful because I know I would have made it about 5 minutes on crutches!

This was our last event of the day at the park.  These guys were hilarious, loud, and really good at scaring the heck out of us with their acrobatic madness!

Imperial Beach!

We have been home from our Imperial Beach trip for two weeks.  Yesterday Rhiannon was staring off into space and said, "I was just thinking about the beach!"  The trip was a major highlight of our summer--an amazing week-long vacation with the Cushings!  We did miss the Cropper clan this time, but they had a VERY good excuse (welcome to our  new cousin/nephew Charlie!!!!).




The weekend we arrived for the final "big" Jensen Family Reunion was also the US Sandcastle Competition weekend  in Imperial Beach.  There were people and cars everywhere.  I felt like a billionaire sitting on the balcony of the condo and watching thousands of people mill around on the beach just below us! 

We drove down on July 23rd and met up with Grandpa Rod and Grandma Deb to shop for groceries before checking into the condo.  (Most of our meals were made in the condo--it worked out really well and saved a ton of money, too.)  Brett, Jaymie, McKaleigh, Colton, and Alex, and Great-Grandpa Rod, Nan, Nick, and Aunt Rochelle rolled in later that night. 

Sunday was the official day of the sandcastle competition.  I think that morning was the first and last time I went out on the beach itself.  I was feeling pretty good and used just one crutch (more on that later).  We got out there early before all the people started coming, and it was fun!  I loved watching Rhiannon and Wade play in the waves, but I got so nervous when they moved closer and closer to this rock outcropping.  Lifeguards had to go out in the ocean and tell them to move (embarrassing, but I'm grateful the lifeguards were doing their job!) 

Later in the afternoon Jason went down to fight the crowds and take pictures of all the sand sculptures for me.  He deserves the Best Husband On the Planet Award--when he finally made it back to the condo, he looked pretty frazzled and said it had been like combat trying to make his way through all the crowds! 

That night we went to the first official reunion event--because of the sandcastle competition it took us an hour and a half plus to drive 10 miles away.  There were almost 200 people at the reunion's  opening social.  I only knew the Rod and Deb Cushing side--it was strange!  But I'm happy to say I at least recognized most of the Jensen clan by the end of the week.

Just before bed on Sunday night, the opposite side of my hurt foot, ankle area, started causing me problems.  It actually hurt worse than my initial injury!  I think I'd been walking weird in the sand with the one crutch and put a lot of pressure on that side of my foot, so I was back to square one with both crutches and didn't  go out to the beach again the rest of the week.  I am SO grateful to Jason, Brett and Jaymie, and Grandpa and Grandma who took care of Rhiannon and Wade and let them enjoy as much time on the beach and in the ocean as their hearts desired.  It really stunk being stuck in the condo, but everyone was really nice about it.  Thanks, guys, for all the help!!!!

Here's a quick outline of the rest of the week--more posts and pictures to come....

Monday--San Diego Wild Animal Park!!!

Tuesday--Reunion Beach Olympics and Family Sandcastle Competition (the turtle made by the Cushing clan was FABULOUS!)  Jason and I enjoyed a date night, too--thanks, Grandpa and Grandma!  We saw Captain America and ate at the Cheesecake Factory (YUM).  After the Olympics and spending all afternoon in the ocean, Rhiannon clued me in on some painful "burns" on her legs, almost like rug burns on the inside of her legs.  Grandma saved the day with some Neosporin--it helped a lot!

Wednesday--Golfing for Jason and Grandpa and More beach time!  I made it down to the condo pool with the kids and had a great time chatting with Great-Grandpa Rod, too.

Thursday--Padres game--they won!  The weather was amazing, too!  Reunion closing social and talent show--I wish I'd taken pictures then.  It was great!

Friday--Last day.  Sadness.  McKaleigh and I stayed in the condo with Colton, Wade, and Alex while the girls went shopping and the boys went golfing.  That night we took a group picture--yay!!!

Saturday--Farewells!  And Legoland for the CA Cushings!

It was the perfect summer vacation, and being with family made it that much sweeter.  WE HAD A BLAST!!!

Enjoy these videos taken early in the week!  They give you a good idea of just how close we were to the ocean!