Summer Vacation: R Lester McCleve Family Reunion

We 'got up at night' and began our 13 day, 2280 mile vacation. We got the boys up at 4 am when we drove to Arizona for Christmas last year and they both went back to sleep for a couple of hours. We thought we'd get a head start on the day and do the same thing this summer. However, we forgot that it gets lighter much earlier in July than it did in December and no one went back to sleep for the rest of the day. Yep, it was an adventure! McKay was so excited, he has been counting down the days to go to 'Nanna & Papas house' since his birthday. When I put him in his car seat he opened his eyes long enough (he knew he was supposed to go back to sleep) to give me an 'I'm so excited' look. Life is one big adventure when you are 4 years old and I love being a part of it!

We stopped in Yuma Arizona, about 2 1/2 hours from our home to get the boys dressed and try out Subway's Sunrise Melt sandwich, which is delicious. Then we stopped in Phoenix at Costco to fill up on gas and purchase a few things. I must say it sure is nice being only 9 hours from my parents house instead of the almost 14 we were in NorCal! We got to Snowflake and after saying 'hello' put a very tired Maxwell to bed! McKay went right to work picking up the nails Grandpa had left for him by the new shed.

After dinner, some cousins came over and we had fun with fireworks my Mom had purchased. Fireworks were always illegal in Arizona when I was growing up but I guess since they had had so much rain they allowed some for the holidays. Max loved saying 'pop pop pop' as each one went off.

Thursday after Max took his second nap we headed up to the reunion in Show Low Arizona. We camped at Owens Pond.

The 'original' 10 children of Lester & Ella McCleve. The sisters are almost in birth order starting at the back w/ Aunt Sheila, Kathie, Nora, Marilyn, Connie in the front, Sharon, Sherlene & Nancy. Nancy is actually older than Sherlene but that wouldn't have worked for the picture. :) Then Uncle John (the baby) is on the left and my Dad Verl is on the right. Eight girls and two boys, in that order.

Oh how I wish I had had my video camera handy when they were taking this picture. Uncle Jim Maner was not happy with how long it was taking them and kept scolding them for looking around, talking, and laughing, Dad & Uncle John were teasing Aunt Sherlene, etc. It was (and always is) very entertaining to watch.

Add 9 of 10 spouses and this time they are in birth order. :)

Maxwell loved throwing rocks. This kid is so coordinated it seems like everything comes fairly easy to him.

Some of the lights were unplugged and we didn't have a ladder or a way to turn them on so Uncle Jim backed his truck up and my brother Chris plugged in the light while standing on a table Justin, Lon & Jimmie held up. It looks like Uncle Fred may be holding the table up too... either that or just supervising. :)

We were all tired so we decided to make it an early night (bed at 9 pm), hoping that we'd get a good sleep and then stay up the next night to play games. Well, Max had a really hard time falling asleep in the van with me. After a couple of hours of trying all sorts of things, I strapped him in his car seat. He finally went to sleep until about 3:30 am when he was NOT HAPPY to be in his cars eat. This time though he went back to sleep next to me until about 6 am. Jordan and McKay fared a little better in the tent, though McKay was confused as to why Jordan was moving around so much when it was 'time to go to sleep'. They were both on the same air mattress. Poor McKay, I know how that is. Jordan is a fidgeter!

First thing in the morning we ate a few cereal bars and then Jordan and McKay did a little fishing. McKay couldn't figure out why the fish weren't coming! It took too long to get set up and the sun broke through the clouds and it got hot so they decided that maybe they would try again later.

The horses we shared the campsite with.

Each family had their own bandannas. Max wasn't very good at keeping his hat on but he kept his bandanna on and managed to not get his head sunburned. Plus he looked cute. :)

They had beads and glitter glue and all sorts of things to decorate the bandannas with. Nanna Anna helped McKay with his. She also made him a duck-tape wallet, which he thinks is pretty cool.

