Addison's First Family Vacation

Horseshoes was probably everyone's favorite activity during the reunion. Here are Stetson and Uncle Lomand, our horshoe champions. (Dad and I came in second)

Who are these two crazy kids? Looks like Quenton and Kimber are trying to figure out how they are related.

This is during the championship game. I'm waiting nervously while Stetson takes his turn.

How many Beals relatives does it take to determine a point? Five apparently.

Dad got roped into being my partner (I let him know after I already signed him up to play- no one wanted to be my partner!). It did pay off for both of us though when we got second. Dad also took everyone four wheeling and shooting guns. I didn't ride four wheelers, but I did go shoot guns for the first time in my life. I did the very worst at shooting, which I think is completely fine with Steve. Who wants a wife with a really good shot?

Here is bug-eyed Addison at Great Grandma Beals house. She had a wonderful time getting all that attention during the whole reunion. Everyone wanted to hold her and everyone kept talking about how much hair she has! We are really proud of our beautiful, angel baby.

We had a LOT of firsts last week with the Beals reunion. Addison and I flew down by ourselves to Phoenix, Arizona to see Grandma Beals before the reunion started. (We decided to fly down early so we could see Grandma since she wasn't coming to the reunion)

Addison did really well with the flight. It was much easier getting through the airport and getting on the plane than I expected it to be. I think part of the reason it was easier was because I had talked to Jen before we left to get all her tips for flying alone with a baby. During the flight, Addison was really good. She ate on takeoff and landing, she slept on the plane, and we talked some. I was just really glad she didn't disturb other passengers.

It was really good seeing Grandma Beals and Aunt Cara before the reunion started. Dallin and Kimber were there and it was nice to have time to spend with them too. I kept telling Addison, "we're going to see Grandma Beals," but then later I realized "No, we're going to see Great Grandma Beals." Grandma Beals loved holding Addison and talking to her. Aunt Cara and Aunt Janice also loved getting to see her and hold her.

Addison did have some trouble with sleeping on the first part of our trip. The night before we left for Arizona, Addison was fussy all night and I barely got any sleep. The next night, I tried to lay her in a pack n' play at Grandma's house to sleep in, but she wasn't having it. She was up every twenty minutes all night long. I thought I was going to die the next day!

On Thursday, we drove to Hannagan Meadows (about 5 hours away from Phoenix). Again, Addison was a great traveler. I got very good very quickly at changing her on my lap. I was really happy that at the last minute Steve was able to come to the reunion. He was needing to stay home because of school, but he was able to work it out so he could drive down with my parents, Jen, Makenna, and Brynlee. I also finally figured out how to get Addison to sleep better in the pack n' play by making it feel more cozy and by playing some soft classical music for her.

We had a wonderful time. It was great seeing family members- many of them that I haven't seen in many years. I spent the first day trying to figure out what kids belonged to who because all of them had grown up so much I didn't recognize them anymore! We got to talk to everyone, play horseshoes, shoot dad's guns at targets, ride four wheelers, and make jewelry with Aunt Leslie.

My mom was in charge of the reunion and she was a funny character. Every five seconds she was on the microphone letting everyone know that their was plenty of food for everyone to eat. I really don't think my mom and a microphone is a good idea! We had some wonderful memories there. I loved that one morning I heard Addison starting to wake up. I opened up my eyes and saw Dallin standing in the doorway holding Addison. I told him "I can get her Dallin," but he said "No, I've got her." Dallin took care of her for me while I got an extra hour of sleep. Thanks Dallin! What a great uncle!

Steve taught me how to play horseshoes on the morning of the last day. I had a little trouble picking it up but after a couple of games I was getting alright at it. That evening, everyone had so much fun playing horseshoes that they decided to have a tournament. I tried to get Steve to get my partner, but he didn't want to be my partner!!! So, I got my dad to be my partner. We had a great time in the tournament. In our first game, it took like 45 minutes, but we beat John and Gretchen Noble. Our next game was against Rhett and J.R. and we beat them 13-0! They were pretty shocked. In the championship game it was close, but dad and I lost to Lomand and Stetson. Not bad after one day of playing the game!

The drive home was pretty succesful. I thought that Addison, Brynlee, and Makenna were a LOT better behaved than I thought they would be. Overall, I had been extremely anxious about the trip, but I am SOOOO glad that we went. I am also REALLY glad Steve was able to come too.