Memorial Day 2010

Ivan, Krystal, and Melissa enjoying the food

I've decided that today is a good example of how I'm a pretty good mix of both of my parents. From my mom I inherited the desire to have all of the family together for all special occasions (and to make any and every occasion a "special occasion"). And although my dad wasn't really one for family get-togethers, if he was going to throw a party, he was going to go way out of his way to make sure it was a swingin' party...and I inherited this quality from him. Not that I'm always successful at planning and carrying out awesome parties, but the "big ideas" aspect is definitely there. I think sometimes this combination of qualities in me makes Aaron a little nervous, but today we had the best of both worlds. We had a pretty descent family turn out, and I think everyone really had a good time. (And in Aaron's favor, we probably spent less than what it would have cost us to drive to Hooper.)

Tanya, Gramma Tam, Kirk and Steph and the table piled high with delicious food

Maybe I should start at the beginning. :) I planned a Memorial Day BBQ for the family. My mom and Kerry, my step-sister Tanya and her baby Graham, my step-sister Steph and her husband Kirk, my step-brother Bryan's wife Emily and their daughter Penny (Bryan stayed back in Cali to work), and Aaron's brother Ryan and his wife Melissa came. Plus we ended up watching two of the neighbor kids for a couple of hours, so they were out there with us too. The deal was that everyone brought their own meat and a side to share, and Aaron and I would do buns and condiments. Mom and Kerry brought their little grill and we had ours too. The result was a fabulous feast, with way more food than we could eat. We decided that all the local parks would be super crowded, so we just did the BBQ in the back yard of our apartment complex, which turned out to be perfect, because we had the place to ourselves and it was fenced in so the kids could just run around and play while the adults talked.

Here's a really cute picture of baby Graham. I can't believe how big he's getting. He was such a good baby too, perfectly happy to play on the blanket and watch what everyone was doing.

While I was at the grocery store this morning getting some things we needed for the BBQ, I spotted some little squirt guns and thought that they would be the perfect activity to go along with our dinner. It turns out I was right. I don't know who had the most fun with the water guns, Lincoln or Aaron, or Papa Kerry or Uncle Ryan. Either way, all the "kids" were entertained by them for quite awhile. And they made sure none of us escaped without getting at least a little wet.

Ivan was the funniest to watch I think. He thought that the water guns were there for the sole purpose of being squirted into his mouth. So he would chase around anyone that had a gun, with his mouth hanging open waiting for them to squirt some water into his mouth. He didn't even seem to mind when some of the water splashed in his face. He also didn't have enough finger strength to pull the trigger on his gun, so he just ran around shaking it at people. The important part is that he thought he was participating, and he was having a blast. 

 

Lincoln probably got the wettest out of everyone, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. He would shoot anyone and everyone, and if they had a gun they would should back, and he would laugh and run away to find the next person to shoot. He never got tired of it.

Aaron and Ryan never seemed to get tired of it either. In fact, between those two and Papa Kerry, the kids always seemed to have full water guns. The "adult" males also seemed to be playing against each other, just as much or more as they did with the kids. Of course, women...and wives in particular, didn't get to miss out on any of the action. If we weren't being directly shot at, then we became shields, or got caught in the cross fire. but it was a nice day, so none of us minded. And I'll admit, I borrowed Linc's gun a few times to take a few shots at Aaron. He always got me back though. :)

Penny, Graham, Ivan, and Lincoln Memorial Day 2010

For the first time since Christmas, all four grand kids on my side were together. And this time we actually got a decent picture. Of course, in order to keep their attention, they all had to have a water gun to hold. But I think that just made the picture even cuter.