Cousin Swim Party #1

One of the first activities of our Randall Family Reunion was a swim party at Marc & Karen Tobler's house, (Karen is Justin's cousin).  I don't know too many things, but this I know...If the Toblers are having a party you want to be there! It is a guaranteed great time and delicious food.  Thank's Toblers for another amazing party.  We had a great time!  Here are some pictures of the highlights:

Not everyone likes to swim. How about a friendly game of Dodge Ball? This game went on and on for several hours. Everyone who played had a great time.

Even the "Big Kids" (read Dad's). :)  Yes, that is Kevin's back. 

Justin visiting with his Aunt Jane Wright and Cousin-in-Law, Lars Larsen.

Mark Randall with his sister Glenell Fuller. I think why we love family get togethers, as crazy as they can be, is the chance we get to reconnect with loved ones we haven't seen for a long time.  The memories of these visits brings a smile to my face.

Kate & her cousin Eloise, sporting the Tobler's mermaid tails. They loved wearing these and swam with them for quite a while.

Even when diving off the rocks, they wouldn't let the mermaid tails hold them back. I was just glad that they didn't trip and fall.  There were some serious guardian angels watching out for all the little ones in the pool that night.  

Kelly decided that she didn't want to change into her swimsuit, which she regretted shortly after this picture was taken. She ended up falling in the pool with her cell phone in her pocket. I'm sad to say, the phone did not recover. 

Yes! Kelly is taller than her Grandma Alonna Randall.

This picture reminds me to not do weird things with my eyes when someone is taking my picture!  Yes, I was a little tired, but still.  I did enjoy visiting with Karen and Jane, despite this goofy picture.

This is my favorite picture from that night!  Kenzie swam pretty much the entire time!  It was a great night!

On the Plane

Since it had been a long time for our children to fly on an airplane they were all very excited. It didn't even phase them when we woke everyone up at 4:30 AM to get to the airport on time.

Whew! I must admit there was a great sense of accomplishment and relief when we arrived at our gate with plenty of time.  We flew on Southwest and were able to carry on all of our bags and two booster car seats. Which was also pretty amazing.  

Justin came up with great plan that He, Kevin & Kate would sit in one row & Kenzie, Kelly & I would sit in the row across from them.  That way all of the kids should be able to look out the window, even if they weren't sitting right by the window.  It was so fun to see the children's reactions as the plane took off, and turned, etc. You would have thought that we were on a roller coaster ride!  Everyone loved it except for Kenzie!! She hated it and did NOT want to look out of the window.  Thankfully our first flight was a short one to  Oklahoma City.  Kelly & Kenzie ended up changing seats and she felt much better about sitting in the middle, away from the window.

We had a good 15 min. +/- stop in Oklahoma City.  Kevin was dying to take a look inside the cockpit. Justin told him to ask a flight attendant before going up there, but you can imagine how well an 11 year old boy listens in situations like this. ;) He just walked right up there and started talking to the pilot!

Kenzie, happy to be on the ground in OK City.

I loved sneaking this picture of Kate. She was adding up all of the flights she will have been on by the end of our trip. She absolutely loved every minute.

Kevin was very fortunate to have the audience of a patient pilot and flight crew. He probably spent a good 8-10 minutes talking with them and sharing all he knew about airplanes and flight, etc.  They even let him sit in the Pilot's seat!

He was in heaven!!

This is the only picture I took on our flights home and I think it sums up how we all felt. :) Let me just add what a blessing it was that we could raise the arm rests in between seats. Kenzie was much more comfortable and it made everything easier that she just laid down and slept most of the way.

It was a great adventure and we feel very blessed that Justin had enough flight miles to allow us all to fly for free!!  It was another wonderful experience that we will not forget.

Tonto Natural Bridge

Part of our trip and family reunion in Arizona was a trip to the Tonto Natural Bridge.  I think it was also one of my favorite parts of the trip.  I think that the Arizona Desert, the true desert, not what you see in town, is beautiful!

As I mentioned before, Justin's grandparents, Glen & Eloise Randall owned the natural bridge when their children were young. Justin's dad, Mark Randall remembers spending his summers working and exploring all over the natural bridge. In fact, I think that he and some of his sisters, if not all--(I'm not sure, I will have to double check) were baptized here in the old swimming pool that is no longer in use.

This is one of the many beautiful "Century Plants" that were blooming all throughout the area.  They are part of the Agave plant family. It's rumored that they only bloom once a century--hence the name. However, that is not true. They only live 10-30 years and flower once in their lifetime. After they have bloomed, the plant dies, but not before putting out "sucker" plants that grow into new ones.

One of the first sights of the bridge, as you get closer to the entrance.

