And Poof! A star was born...

Wow it has been a week now that we have been back from our family reunion in Coeur d'alene, and it has been a week of Lots.More.FUN!  

 I am tired.  

Pooped. 

  Exhausted.

And there is soo much I want to write about this past week, but - I can't!   Not until I finish journaling this reunion from the week before!    (Apparently my blog is as backed up as my laundry.  I have a stack of posts to share AND a monumental pile of clothes on my bedroom floor to fold.    Can you guess which project I plan on tackelling first?:)

Here's the final entry (or one of the final entries;) about the amazing Cider Mountain Resort.   If I had more time, I would share just how much I LOVED this place.   It was so kid friendly that we would have been happy never going anywhere and doing anything.   The cabin we stayed in was perfect, and the main lodge was party central pretty much all of the time.  

I loved the small opportunities I had here and there to appreciate the beautiful area we were in.    Like the morning sunrise as it peaked through the trees behind our cabin, or the clear clear skies FULL of stars at night.     A favorite moment for me actually came while careening across Hayden Lake in a motor boat that was being driven by one super happy, albeit inexperienced, driver, (cough cough...John:)   Just as I was about to tell him to slow down (like the backseat driver I am), a giant bald eagle sored over us and slowly dropped down over the lake right beside us as if it was going to grab something out of the lake.   I've never been quite so close to an eagle in flight before, and as we WHIZZED by, I forgot how fast John was going, and instead just thanked God for that moment.   It was truly beautiful!!

 Seeing as I've already journaled most of our trip- I'll just skip to the last night when we all gathered for the much anticipated "Family Talent Show."    Another reunion tradition;)

Because this resort is typically a place where musicians and singers come to write and record music- we were able to get access (on our last night there) into one of the large studios.  The owner even came and acted as the DJ for us.   The kids LOVED dancing under the disco lights!

Across from the stage, just off the dance floor, was a cozy and groovy lounge area where we all could comfortably sit and watch the kids perform.   

My nephew Caleb played his Cello which sounded awesome in that setting.   Kaden wowed us all by performing amazing Yo-Yo stunts along to music that HE made up!    His younger brother Luke (pre school age) had us all laughing as he showed off his rockin dance routine, and our nieces Kate, Maddie and Brooke introduced us to the wonderful world of clogging.  So cute!   

 And then.... there were my kids.

Let's just say - we unleashed the talent when it was our kid's turn, and John and I were just beaming with pride.    Abby- chose NOT to sing one of the numbers her Jr. Choir sang this past year like I thought she was going to, and instead pulled out her sock...horse/thingy that she sewed during the most recent sessions of General Conference.    Remember that?

And Sam?   

Well...Sam donned his black wig, brown jacket and glasses and danced (and I use the word "Dance" lightly) to his favorite song ever:    CELLO WARS!    

Yup this little costume of Sam's was quite the issue as we were preparing for the trip.  So many times I pulled it OUT of his luggage, hiding it back in the crawlspace, and so many times he went and found it- making sure we did NOT leave without it.   Sigh, this is what he must wear when he performs ok? Who am I to stand in his way?  

All I can say is next reunion...our family is going to show up with some real talent.  

I promise;)

Ur...well...at least I hope;)

Here is a short clip from that night that John made.
 It sure was a lot of fun, when lots of memories were made!