The first "official"
Keven & Laurie Jensen
family reunion took place July 26-31, 2012.
family reunion took place July 26-31, 2012.
The numbers: 6 days in Utah with all 11* of our kids and all 11 of our grandkids, + 1 Grandma + 1 Kris + 1 dog named Oliver + 2 Parentals = 27 bodies.
*We had just 1 perfectly lovely day with EvErYBODY together, and the rest of the time we had almost everyBODY, but somebody has to bring home the bacon! (Missed you, Ben & Brad)
Wednesday
Getting there: After a month it was time to take the Koreans to the airport, but saying "good-bye" to Sven and Hyuna and the boys was a lot easier this year because we knew we would be seeing them the very next day in SLC.
Back at home Kris was pretty excited about all the food we packed up to take.
Thursday
When we arrived at Soren and Rachele's we could hear voices in the back yard, so we came in through the side gate. Some of the kids were playing on the swing set. When they saw us they began squealing and running to us, calling out, "Grandpa Jensen! Grandma Jensen!"
Alex ran ahead of his cousins, trying to push them back and crying out, "No, they're MINE!" A month with us all to himself - well, with his brothers too - I guess he forgot that we are grandpa and grandma to his cousins as well!
~ ~ ~
Reunions are all about playing and eating good food together, and that evening we got off to a great start on both.
Guitar Heroes
We feasted on yummy broccoli, zucchini and summer squash from Soren's bee-u-tiful garden!
While most everybody else went to Mitchell's soccer game in Orem, Keven, Kris and I headed to Brigham City to find the gravesites for Keven's paternal grandparents, James Peter Jensen and Laura Baker Jensen. His grandmother passed away when Keven's father Ralph was 5 years old. James Peter later married Mary Dudley who was known as Aunt Mary to Ralph and his older siblings.
We hadn't realized that Keven's aunt was also buried in Brigham City. Aunt LaRue was Ralph's oldest sister. Some of our children remember visiting her at her apartment near Temple Square. She was a delightful woman who would always send each child home with a little treasure, and seemed to love our noisy bunch invading her quiet, peaceful home.
Classy Lassies
Jill's got a little short ~
We were joined by Sonja, who drove all the way from Iowa after cycling 3 days/200+ miles in Ragbrae (!!!), and late at night Ayrel and Avery, flying in from Cleveland, straight from Ayrel's LAST DAY of her AuD program(!!!)
Saturday
Early morning walk with Oliver
(Sven drove Seth the 20 minutes from Brei and Kelly's house so he could help walk the dog!)
The Splash Pad
We divided the adults into the "Shop 'til You Drop" group and the "Splash Pad Madness" group (aka "Food for the Mob" and "Keep the Kids Happy at All Costs" groups).
Gabe
Silly Jilly Bean
Aubree and Alex
Alex is ready for anything!
Jake and Seth
Seth
Sven and Hyuna
Keven and Kris
Rachele
Kelly and Keven
No pictures of the grocery carts full of food - they aren't as cute as kids playing in water anyway!
Late afternoon we headed up Millcreek Canyon for a cool summer picnic
A man and his grill - a beautiful thing
The kids loved having Aunt Sonja play silly games with them
but Oliver just didn't get into it.
♥ these faces!
The Great Tragedy of the evening was that Cheryl came all the way up from Provo, and after driving up and down the canyon numerous times without finding us, turned back and went home. :(
Well, and then there was that other incident:
+
You had to be there.....all I have to say is that 'death warmed over' looks better than Keven did that evening.
Ben arrived that night from Tucson!
My Mom aka Grandma Snider arrived from St. George!
By Sunday morning everybody will be together for all of 24 hours, a most amazing effort!
Sunday
Brei and Kelly did a fantastic job planning the site for our family pictures. Memory Grove was a favorite place for my family when I was growing up, but I haven't been back since I was at the U. The morning was beautiful and we had a lot of fun (at the photographer's expense). We were so happy to have Ma (Tanja) and Pa (Brad) Dalton join us straight off the plains of Wyoming from their 3-day Pioneer Trek, making our group 100%!
