The Annual Cowell Family Reunion was held this past Saturday. It’s always fun to connect with family and what better way to do that than with a good old fashioned barbeque? Good food is what I remember most about all of our Cowell Family gatherings growing up…now I understand that it’s the good people that I love that keeps me coming back. I. LOVE. MY. FAMILY!
I’m grateful to those family members who began this annual get together years ago - they understood the importance of family. We are the posterity of Loyd & Naomi Cowell (my mom's parents)…
Uncle Charlie (my g'pa's brother) has always been a family favorite & was a driving force in keeping our family gatherings going. I miss you, Uncle Charlie…You were such a ROCK to all of us. Your booming voice & tender prayers are anchored in my heart forever.
Here's an old school pic of the Cowell family (minus Auntie Joyce who passed away in 1960, she was only 17)… Tom (1937-1987), Shirley, Glenda (my mom), Granny (1911-2001), Al, Roger, G'pa (1908-1981).
Fast forward to now…our guests of honor, the Cowell Siblings…
Great food is an important part of our traditions…
Can’t resist a photo shoot to document who attended this year…Uncle Al’s family…
My family…
Auntie Shirley’s family…
Uncle Roger’s family (including Sandy’s parents)…
We missed Uncle Tom's family this year...hopefully they can make it next year...we'll keep this sign so Joy can find us.
(One year my cousin Joy joined the wrong family reunion. It took her a few minutes before she realized she didn't know anyone & was at the wrong party.)
Since so many of the family joined us on our Grand Canyon Adventure we wanted to continue the fun with a Wet n Wild theme for our official 2011 family reunion. Jill designed the logo for our T-shirts…
Although from my previous post you can see that we’ve already had tons of fun just hanging out, we did plan a few days of some organized activities.
Day One –
We spent the morning tie-dying those t-shirts. It was quite a project to tie-dye 44 shirts!
While waiting for their turn to tie-dye shirts, I taught the boys a simplified Haka & the girls learned a simplified Hukilau that they would perform the next night at our “luau.”
I was relieved that the boys really got into it & seemed to enjoy it…
G’ma & G’pa Middleton showed up for lunch to say “hello” to everyone. G’ma Jeanne is so good to go around & chat briefly with everyone & try to “catch up” with each individual.
G’pa Fudge on the other hand was having more fun trying to steal the kids’ lunches. He has a way of making them all laugh – they love his silliness.
After lunch we headed to the Folsom Aquatic Center for some Wet n Wild waterpark fun!
We even had little a fun with my waterproof camera…
We finished the evening with pizza at Rochelle’s new place (which is conveniently located near the aquatic center), but we were all pretty pooped from the long day & I don’t think anyone took any pictures at dinner!
Day Two –
It would be silly to come to the Riverhouse without getting on the River, so we got the little ones all geared up for a riverfloat. I can’t tell if they had more fun jumping on the boats in the garage or floating in the boats on the River. I was bummed that my water camera wasn’t working (I’ve since gotten it fixed) because I missed some great shots of all the fun on the River that day…so these will have to do…
That afternoon we let the kids ride bikes & play while we got ready for the barbeque. They have tons of fun around our house exploring & playing with their cousins. The big kids love riding the ATV on the course Paul built complete with the “jumps!” And who knew the tireswing would be such a hit this year? Paul was busy at the smoker & the grill getting ready for the “luau.” It was more of a southern barbeque than a Hawaiian luau, but it was delicious nonetheless!
After dinner we had our performance of the Haka & the Hula. The boys were AWESOME! Trevor & Ethan were great leaders & the boys really got into it!
And of course our little hula girls were ADORABLE! They loved shakin’ their little hula hips in their grass skirts…
Let the GAMES BEGIN! We played some Wet n Wild watergames…
Water Balloon Toss is always a favorite with the littles…
Water Relays with a sponge – soak the sponge with water on one end then run to the other end & squeeze it out, the team with the most water wins…
Variation – soak the sponge with water on one end then pass it overhead to the opposite end & squeeze it out, the first team wins & the team with the most water wins & everyone gets dribbled on…
Dribble, Dribble, Drench (aka Duck, Duck, Goose) – dribble the wet sponge over the heads of those sitting in the circle & drench the person you choose to chase you back to your spot by squeezing the water out on their head. I didn't get any pictures of this activity, but Cindi took this video...
The littles weren’t quite up for the Dribble, Dribble, Drench game so they just played Duck, Duck, Goose without the sponge. :)
Slip n Slide Baseball – hit the ball from the T-ball stand, run the bases & slip n slide into home!
Tug O War - pull the other team through the water hose…
…even the Big Kids tried this one…
Rooting for our favorites...
We ended our busy day with a little birthday celebration for Lexi who turned two the next day.
Day Three –
It was a challenge to get everyone together for a family photo, but everyone was a good sport about our 7:30am photo shoot. We didn’t get all the spouses, but we have all the siblings & their children. I was happy with the wild n crazy tie-dyed shirts...
Paul & I with all 23 grandchildren. Admit it…it wouldn’t be near as fun if there weren’t a few kids crying or not looking at the camera, would it?
Then there are these gems that we treasure…
…who truly love each other & know how to have a good time.
As we said goodbye to those who had to head home, some of the big kids took advantage of the white water for one last run...
We enjoyed hanging out & unwinding...we made snowcones…
& birthday bubbles...
& lots of memories to try & hold us over until next year…
“It is important for us … to cultivate in our own family a sense that we belong together eternally, that whatever changes outside our home, there are fundamental aspects of our relationship which will never change. We ought to encourage our children to know their relatives. We need to talk of them, make effort to correspond with them, visit them, join family organizations, etc.” -Pres. Spencer W. Kimball
