Everyone arrived on Wednesday, July 3rd so the first full day of the reunion was the 4th! We went to Middleton's parade and sat in the "wet zone." All of the floats at the end of the parade come armed with water guns, water balloons, and/or hoses and completely soak the crowd! Most of the parade-goers also come armed with water fighting tools so it turns into a giant several block long water fight. I just came armed with an umbrella and managed to stay mostly dry. It was super fun and such a great way to celebrate! It was a hot day so we all went back to Geoff's air-conditioned house for the afternoon. The kids had lots of time to play games and the adults had lots of time to visit. In the evening, we drove to a big sports field to watch Middleton's fireworks. It was a super impressive show for a small town. I wish I had timed it because it must have been at least 30 minutes long. It seemed extra long for me because I had a migraine and my headed throbbed with every explosion. Plus Mason was scared and crying for a lot of the show. I usually really enjoy fireworks and would normally have loved this show if it weren't for that.
On Friday, we started out with some family pictures and then drove to some hot springs in the mountains. I had never been to a hot spring before so that was a new, fun experience. The spring water was really hot, so it felt good to sit close to where the springs emptied into the cold river. The mix of the hot and cold water was about perfect. The hike down to the springs was tricky for Mason though and Alan had to take him back out to use the bathroom after only being down there for a few minutes.
After the springs, we drove to a park in a small town for dinner and games. It was super hot that afternoon/evening so we were appreciative of the large, covered ramada. That evening we attended a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at the outdoor Starlight Theater. It was a fun show even though Mason was pretty tired and grumpy and we happened to go on a night when an alumni cast was performing so there were no costumes. It was a long drive back to Geoff's after the show and we were all exhausted by the time we finally made it back to Middleton around 11 pm, I think.
Saturday began with the traditional Rasmussen family race. Alan decided to do a track meet this year since he had been timing so many of those. There were some sprint and distance races as well as some frisbee and football throwing events. Eric told me his goal was to beat me in the 1500 so my goal became beating him. I did it, barely! The heat and lack of shade made the event less fun though.
We spent the rest of Saturday just playing at Geoff's house. A few people went to the temple and I really wanted to go, but I had been fighting migraines for most of the reunion and decided it would be best for me to stay at the house and rest. Resting was good, but I still got another migraine. :(
Some people had to leave on Sunday, but we decided to stay until Tuesday morning since Caralee was staying that long too. We took the kids to a fun jump place on Monday and they had a great time.
Besides my migraines (which were terrible and caused us to bail on staying with my friend Christina at her parent's cabin in WA!), it was a really great reunion. Geoff and Tanya were wonderful and it was so nice to visit and catch up with everyone. I've said this before, but I seriously lucked out in the in-law department! They are all awesome and I so wish we got to see each other more often.
Most of these pictures are mine, but I took some from our shared google photo folder.
