Bontrager Family Reunion

All the great-grandchildren (4th generation) at the reunion.

My cousin Jon was wearing this grass skirt for some reason and then it was decided it would look better on Hannah.

Great Aunt Mollie trying to help Hannah model for the cameras while Great Uncle Tom and Phil looked on in the background.

Hannah made lots of new friends with her 2nd cousins. This is Ginny's daughter Mikayla holding Hannah.

the first cousins
Rachel, Kaylene, Rod, Kendall, TJ, Joel, Sondra, Matt, Tanya, Phil, Jon and Ginny
(14 cousins weren't able to make this reunion)

The little cousins were checking out the deep ravine while hiding in the shade.

The paparazzi hasn't got anything on the Bontragers!

Mom's siblings and spouses
Noah and Loretta, Ruby and LaVern, Ervin and Elma, Tom and Mollie, Paul and Frieda, Dave and Ruth, Harley and Regina

Ervin and Elma's family

The Nisly clan

Harley and Regina's family

Dave and Ruthie with Stephanie, Tyrese and Joel

The boys enjoyed a paddle boat ride on the lake.

Mom and her siblings

At the beginning of July, we packed up and headed to Roach, MO to the Windermere Baptist Conference Center for the Bontrager Family Reunion. It was crazy hot and we stayed inside as much as possible. After church on Sunday, we stood outside to take a bunch of family pictures. It was great to catch up with everyone. I hadn't seen some of my cousins and aunts and uncles since we got married.

It was so hot it was hard to enjoy the camp, but Keith took the boys for a paddle boat ride on Sunday afternoon and then they spent some time in the pool. I stayed in our room in the a/c while Hannah slept and enjoyed some nice quiet time! We also walked through a cave on the camp property. It was so cool in there. Both figuratively and literally! The average temp in the cave stayed in the low 70s even when it was over 100 outside. The boys loved the cave so much we went through it again as we were leaving the camp. Sadly, I did not take any pictures of the cool cave.

Family Fun - Day 4

The next morning, Hannah was ready to join in the iPod fun with big cousin, Ben!

These children are going to need serious chiropractic care when they are older. Their poor little necks!

Cate was kind enough to share her iPod with the boys. She had some really cool apps and games they had never seen.

My little techies

Grandpa and Grammy and all the grands
(If you look closely, you can see the crazy mothers reflected in the window jumping up and down trying to get everyone to look at the camera.)

After dinner, we decided to introduce everyone to the yumminess of Orange Leaf. My parents were in town and stopped by to visit and ended up joining us for dessert. And what's not to love?! They offer around 15 flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt with self-serve toppings!

Grammy reading a bedtime story to Hannah

 Our last day together was rather leisurely. Dave had to go home a day early, so he caught a mid-morning flight. After lunch the girls went shopping at Gordman's and the boys went to All-Star Sports and played a bunch of arcade games. After we shopped, we came home and took a little rest. Well, Hannah and Cate took a nap while the rest of us relaxed. We ordered Chinese for dinner and then went to Orange Leaf for dessert. Obviously, we did not go hungry on this little vacation! Thank you so much for making the long trip to see us! We loved having you and can't wait to see you all again soon!

Family Fun - Day 3 - Andrew's Birthday

The boy is completely obsessed with Angry Birds right now, so we thought it only fitting that we get him this cake. We kept it a surprise right up until it was time to blow out the candles.

The suspense was killing him.

Trying to contain his excitement

The boys carefully supervised Daddy's cake-cutting skills making sure they got the bird they wanted.

New Legos from the Auntie, Uncle Dave, Ben and Cate.

Boulder - a Transformer Rescue Bot from Grammy and Grandpa

Angry Bird game from Grammy and Grandpa

Testing out the Angry Bird game

Reading bedtime stories with Auntie

Auntie let Hannah try out Cate's iPod. We are not happy with Auntie! Now Hannah thinks all electronics are for her.

On Friday, we split up - the boys went to Exploration Place and checked out the Star Wars exhibit while the girls went shopping. And then we had an early birthday party for Andrew that night after dinner. It was his idea to celebrate his birthday when everyone came to town and we agreed that it was a great idea too.

Day 2, Part 2, swimming fun

Cate and Uncle Dave

Andrew testing how far he could get away from the edge and still touch.

Jonathan stayed close to the steps and the pink things in his ears - ear plugs. He has tubes and we try to keep them dry.

Auntie making a giant salad for dinner.

I love this photo. It just makes me smile!

Me checking out the recipe for Baked Spaghetti, which we enjoyed that night!

A little Hot Wheels Trio fun with Uncle Dave before bed.

Grammy trying to catch a quick snuggle with Hannah.

 

After a fun morning at Tanganyika and then lunch at Freddy's. We relaxed for a little bit at the house and then got everyone ready to swim at Grammy and Grandpa's hotel. Audra and I stayed at home with a napping Hannah. She woke up about 5 minutes after they left for the pool, so we ran to Target and picked up a few things we needed for dinner.

Family Fun Day 2 - Tanganyika

The boys led the way to the Giraffes

We all got a chance to pet these very tame giraffes. Audra went first.

Uncle Dave and giraffe

Cate taking her turn.

Jonathan on his tippies to reach the giraffe's neck.

Obviously, we loved the giraffe enclosure and took lots of photos!

There were lots of new baby leopards and tigers in the Animal Nursery. So cute!

Ben checking out the giant rhino.

Next we stopped at the Rainbow Lories enclosure. They loved the little cups of nectar we bought for them. They sat on anyone who held still for a second. Even if you didn't have food.

Grandpa and his little friend.

Jonathan and Keith feeding the birds.

Hannah spent most of the day in her stroller. She was pretty happy as long as we gave her a snack bag to pass the time.

Jonathan petting a kangaroo. I wasn't brave enough to touch them after the trainer told us that earlier in the day, some kids had cornered the alpha male and he had smacked a boy on the face and neck. Apparently they don't like to be cornered or approached by too many people at one time. So, Hannah and I watched them from a safe distance!

Andrew offering a carrot treat to a little bunny.

A Colobus monkey and her baby

The boys tried to feed the Koi, but the ducks were fast and stole most of the food before the fish had a chance to get it.

I think the lemurs were our other favorite exhibit of the day. If you sat still, they would jump on you looking for food, which we gave them of course!

The lemurs loved Auntie's hair!

Jonathan feeding a lemur.

One even climbed on Ben's back.

Cousins!
Cate (10), Ben (12), Hannah (20 months), Andrew (6), and Jonathan (4)

Trying to catch them all with their eyes open and smiling was a bit of a challenge!

After a fun morning at the zoo, we needed to refuel at Freddy's!

On Thursday morning, we loaded up and went to Tanganyika Wildlife Park. We had been once before with Grammy and Grandpa last spring and really liked it, but it was right after the park opened for the season and not all the exhibits were ready for viewing. This visit was very different. Everything was open, and we saw lots of new baby animals. There was lots of animal petting and feeding. And yes, there are a ton of pictures on this post, but Dave is a very talented photographer and I had trouble leaving any photos out!

We ended the fun morning, with a yummy lunch at Freddy's, complete with frozen custard for everyone!