Jones Family Reunion 2011

This last weekend we made the trek to Almo, ID for the Ruben Jones Family Reunion. I had never been part of any family reunion growing up, and was excited to finally be a part of one. We loaded up mom & dad's Ford Focus with all four adults, and our four furry friends. It took a while to get everything to fit, get gas in the car, and coke's for us all. And while I did throw out my lower back right before we loaded up, the ride up wasn't that long or rough. When we showed up I was blown away by the amount of people hanging out. Now mind you I didn't meet everyone, or even get peoples names. Just being in the same area and knowing we are family was all I needed. We got everything unloaded, and set up the tents, blew up our air mattresses and organized our tents. Our three little furry friends ended up sleeping in their own tent. We then headed over for dinner, and enjoyed hanging out. It was so much fun to see everything going on. After dinner Dad got up and sang his heart out, what an amazing voice. While listening our 3 dogs were very needy. The cutest little boy named Toby, came over and kept petting them saying "soft, soft." It was the cutest thing every, and then he would point to the picture on my shirt and say "you, you." It made me miss our kids even more.
We then headed to bed, sleeping next to our nephews and Karla. And I swear there were seals in the field next to us. Woke up in the morning, headed to breakfast, and then got ready for the family softball game. They divide the teams into Old VS. Young. Randy was just at the cut off, and played on the old team, I would have been on the young team, but my back was just not gonna let me do that. So I played in spirit, sitting with mom, cheering for Randy and watching them lose. I was warned that the young people never win, but this year they DID!!! After a killer lunch, they started the auction, Mom, Randy & me decided to head to the City of Rocks, it was amazing. Hearing all the stories, and the family history was fantastic. I can't wait til next year when I will be more prepared, and I am thinking we will make it a longer weekend. I have never been to Lava Hot Springs, and we may just have to stop there after! It is funny how loved and welcome you can feel in such a large group of people. And next year I am determiend to get a group picture!!!

Also when we got home Saturday night, our little buggie who has been spending time with her mom the last week missed us so much we got a surprise visit with her. Funny how even after a week apart it felt like she had grown so much. Can't wait for school to start and for this year to be the best yet for us all!!!