July Part II: Celebrating on

After we said goodbye to our England side, our family headed south to West Mountain, to began the Reunion Tour part II: the Sainsbury Reunion.

 One of the things I'd really wanted to do while in Utah was say hello to a few friends.  So one morning I met with some high school friends at Payson Park.  It was so fun to see everyone, and kind of surreal to think that more than ten years have passed by since we all went our separate ways. I hope I can do this every year I come home.

 Mckay and Logan loved spending time with their cousins.  The older they get, the more they remember and value these family ties they have with one another.  I think that a trampoline is such a great place for family bonding.

One morning some of us were able to go to the temple, thanks to Grandma Sainsbury volunteering to watch our kids!  Now that we have three kids and live about 40 minutes from a temple, Chase and I value these opportunities so much.  I loved being able to go with my family as well, it made it even more special.

We went to Seven Peaks one fun afternoon.  I wasn't sure how much my kids would be into the water slides, Lazy River, etc., but I needn't have worried.  This place is a kid paradise.  Mckay was super into the water slides, and Logan and Claire found their own version of Splash Pad Nirvana.  

Family pictures again!  Since Chase and I had done our own family portrait in June, and did another session less than a week earlier, we opted out of taking our individual family shots.  But it wouldn't be a true Sainsbury picture without a picture of all of us on the fence.  This family is grown so much!

One day Chase and I took the kids to the Bean Museum.  We met Grandma England, Cole, Courtney,, Garrex, and Jax there.  I didn't know they'd been remodeling the Bean Museum, so I was very pleasantly surprised at what we found there.

 One hot summer day we were surprised with a typical summer rainstorm.  The kids, of course, were all about using umbrellas at a time like this.  They got soaking wet, so I think the umbrellas were more for fun than function.

Family reunions with lots of kids are fun, but I am a huge fan of a girl's shopping trip.  I love the chance to talk with my sisters and sisters-in-law, and loved that Talia is now one of the big girls and gets to come with us!  I had a lot of fun with my Mom, Rachel, Jaime, Julie, Courtney, Marissa, and Talia.  With their help, I got some cute clothes and good conversation, which equals an awesome afternoon.  Love these ladies!

On the last day of our family reunion, I had my birthday!  To celebrate, my mom and dad threw a party not only for me, but for everyone.  Since all but one of their grandchildren live out of state, this was their way of celebrating everyone's birthday at once.  We did sack races, the water balloon toss, and other fun games.  It was such a great birthday party, and a perfect way to end the reunion.

We left Utah full of fun memories and experiences.  It was so great being able to spend time with family and friends, we felt truly blessed as we drove home.