Uncle Jim was (partly) anxious about the pictures taking so long because it was almost time for the horseshoe tournament to start! Jordan and I actually did pretty well this year and were eliminated by the team who won the championship, Lisa and Kyle Gray. One game I even got a double ringer. It was pretty sweet.

It was great to be able to participate and not have to worry about the boys.

With 3 pits going at a time there were a couple times when everyone in my family was playing, so Max got to sit with someone else. Here he is sitting with Tyler Egbert, my cousins son.

Jordan and I were playing horseshoes when it was time for the treasure hunt, so Mom & Chris took the boys. They had just been eliminated from the tournament... by Jordan & I. :)

A bunch of cute cousins with their treasure chest.

We weren't able to attend the reunion the last year they did shirts so we wore the shirts from this years Cardon reunion, one we also weren't able to attend. :( The Cardon reunion was held over the 4th of July weekend and this year marks my grandparent's 60th anniversary so the shirts say 'United We Stand 60 years' The W & S are white for Wayne and Sharlene.

It sure helps having people behind the camera making the boys smile!

My immediate family. We are just missing Melinda in Tennessee and Dustin in Peru.

David, Maria, Christopher, Chantelle, Anna, Verl

Mom was in charge of the fishpond this year and I think she enjoyed having grandchildren there to participate. Here my brother Chris is helping McKay.

McKay's gift.

Grandma McCleve started the fishpond and did that at the reunion in place of giving the grandchildren birthday and Christmas gifts since there were too many grandchildren to keep up with. We got to go fishing twice until we were 12. Then she would help with missions and weddings. We always looked forward to the fishpond.

Maxwell's turn to fish!

He is really loving books right now and didn't take long to discover that there were balloons in his book!

McKay enjoyed swinging on the swings, even after he fell off a couple of times. He also enjoyed climbing on some big boulders near the pavilion. He was very outgoing and was constantly introducing himself to all the kids.

Mom & I took McKay for his first canoe ride. He enjoyed using his own oar.

We went just in time too because shortly after that it rained. It poured! Jordan had gone to Wal-Mart to get something and let Max take a nap and got stuck in the store during the downpour. Max saw some strawberries and said 'strawberries, please?' so clearly Jordan knew exactly what he was saying and bought some. He finally had to just make a run for the van since the rain was not letting up.

I love the monsoons. It rains nearly every afternoon. Several got water in their tents and a gust of wind blew our tent over. Fortunately, it blew over BEFORE the rain came so we were able to get it secured again so our tent stayed relatively dry.

This little video I took of the rain doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea. We took advantage of the storm and played a few games.

After the rain comes the rainbow!

When the sign-ups for the talent show came around, I asked McKay if he would recite an article of faith. He said yes but when it was his turn, he changed his mind. Later I asked him what would make him change his mind and he said if he had a chair to sit on then he would do it. So we got him a chair and he recited Article of Faith #3 for almost 100 people. He enjoyed it so he also did Article of Faith #5 in his sweet little voice. As they were clapping, we walked back to our seats and McKay said 'I can do #4 too!'. :)

Jordan volunteered to take Max home to my parents to sleep and since McKay wanted to sleep in the tent, I stayed with him. After he went to sleep I enjoyed playing games.

Saturday morning was the traditional breakfast the men cook and the women clean up. While we waited, we played a few games. It was so nice to see some cousins I haven't seen for a while and get to catch up. Then we had the auction and broke camp before the downpour so that was great!

McKay playing with my cousin Michael Beck and his son Timothy.

Maxwell doing his part to clean the pavilion.

Uncle Chris pushing the kids on the swings. What a cool uncle. They are lucky. I pushed them a few times and didn't last very long!

Saturday night all the adults went out to eat at La Cocina de Eva. I ordered based on a recommendation from my cousin Eric Beck who loved what he got last year and it was so good! I have a new favorite! I wish I could remember what it was called. It was a green pepper stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese, breaded and deep fried (though it didn't taste like it) with a delicious sauce on it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Chantelle was an angel and got off work early so she could watch the boys for Jordan & I while we went to eat.