Photobomb op defused
Love my mama's bare feet!
Tanja and Brad
Avery, Ayrel and Ben
(family picture of the Bunkers to be inserted in the near future)
Sonja and her adoring fans nieces and nephews
Seth, Gabe, Sven, Hyuna and Alex
Mitchell, Curtis, Soren, Aubree and Rachele
A HUGE thank you to Kelly and Brei for being willing to work with our wild and crazy group.
Can't wait to see the results!
Lunch at the Bunkers was followed by a small group making the journey to the Provo cemetery to spend some time at the gravesite for Hyrum and Rita Tangren, Keven's maternal grandparents. Some sweet stories and tender memories were shared there. We were sorry that our time frame conflicted with church schedules for Cheryl and the Tangrens :(
The Park
That evening we gathered at Sugarhouse Park for another picnic dinner, with Aunt Joy and Uncle Delbert, Birgid and Gordon Park, and Jackie* Jensen Sweat joining us for some catching up. Our reunion t-shirts made their debut appearance for one last family picture before Ben had to return to Tucson.
Birgid, Jackie, Rachele and Gordon
Uncle Delbert and Aunt Joy
My cute Aunt Joy with my cute Mom
Aunt Sonja and Uncle Soren play 'Flying Baby' with Jill
and Avery
Love this fashion statement
* Jackie is my very first friend!! We lived 1 door apart from the time we were babies until I was almost 6. I have wonderful memories of playing with her, and of her kind and gentle parents. I should have monitored her conversations with my kids however, as she was telling them stories I don't remember!
Monday
The Lake!
This was the activity at the top of everybody's list when we started planning our reunion. It pleased me so much that our kids' memories of water skiing at Deer Creek with Grandma and Grandpa Snider meant so much to each one of them, especially since it only happened once every summer or so.
If you enlarge this picture you will see that those tiny dots in the water behind the boat are swimmers: Rachele, Hyuna and Gabe! It tickled me to death that Hyuna and her boys had so much fun - this was the first time any of them had been swimming in a lake.
Sunny and Derek brought their 'new' canoe, the Randazzle, having just hauled it all the way back from Michigan. This was its maiden voyage for them, and they were generous to take loads of people on rides and ferry them to and from the boat.
Avery figured out all on her own how wonderful toffee bars are - and that they are absolutely necessary for a day at the lake
Checklist for a perfect day at the lake:
√ Family to hang out with for the entire day
√ Great weather, including a little wind in the afternoon and maybe even some rain
√ A very patient captain who made sure everyone had opportunites to be dragged
around the lake on a tube or skis
√ Lots of good food (sandwiches, grapes, potato salad, fried chicken, chips, sodas and
toffee bars)
√ Time to water ski and tube
√ Time to swim
√ Time to sit on a rock and talk
√ Time to hold a baby or two (or three!)
√ Time to ride in the boat
√ Time to doze
√ Time to throw rocks
√ Time to fish
Yup, it was perfect!
OK, so we didn't have fried chicken. And there may have been a few glitches with the boat and equipment. It was still perfect!
Best line of the day - Brei: "I forgot how much I love this!
Best part of the day, according to most of the kids: Being thrown off of the tube into the lake!
Tuesday
Our early morning temple session turned out to be too early for some after the full day of fun and sun at the lake, but it was a sweet time for those who were able to attend.
Danish pancakes were served up by Soren and Rachele for breakfast - yum!
The Hike Trip to Wheeler Farm
Chores needed to be done, brake pads needed to be changed, etc., etc. Grandma Snider needed a nap! For various reasons our hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon was switched out for a trip to Wheeler Farm, which didn't require as much energy from the adults. It was a great alternate activity with the kids.
Aha - Gabe caught smiling!
I was intrigued with how much Kris loved the farm animals. He also loved all the old equipment and buildings, and by the time we were finishing our tour he was telling me that this used to be his father's farm :)
The Last Hurrah
There was a great surprise for the kids back at Soren and Rachele's - a bouncing castle and a boxing ring! They also had fun putting together and playing with marshmallow guns.