I think this picture is a little deceiving, because it makes it look kind of small. It's truly huge!! In fact, Justin' s "Crazy Uncle Bob," Bob Fuller, at one point flew an airplane through the bridge many years ago.

With over 100 people in our group all wearing matching blue shirts, it looked like an army of blue ants climbing through. :)

So beautiful!! And amazingly cool. Under the bridge it had to be 20+ degrees cooler. If we weren't helping kids climb through, I would have spent a lot more time down there.

After hiking through the bridge we enjoyed listening to Justin's Dad, Mark, and his sisters, (l-r) Dixie Oveson, Sally Bridge, Glenell Fuller, Jane Wright, & Martha Hoopes, share stories and memories of what life was like at the Natural Bridge. My favorite...Jane & Sally convinced that an Indian Chief was buried there with gold and treasure so they spent hours and hours digging to find it. Who convinced them that he was there?  Their big brother, Mark! :)

Part of the festivities also included foot races and tug of war. Here's the youngest group of runners. I'm proud to see Kenzie out front! ;)

It was a wonderful day full of memories that we will not soon forget!

R Family Update

I can't believe that it has been just about a month since my last post--sorry Mom & Dad!

The summer is going by in such a blur!! Here is a somewhat quick update from June.

This picture doesn't really have to do with anything. I just like it because the afternoon before, we had gone to the library and Kevin checked out a bunch of comic books. The very next morning, he comes down dressed in his Superman costume, (Superman just happens to be his favorite comic book Hero), while he continues to read his comics. 

The biggest highlight of June was the celebration of Kenzie's 4th birthday. I'll post pictures and more later. We ended up not really having a party, mostly because she could never be consistent on what she wanted.  She kept changing her mind about everything--except the huge chocolate cake from Costco. It's crazy, but since her birthday it seems like she has turned a corner and is more a preschooler than a toddler. It's exciting and sad at the same time.

Our other big highlight of the summer was definitely our trip to Arizona.  Justin had enough flight miles that we all flew for free--which was an experience to say the least.  Our kids are pretty good travelers and were good sports about getting up early (4:30 AM) to get to the airport. We packed so tightly that we were able to carry everything on, including two booster car seats. I was pretty proud of that!  I will definitely post pictures soon. (That's part of the reason why I haven't posted yet. It has taken me some time to upload and edit all of the pictures from our trip).  It would take too long to share everything from our trip, so here is the TOP 10:

10). I loved seeing how much the kids enjoyed flying on the airplane. Everyone, except Kenzie that is. She did not like it at all and did not want to look out the window.  The best part of the flights? The 10 minutes or so that Kevin got to sit in the cockpit with the pilot on a quick stop in OK City. They had quite a long conversation and Kevin was even allowed to sit in the Pilot's seat.  It was pretty awesome.

9). We definitely have to mention the amazing 76 degree weather on the 4th, complete with swimming in the rain.  We had to giggle a little as the Arizona natives complained about how humid it was.

8). Our kids absolutely loved, loved, loved all of the cousin time!

7). We enjoyed meeting Teresa's new husband, Earl Williams. We are so happy for both of them and loved being able to spend time with them. Thank you for driving down to the valley to see us!

6). Swimming, swimming, and more swimming--3 fun cousin swim parties, complete with swimming Olympics where everyone's prize was there own pack of gum. 

5). Reflecting on the legacy of Glen & Eloise Randall. Enjoying happy memories and grateful to be part of their family.

4). Exploring at the Tonto Natural Bridge.  All but Kenzie hiked down & through the bridge. Before it was a state park, Glen & Eloise owned it and Justin's Dad, and aunts spent all of their summers working and exploring.

3). Enjoying an amazing and memorable dinner in a private dining room at The Barking Frog Grille, one of the restaurants where my brother Mark & his girlfriend Erin work. Not to mention my parents driving from Flagstaff to see us and spend a short time together. Kate loved trying the Cactus Fries. My favorite?  It's a toss up between the Chocolate Tres Leches Cake, or the amazing Cheesecake--both of which my brother makes. YUM!

2). Getting to stay with Mark & Erin, and getting to know them, Erin's children and their pets, Phillip, Zoey, & Kitty. Additionally exploring in the orchard, the tree house and Oak Creek.  Our kids miss it so much! Kate was talking today about how she would like to move there. :) I loved playing "Apples to Apples" and "Hearts" with my Parents, Mark & Erin.

1). Finishing the trip with the baptism of Justin's sister Emily.  It was a long awaited day and very special. We are grateful we got to be a part of it.

We love all of our family and are sad that we are so far away. We had such a great time and look forward to seeing everyone again soon. (Maybe even around Christmas? ;) ).

I've just about edited all of the pictures from our trip. Those will soon follow.  Thank you to everyone who made it possible and so enjoyable. We love you!