Ivins Family Reunion

We had a great weekend at the Ivins Family Reunion! Doug's mom made this cute tree for everyone to put their name on so we could see where we all fit.When we first got there the girls immediately put on their suits for the slip and slide. They had a blast.We had our reunion in Wales, UT at Doug's parents pioneer house they have there. It was also Welch Days (Wales' town celebration) so we got to partake in all the festivities. At night the kids got to be part of the children's parade. They had so much fun. Leda and David (who we were so luck to have visit from NC) were nice enough to drive everyone in the Gator. Grandma took a few kids on the 4 Wheeler too. After the parade and dinner we had a few roations for the kids. One of the aunts talked about the talents of our ancestors and things they liked to do. They had kids make foam collages. Both of my girls loved it.Another aunt and uncle talked in the barn about the animals they had. The kids had fun pretending like they lived back then.Doug's grandma also talked about what it was like to grow up at that time and different things from her childhood. After all the rotations the kids went on a treasure hunt and then we had an outdoor movie complete with popcorn and rootbeer floats. It was so fun!

The next morning we got ready for the big parade. The kids had a fun time decorating and riding in the trailer. And the Gator (again).

The last entry in the parade was contestants in the Strong Man Competition that was later that day. Some of us thought that the strong man competion was kind of a joke. It definitely was not. We couldn't believe some of these guys.

There were about 5 events in the competition and the whole thing seriously lasted about 5 hours. It all took place across the street so we got to see most of it. They had to lift some pretty heavy things. It was seriously nuts. For one of them they had to see how long they could hold up these pillars. Each one weighed 1000 lbs supposedly.

After we got home we got the girls ready for a bath. The mosquitos were pretty bad down there but we didn't realize how many bites Lilly got! Her back was totally covered. We counted about a dozen bits. She also had about that many on her face and neck. My legs and ankles are covered in bites too. Somehow Doug and Sophia barely got any. Not fair! Overall, it was a fun weekend. We had a great time being together as a family. Thanks mom and dad Wilkins for all your planning and preparation! We know you put A TON of work into this and we appreciated it!