The food was finger-licking good! Kelly had started the prep work for the smoked ribs the night before. Soren's famous grilled chicken, venison sausages and brauts, fresh corn on the cob right from the farm, juicy, sweet watermelon, and pink stuff were all on the menu. Hyuna had never had homemade root beer, and she was fascinated by the process. The results were exceptional!
The Talent Show
Call on your memory or use your imagination because I was too busy being entertained to take pictures of our "Talent" show! (OK, so my memory card was full)
Tanja was the charming emcee. Special guests were Aunt Jedda, Sunny, Hyrum, Noah and Elijah. The judges were Grandma Snider, Grandpa Jensen and Uncle Soren.
The show started off with a slide show presentation that Seth had worked on for weeks. He did a super job of organizing it and making sure everybody was included. Two thumbs up, Seth!
The first act was by Aubree, Mitchell and Rachele who sang an upside-down song. We were also treated to a song by Seth, a magic show by Kyle, Elena and Curtis, and a selection of knock-knock jokes by Mitchell. My favorite:
"Knock, knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Avery!"
"Avery who?"
"Avery time I come here we go through this!"
Seth sang another song, Grenade, with his parents and brothers doing back-up singing and dancing. They were fabulous, regardless of what one misguided judge may have said! Mitchell and Gabe were heap big Indian warriors hunting bears in a skit with me; Aunt Sonja, Aunt Ayrel, Uncle Brad and Aunt Tanja amazed us all with their Olympic synchronized swimming performance - almost a perfect 10! Elena played the Primary song, "Teach Me To Walk" on the piano and Jake recited a word-perfect Bill Cosby routine. The finale was a piano duet by Brei and Kelly, a rousing arrangement by Kelly of "76 Trombones" from the Music Man.
Jake and his parents were chosen to compete for the 1st Place spot, and they each had a new number to perform: Jake shared a new Cosby routine and Brei and Kelly played another lively duet. Because the judges could not choose a winner the audience was called on to help, and Jake was named the winner of the 1st Jensen Family's Got Talent Show!
Bravo to all!
The Owies
It is inevitable that there will be mishaps when a group gets involved with so much activity!
In spite of Keven's best efforts with sunscreen, Kris managed to get a sunburn on the right side of his face while at the splash pad. "I LIKE hot, it's OK!" he said.
Gabe scraped his forhead and his leg in two separate events.
Elena fell and scraped her knee while running in the canyon, confirming her assertation that she ALWAYS gets hurt when she is in the mountains.
(The one that stopped my heart) - Mitchell ran right into a tree limb, narrowly missing his eye. Within 5 minutes he was calm and ready to play again. Whew.
Showing off on his bike (in the dark) (for some girls) Curtis ended up falling and bonking his head.
Aubree can't remember how she got hurt, but there is a scrape on her leg!
A mean old wasp stung Seth.
(The other one that stopped my heart) - Tanja and I were having a wild and crazy time on the tube at the lake until she took a hard bump to her face and ended up biting her lip, knocking her jaw out of alignment, and with road rash on her chin. Ice, ibuprofen, and a few days later she says she thinks it's OK.
I don't have a picture of the actual hurt, but since I really like this one I'm using it. Sven managed to keep from dislocating his shoulder THIS time, but he still pulled the muscles in his shoulder and was greatly hindered by the pain. Not that he would complain or even avoid using it, but mothers know....
My heart when it was all over and time to say good-bye.
It's time to start planning the next reunion so it will begin healing...
How thankful I am for safety in all our travels, far and wide; for the fun times and memories made; for all the hard work and efforts to make everything happen (sharing of homes, reservations for pavillions and boats, designing of t-shirts, planning of menus and activities, sacrifices of time and resources, etc., etc.), and especially for the blessing of such a wonderful family. I am blessed beyond any words I know to express my feelings.
P.S. a few MORE cute pictures!
(because 160 aren't enough)
"Oooh, oooh, oooh - Koreans know how to do this!" Hyuna says excitedly when dad wants a piece of watermelon but doesn't want to cut up the entire melon.
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