Knowles Family Reunion 2013 (And the 4th of July)

Over the Independence Day holiday we helped host the Knowles Family Reunion, technically it was called the "Bert and Ruth Elvin Family Reunion", because it was all of my Grandma Knowles' family AND her sister Berthene's family.  But for us, it was wonderful to be able to see all of our the family on my mom's side. It was quite a group! My mom's parents divorced when she was young and her mom got remarried when she was thirteen. It's amazing what my grandma and grandpa Knowles have been able to do together. You would never know that this is actually two families. Because it's not. It's one family, and even though we don't get to see each other often  - we love each other very much.

Not everyone was able to make it, but it was great to see those who could come: Grandma and Grandpa (Allen and Zuriel) Knowles, Cindy and Vardell Curtis and their kids/granddaughters: Trent, Tiffany, Shelby, and Sian Wintle, Niccole, Geoff, and Allyson(almost) Demke, Tyler and Chelsea Curtis. Eric Knowles and his daughter Addison, Todd and Lisa Knowles and their kids: Trevor and Elizabeth Knowles, Eliza, Abigail, Thaddeus. Todd and Pamela Brown and their kids: Ashley, Courtney, Amy, Kristin. Scott and Lori Walker and their kids/granddaughters: David, Shantel, Lydia Peaden, Kevin and Jenna Haderlie, Jacob. 

Love these guys!

(All of the grandkids.)

Lydia loved running around the park and playing in the grass (it was soft grass). She even found a dog that was there with it's owners and they let her pet him. She was in heaven. 

We headed to a church in Sandy (which looks just like the red church that I grew up attending in Ephraim) for lunch. We brought a bib, but a few strawberries after-the-fact necessitated a wardrobe change for our baby. After lunch we all just sat around and talked for a while. Lydia loved playing with her cousins (second cousins I guess). They let her play with their bouncy-balls and would run and catch them after she threw them. It was so darling and I'm grateful that they were willing to play with her even though she was so much smaller than they were.  

Sian is my cousin Tiffany's baby girl. She and Lydia are only weeks apart. It was fun to get them together.

This is the poster that I made for the family reunion. It had each of the five children with their children's families underneath. It turned out pretty nice and David especially liked having it to look at so he could remember everyone's names. We all took a break for the afternoon and then met at our house for dinner and fireworks at Thanksgiving Point. There were so many people. It made us glad for such a nice home where we could have such a large gathering. We loved it! 

It was a wonderful time. Plus, as an added bonus - my grandparents were able to stay with us for several days during the festivities. I'm grateful for such good examples of love, service, and kindness. 

Happy 4th of July and Family Reunioning!