LeFevre Reunion (and the stomach flu!)

The day after Gracie's sealing, we headed down to Las Vegas. We had a few days before my families' reunion would start in southern California so we had decided to spend a day playing at a water park in Vegas. The drive down was fine even though Mason had now caught Spencer's stomach flu. We stopped at the Cedar City temple to stretch for a bit and Mason was very amused by the crazy hats at a gas station in Beaver.

Unfortunately, the stomach flu hit Grace in the middle of the night and the boys were both still pretty low on energy. The actual symptoms only lasted about 24 hours, but it hit hard and wiped you out for several days after. We scrapped the water park for the next day and spent most of the morning resting in our room or hanging out at the pool.

The boys were feeling better by the afternoon so we decided to take them to see a few of the cool resorts on the Strip. We got crepes in The Paris and gelato in The Venetian. I didn't realize how far apart the two were and it turned out to be a lot of walking in very hot weather! The food was yummy and we saw some cool things but the atmosphere in Vegas is so yucky. Alan and I both regretted taking them there afterward. Mason was particularly bugged by it and was still talking about the yucky feeling he had while there several months later. Lesson learned. 

Grace was still feeling unwell the next day but the rest of us were ready for the water park so Alan and I took shifts. I took the boys for the morning, went back to the hotel for lunch, and then Alan took them back for several more hours. It worked out ok and I think the boys had a great time. I just took this one picture then locked my phone in a locker so I could have fun too. Mason's favorite slide was one where we raced each other while riding on mats on our stomachs. We did that one a bunch of times. 

Poor baby had trouble keeping anything down and wound up having diarrhea for over two weeks!!

Everyone was feeling mostly better by the next day and it was time to drive to CA to meet up with my family for the reunion. Grace was so happy for the chance to get out an crawl around on the grass at a park for a few minutes.

We had rented a big AirBnB in the Huntington Beach area so everyone could stay together. It was a nice house with lots of space, plenty of bathrooms, and a fun pool. All of the flooring was tile though and that wasn't great for a baby just learning to crawl. The only place we could really put Grace down was on beds and then we had to watch her super close.

Sadly, the stomach flu hit me during our first night there. I spent much of the night on the bathroom floor. It was miserable! By morning I felt a little better but totally wiped out and worried about infecting anyone else. That day was supposed to be our beach day though so I decided to come along since I could rest and stay distanced from people. 

Huntington Beach was overcast that day but the water was SO much warmer than it is in Oregon. The boys had the best time! I mostly slept in the tent and while Alan took care of Grace. I only got up to take a few pictures.

Alan came down with the stomach flu that night so I was really glad we were just planning to hang out at the house most of the next day. Some people went on a whale-watching tour, but our family had already decided to skip that activity. We played in the pool at the house and went to some parks with Michelle and Grandma instead. 

When Dad got sick that night, I knew there was going to be trouble. Eventually, 29 of the 31 of us that came to reunion got that stomach flu! Many of them came down with it in the few days after the reunion. It was terrible! I felt so bad that we helped spread it to everyone. We had tried to be careful by distancing ourselves as much as possible and by disinfecting surfaces but it didn't work. I'm still glad we went to the reunion because time with my extended family is so precious to me, but I don't know if everyone else feels the same way. :(

We all headed to Balboa Park on Saturday even though Dad still felt really terrible. We took a train ride tour of the park then rented pedal carts and had a good time riding all around and racing each other. I wished we had packed a picnic lunch so we could have stayed longer. There was a lot we didn't have time to do. 

That evening was supposed to be family picture time. I got out-voted and most people wanted to take the pictures on the beach. Eric started feeling sick right before we left and didn't come and then Huntington Beach turned out to be miserably windy. We took a picture but our hair was blowing in our faces and it was terrible. I had really wanted some nice family pictures of just our family though since these were going to be the first with Grace. Jordan and Lindsey were so kind and went to a park with us on the way back to take some shots of our family. My hair was really windblown and we were all in flipflops, but Jordan did his editing magic and they turned out great. I'll add all of those in a separate post. Dad came with us and helped with Grace.

This is the only picture I got with anyone from Amber's family. Amber, Lexi (17) and Blaze (10) joined us on the second day of the reunion. It was the first time Marc had ever brought a girl to meet the whole family so we all knew this one was serious. They were so kind and fun and it was great to have them there! Mason and Blaze especially hit it off. They are only about a month apart in age.

I'm sure this reunion will always be remembered for the stomach flu, but I am still so grateful for the time we had with everyone. Living so far away makes me really sad sometimes. This was the last reunion when everyone was still living at home. Spencer and Lexi will be graduated by the next one. Families are precious and I'm so grateful for mine! I just wish I had gotten pictures of everyone. I was a little distracted with being sick and taking care of a baby.

I didn't take a single picture of our drive back home. I'll just say that long road trips with a 7 month old who is projectile vomiting and has diarrhea are NOT fun. It is a little funny now (7 months later) though. Haha!