Every year for Memorial Day weekend we have The Bundy Family Reunion, which is my mom's brothers and sisters. We love it and look forward to it every year. Its always held at a place we call the Ranch, Mt. Trumbull, AZ. This is definitely the longest post I've done, but its only long because I took tons of pictures. It was Eve's and Adi's first time camping, and the LOVED it. They adore being outside so this was 5 days of heaven for them. We spent the night at my parents house so we could ride out with them early Thursday morning. Its a 4 hour drive down to Hurricane and then another 2 hours into the mountains of the Arizona Strip. Yes, a very long trip, but very worth it once we get there.
Our first morning out there. Of course the girls were up with sun so we just stuck them in bed with us to try and catch a little more sleep. Adia snuggled up with her Daddy.
You never really know for certain what kind of weather you're in for out there, so you kind of have to pack a little of everything. Being so prepared, I didn't bring the girls any sort of jacket or sweater. In my defense, its summer, and its hard to find small sized sweaters this time of year. But Chavonne, or should I say Misty had a couple extras, so she was nice enough to share with her cousins. Eve in Misty's sweater, hanging out with Daddy.
We decided since they were both getting around so much they wouldn't be too fond of being held the whole weekend so we packed up the Jumperoo and boy was it a great idea. Adia of course showing of her sober side for the camera, like always.
As I mentioned, Chavonne, Ross, and their two kids, Wyatt and Misty came out as well. This is Neil's rendition of a stunt Ross does with his kids all the time. Only Ross holds them by their feet. I appreciate that Neil realizes how nervous it makes me.
Ready for breakfast. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us ride out with you guys. We definitely would not have made it out this year with out you. Come to think of it we would not have made it the past 4 years with out you. Thank you!
My Dad and Ross conjured up a little area that was out of the wind in the table area, so we could still play games. There was space on the ground so we laid out a sleeping bag for the Eve and Adi to play on. Yes, that's Eve with her face covered with her favorite tabby blankie, if you look close you can see her little foot poking up between Neil's legs. One of my favorite things about this trip every year is that there is plenty to do, but you don't have to do a thing if you don't want to. Its all about relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
One tradition we have is the races. You never want to miss those because you're always sure to get a good laugh out of it. They start with the youngest group of kids, which is always cute, and proceed up to the oldest group of kids (like my Mom and her sisters, and then my Dad and uncles). Thats where we all get a good laugh at seeing how competitive they all are.
After the races are the games. Mostly for the little kids but in the picture above my little sister Corinne is taking on Uncle Newman (one of my Mom's brothers) in this silly game, I have no idea what the name of it is, or even if it has a name. Needless to say it was quite hilarious.
For the past few weeks Neil has been growing out his beard. Here Evelyn is rubbing it with her fingers. They love to feel Daddy's beard.
Most of my aunts and uncles have or are working on building these little one room cabins. There is however one large cabin with one big room downstairs and 3 or 4 bedrooms upstairs. It belongs to the family so whoever gets there first can stay there if they want. Anyway, this is Adia on the floor of my parent's cabin. As you can see Adia is getting so close to crawling all she really needs to do now is get the coordination down. Eve is about as close as Adia is.
We always take a trip to the Mt. Trumbull Cemetery. My mom next to her first husband Mike Penman, who was killed in a hunting accident a few months after they were married.
My Aunt Judy next to my Mom's oldest brother James LaVoy Bundy. He got some rare disease, I can't ever remember the name of it. The doctors didn't know how to treat it. He passed away at age 52.
Just 6 weeks after my Grandma had their first child, my Grandpa left to serve in World War II.
My Grandma and Grandpa Bundy. I never knew my Grandma Bundy, but being up there this past reunion I felt I got to know her a little more.
My great Grandma Chloe and great Grandpa James Bundy
My great Grandma Chloe's parents, Mariah and Newman VanLeuven. My great great Grandparents.
My great Grandpa James' parents, Ella and Abraham Bundy. My great great grandparents, Arizona Strip pioneers.
My Mom, Dad, Chavonne, Sienna, and Daisie at the cemetery.
On our way back to camp. Daisie and her three kids Houston, Peyton, and Sienna were also able to go to the Ranch. It was so great to see them, it had been a while.
Sienna being silly. She is such a cutie.
I love this view, it never fails to take my breath away. If you look close enough you can see the lane by the School House, I wish the picture was bigger cause then you might be able see the actual school house. My mom and all her brothers and sisters went to school until, I think 6th grade, and then they had to go to school in St. George.
Caught in the act! Adia look like she really is picking on Evelyn in this picture.
Our last day out there my Dad decided they needed to take a ride, just the guys. My Dad with Peyton behind him, Neil and Houston, and Wyatt riding in front of Ross. They were only supposed to be gone 2-3 hours it turned into 8.
One thing that was kinda rough was nap time. Tents aren't exactly sound proof. So when they both fell asleep in the little play corner holding their bottles I thought it was pretty cute.
We took the pack 'n' play for the girls to sleep in. It didn't have all these blankets in there the whole time, I was just cleaning up the tent so it could be packed up and threw all the blankets in there. I just set Eve in there so she could watch me pack and the next thing I know she's snoozing. I thought it was pretty stinkin' cute.
I was so grateful to be able to make it out there this year. For a lot of the family it was their first time meeting Eve and Adi. I have really come to appreciate what an amazing family history I have and going out there always makes me that much more proud of my heritage. We have such an exciting summer ahead of us, I can hardly wait. But to me the summer just isn't complete without a trip to the Ranch to get it going.
