2nd Biennial Cunningham Family Reunion - Blackfoot, Idaho

Monday July 30, 2018

Let the Cunningham Family Reunion begin!
HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY ADRIANNA!!

In our family we spell "Awesome" ODI PODI!

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The truth is we were so busy having fun that I didn't take very many photos.I'll write down what I can remember of our activities and hopefully your memories will kick in and and fill in the blanks.
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At 2:00 in the morning Shiloh woke me up... it was so good to see her! I did go right back to sleep and everyone slept in so around 8:00 Darryl and Kelly went to get doughnuts. I had fun in the late morning visiting with all the kids. 

Hillary arrived in the late morning with her boys. She and Cody and their families were in charge of dinner, so after going shopping they fixed a dinner of BBQ ribs and all the fixings. We didn't make them do all the work, as everyone helps out with setting the table and serving the little ones. Not sure what Odi is doing in the picture below, but she has a smile on her face so I guess she is having fun.

Yum!!! Dinner was delicious! 

After dinner we had a great activity of "Skits in a Bag - Fractured Disney Stories". So much fun, especially with Benny's surprise visit on stage, Jesse's "Mine, Mine, Mine" and the reverse "Cinderella" story about Cali and Alan and their romance, running story. Cali was so embarrassed, but they seemed to be good sports about it.

Tuesday July 31, 2018
Family Birthday Party Day!
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Darryl went grocery shopping in the morning for Jambalaya ingredients while I went to Hobby Lobby in Idaho Falls for a few items I needed for the craft room. Just before lunch Shiloh, Adrianna, Lydia, Hillary and I did oil paintings of Bob Ross' Golden Rays of Sunlight.

While we painted and Darryl worked on dinner and the western cousins got reacquainted with the cousins from back east. Here, Benny and J.J. visit while eating Popsicles. 

In the early afternoon Cami and Jacob arrived and the family reunion gang was all together.

After dinner we gathered around the yard for the big 'Pig in the Poke' Birthday Party. 

Someone got hold of my phone.

Hillary, Tyree and Lydia having fun.

Grandma is a happy camper when she's with her grandchildren.

Maggie, Gideon and Annabelle.

While everyone was waiting for the party to start, Benny took care of his little cousin Izzy...

by sharing his Popsicle with her...

one little piece at a time.

These two are so cute!

Kissin' cousins! 

Before the party started Emily entertained us with some songs on her Ukulele. 

And she quickly became one of J.J.'s favorites.

I had purchased 3 different birthday cakes, chocolate, lemon and carrot, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.

Adam entertained us with some tree stunts.

While Ezra cheered him on.

Darryl and I had wrapped over 40 presents bought at auctions, flea markets, garage and estate sales and more. We started with the December and January birthdays and worked our way towards the summer months.  When someone chose a gift from the box and opened it, they could keep it or give it to someone they think would like it... (or hate it). Much laughter ensued as the gag gifts were passed around and many ooh's and ah's occurred when people seemed to pick the perfect gift. It was so much fun, and we still had 3 more days of family togetherness to enjoy!

Happy Birthday Ezra and Happy Sunday in Idaho

Thursday morning, July 26

The girls had fun getting to know their cousin's, Gabe, J.J. and Ezra. 

It was a special day too,.. Ezra's 2nd birthday. Hillary made him a cute dinosaur cake and we had a fun little birthday party for him at lunchtime. 

Fun with cousins!

After the party I packed the girls and Gabriel in the car and we headed up to Blackfoot, Idaho where Tyree showed the girls her dance trophies and medals.

Sunday, July 29th.

We went to church at Jesse's ward even though she and the kids were in Gray's Lake. Annabelle was quite tired, but she perked up when she got to nursery.

Oh how they love being with their Grandpa Darryl. And, oh how he loves being with his grandchildren.

Reagan and Annabelle had such pretty hair they had me take photos to send to their mom.

After church we were excited to get back to Jesse and Kelly's. In the afternoon Cody, Alisa and the kids arrived for the family reunion, along with Cali, Gideon, Parker and Cali's boyfriend Alan. 

Let the family fun begin!

New Baby and First Flights

Due to the birth of sweet baby Avery, Skye and Ryan were unable to attend the Cunningham 2nd Biennial Family Reunion held at Jesse and Kelly's in Blackfoot, ID. Skye really wanted Reagan and Annabelle to attend the reunion, so I flew out to Virginia to get the girls and fly back with them.

On Tuesday July 24th I got up just after 3:00 a.m. and made it to the Salt Lake City Airport just after 4:00 a.m. I flew to Richmond, VA where I picked up my rental car and drove over to Buena Vista to stay with Skye, Ryan and family. The first order of business was to paint and put together the girl's Pinewood Derby Cars.

Well, that and get to know my new granddaughter, little Avery.

What a sweet little doll this girl is!

Wednesday we left early and met Ryan at work for an early lunch, then I took a very excited Reagan and Annabelle to the airport for their first flight. 

(In all honesty, Reagan has flown before but she was just an infant, so she wouldn't remember.)

Everything about the airport excited these two little munchkins...

We did have about 4 hours to wait, so we filled the time as best we could.

A very kind flight attendant made sure Reagan and Annabelle both had window seats. We were in the first row just behind first class. The girl's excitement was contagious...

The stewardess brought them each a pair of Jr. Wings...

And Miss Reagan was was intrigued with the safety guide and making sure she knew where everything was. 

When she had a question she would very politely say "Excuse me"... to the lady sitting in her row and ask her what she wanted to know. The very nice lady answered her and would smile and say how fun it was to see their excitement.

As the plane started to taxi to the runway Reagan exclaimed loudly "Hey... look out the window everyone!!" I heard the passengers in first class and right behind us chuckle a little. 

When the plane built up speed for take off Annabelle shouted with a smile "Fasten your seatbelts everybody!" and more chuckles followed. 

 "Look Reagan," she called to her sister a minute later, "We're up in the air!" as Reagan let out an excited squeal! 

Our first flight was a short one from Richmond to Atlanta and the girls stared out the windows at the clouds and the tiny buildings on the ground, etc. for most of the flight.

Reagan wondering aloud how wonderful it would be to sit on the clouds. 

That is... Until the snacks arrived..

As we disembarked the first flight Reagan looked into the cockpit and commented on all the buttons. The Pilot and Co-Pilot invited the girls to step into the cockpit and look around. I think it was the highlight of their trip. I just wish I'd had my camera/phone in my hands so I could have taken their picture.

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Our second flight was on a larger airplane and the girls were quite excited that they each had their own video screen. 

It was a late flight and after a snack they fell asleep for most of the flight. We arrived in Salt Lake just after midnight and these girls were troopers as we made our way to my van and then to Hillary and Jake's to spend the night.