August 18, 2009

First Annual Thompson Family Reunion

This year we were lucky enough to be able to host our first ever Michael Thompson Family Reunion. We loved having it in our home. It was so much fun to have everyone under one roof making meals and sharing LIFE! We started the day off with a bang. A flour bang that is. Flour was flying out of our Bosch and we ended up in a flour fight.
These two are the main culprits- so its appropriate that they were doused. We had a trophy made up for the best meal of the reunion. Heath and Kelly won it with their amazing Moroccan Feast. It was divine. Jaleah and Brig were making up the Naan for it.
We also spent the weekend having a contest to see who the "Ultimate Thompson" was. There were 8 or 9 different competitions like racing, push-ups, soccer & football skills, racquetball games and lacrosse to name a few. Kaleb left with the trophy. But my mighty Brigham was a very close second. Way to go!
I love this picture of the footrace. Hilarious! I stole it and a few others off of Kelly's blog. They were just too great to resist. Thanks!That night we had a shower -to shower our reigning love birds, Jaleah and Mark.
Aren't they perfect! We love you guys!
The next day we loaded up and drove to Yellowstone. We had a yummy picnic in some pretty cold weather and then made it just in time to witness Old Faithful spewing off. We are missing the grandparents in this picture- but other than that it was the whole crew. I can't believe how blessed we were to have everyone at the reunion. A big thanks to Heath and Kelly for their huge effort to get out there. You made it perfect!
A friend is a brother who once was a bother.

Micah was the winner of our t-shirt design this year. Thanks Micah! They are SUPER!

Poor Seth was sick- throwing up and such. He felt miserable, but was a trooper. Here he is lying on the boardwalk in front of Old Faithful. Pretty pathetic- eh!


The next day we had a big swimming party and BBQ. We had some relay races. Heath and Kelly won the couples competition, but I actually won when the females raced. I came in dead last when all the women had a foot race(Lindsey who is six months pregnant won), so I was glad to see that I still had something in me. :)
Playing King of the Mountain
But everyone knows these guys are the real Kings of the Mountain.
It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on!
When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us?
To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.
~Clara Ortega

We know one another's faults, virtues, catastrophes, mortifications, triumphs, rivalries, desires, and how long we can each hang by our hands to a bar. We have been banded together under pack codes and tribal laws. ~Rose Macaulay
We ended the night with a dance. We have a lot of funny dancers in our family. What a hoot! We were so sad to see the reunion end. A big thanks to everyone for sharing your time, talents, laughter and LOVE. We love you ALL!


What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories. ~George Eliot

July 28, 2009

Banff National Park- Canada


Beautiful Banff. We thought we would head up to Canada since we all have passports anyway. About two weeks before our departure- we remembered Kai and the fact that he did not accompany us on any of our European Adventures- well he actually went with us to the British Isles, but I carried him the whole way. Fortunately two weeks is just the amount of time needed for expedited service.
















































































Lucky for us, we happened upon this group putting on a horse show. They had moves reminiscent of the Lippinzanger Stallions from Vienna. While we were in Vienna we got to see where they trained- but no performance, as they were performing elsewhere. It was fun to see some horses do some pretty spectacular moves.

July 27, 2009

Glacier National Park- Montana











Our family went on our first official summer vacation. Since I have always homeschooled the kids- we usually took our trips during the school year. We decided to visit some National Parks and do some camping. Our first stop was Glacier National Park. As you can see- it was beautiful.







We had a great time hiking, skipping rocks and Kai even did a little skinny dipping. It was like being in paradise- everywhere you looked it was so beautiful.




































Rolling with the Stones

Brigham's sister and her wonderful family followed us home from the Redd reunion. They were here for just a couple short days. We hope they will come back soon and stay MUCH longer. Thanks for coming! They helped us launch our first inaugural fire pit roasting. In the above picture you can see that our waterfall and trees are in. We still need to put in plants and mulch etc. I guess we will be waiting until Fall to finish it.


The boys set off bottle rockets and other "larger" fireworks on top of the hill. This one exploded a little early. Crazy boys and their fun with fire.

Kai couldn't believe how much fun Kaleb was having in the tub. He just had to jump right in- clothes and all. My little guys are so adorable!

July 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Brigham!

You are simply the BEST!
We LOVE you!