2012 Family Reunion

The alarm began buzzing at 3:15 a.m.  We had a 6 a.m. flight to Denver. Just two months before this trip, Brooklyn was begging to fly on an airplane with me.  I hoped she'd have the same excited attitude this morning.  Not much time for thinking this particular morning, as we rushed around the house making sure the truck had been properly packed the night before. We shower, load up a couple zombies into carseats and head to the airport. As we pass the Riverside exit, Jackson asks "You got Bryson's birth certificate?"  "No, think we need it?!" So I call the airline...yep...we need it!  Bad words! (as Aunt Susi says). Turn around, drive like a mad man (*a safe old mad man, with two kids in tow), get home, I run upstairs and return with birth cert in hand in record-breaking time. Groundhog day resumes.  Off we are! to the airport.  Plane waiting for us, my girl hesitates. "I don't want to ride on the airplane." "Oh, but look at the pretty red stripe!" I try to convince her. "It'll be soooo fun! We'll see Mr. Sun up close and go way high up in the air!" And yes, I did it. Peer pressure. "Bryson is excited!"  (Yeah, yeah, maybe he's just ignorant about the whole experience...shhh!)  She caves: "Okay, mommy, let's go!" 

Long story short. We fly. Kids love it.  Success. 

Arrive in Denver. Drowsy...deliriuous, actually.  Go from a plane to a train, to a bus, to a car. 

The kids were exposed to more transportation in 12 hours than they have been in their whole (15 and 31 months) of life. And it wore them (and us) out!  Three hours in the car later, we arrive at our destination.  Ready for our first Lee Family reunion!  I have a pretty small family. My dad has three siblings:

Uncle Buddy, a fun character whom I don't see enough of;

Aunt Becky, who watches with joy from above;
Aunt Liz, who raises her grandchildren while her daughter watches (with comfort and pride) from above.

Born in the fifties, my dad was raised by both parents.  What a life my grandparents led, and what an impact they had, and still have, on the family, myself especially. Memories of Riverside, CA are still so vivid in my mind. Grandpa's golden brown Honda Civic taking us to Calvary Baptist church. Swimming in the pool at the apartment complex with April...eh hem...Marie...Bridgette, Donna and Michael. Frisky, the puppy, keeping us company while snacking on pepperoni Comb-O's as Uncle Buddy taught me Tetris on the PC.  Grandma & Grandpa Lee had a significnat impact on me that still exists today.  My impression was that they led very humble lives and went without luxuries in hopes that others would be able to survive and learn about the love that our Heavenly Father has to offer.

But I digress...back to the reunion: We spent the week under the roof of a wonderful home in Glenwood Springs, CO.  We visited Glenwood Springs Adventure Park,

where Brooklyn surprised us with confidence we didn't know she had, riding rides intended for 4-year-olds (41+ inches).

 

We had a blast watching our kids, neices, nephews, second cousins, and even my parents seeking thrills on rides. 

The "big kids" enjoyed a white water rafting trip, with plenty of chilly showers from above, and a group went horse-back riding on the last morning.  It was a fun-filled reunion!

 

We reserved the last night of the vaca for our immediate family, staying in a hotel with a telephone,

and a water park, where both kids went down slides that caused my to take deep breaths and convince myself things were going to be okay. 

Everyone survived and had a fabulous time!  But at the end of the day, as excited as she may have been about the water slide or the gondola ride,

If you asked my little girl what she wanted to do most, she'd tell you without hesitiation: "Let's pick flowers, Mommy!" Aaahhh...the simple joys in life. :)

 

This trip meant the world to me. My parents' love for each other and for the rest of the family has had an everlasting effect on me as not only a mother, but as a person. I love you, Mom and Dad.  And I hope that our relationship will be reflective of that with me and my kiddos.  Family is everything.