After dinner some cousins came over and we played games. It was so much fun. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. We played the sign game for a couple of hours and then " I have" and "I have never". I was the first one out of 'I have never' and won 'I have' . Go figure. In the picture above we are each doing our sign. Seriously, so fun. Jordan wasn't feeling well so he didn't get to play. :(

Sunday afternoon we played games and did laundry while Maxwell was asleep and then re-packed the van to leave early in the morning. We got up at 4 am and both boys went back to sleep this time. We stopped in American Fork and I got to visit with Steve & Matt at King and McCleary (the firm I still do taxes for) and since it was still early in the day, we drove the rest of the way to Preston, making the total time over 16 hours. We got our Cafe Rio fix and as soon as we got to Grandpa and Grandma Moser's house, McKay and Grandpa went to see the animals.

I wish we had more time to spend in Arizona! It went way too fast!

Swimming Lessons

This year we signed McKay up for swimming lessons at the high school about 1/2 mile from our home. I didn't know about them until they had already started so he missed the first two days of the first 8 day session. I watched him improve each day so we signed him up for another session even though he would miss the last 3 days for our vacation. It was well worth the extra 5 lessons though because his confidence and skills improved immensely. And he loved swimming lessons!

The first 'challenge' I gave him was to go under the water with the other kids in the shallow end when they did ring-around-the rosies and motor boat. He said he would and he did! I told him I would be watching and that if he looked at me afterward I would give him a thumbs up. My friend took this picture on her phone. I was pretty proud of him!

The goggles helped him a lot since he really doesn't like getting water in his eyes. It has made Jordan and I want goggles too. They look fun...

Maxwell was my little buddy watching McKay each week. The parents watch from outside the fence until the last day of the lessons and there is no shade or place to sit. SO each week I brought my huge umbrella and a chair along with my bag of 'tricks' to keep Maxwell entertained. The two days Jordan was able to come he wondered how I did it all by myself every day. I let McKay carry his own towel. :)

A couple of days I even brought Max his own chair. He loved it.

Along with eating his snacks Max entertained himself by copying sounds the other kids were making, such as coughing.
I love his little crossed ankles. :)

The last day of lessons they let the parents come over next to the pool to get better pictures, etc. I wanted a progress report after his second session so I told them we would be leaving early and they let me be over next to the pool for his last lesson. Jordan was able to get off work early that day so he sat outside with Maxwell so I was able to take pictures and video of the whole thing. His teacher was kind enough to say 'now it's McKay's turn' giving me enough time to get the video camera started.

Wake up!

McKay on his last day of swimming lessons... freezing while I take his picture. :)

I took video his second to last day when there were only 3 instead of 5 children in his class. They got to do a lot of extra things. It was great.

Next year maybe we'll get to do at least one complete session!

Happy Birthday McKay!

We started celebrating McKay's birthday by going to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park the day before (Saturday). It is very different from the zoo but we really enjoyed it. Here Maxwell is pointing to animals just like Daddy.

We went on the African Safari Tram which takes you on a 25 minute tour of the park and allows you to see animals you can't otherwise see due to the way the park is set up. The exhibits are set up the way the natural habitats of the animals are. We wanted to see the cheetah run (click on the link and you'll have a better view than we did!) at 5 pm so we waited until a little later in the day to go to the park. Maxwell slept about 20 minutes the entire day so he was on the move the.entire.time!

McKay was so excited to go on the ride and see more 'amimals'!

Our tour guide was very entertaining. Flamingos!

It was very interesting to see the different terrain based on what habitat the animals needed. We learned that Grevy's Zebras have to be alone because they are mean to other animals. They bite & kick!

Looks like Africa doesn't it?!

Lions napping in the sun.

We went to a show where some acrobats from Africa performed for us. This guy doing the limbo has knives pointing down and nails pointing up from the ground. They were incredible!

This guy is doing a hand stand on 4 chairs placed on 4 glasses, arranged on the coffee table. He did all sorts of tricks getting to this point, one chair at a a time.

When Jordan went to park the stroller before the show, he looked at the elephants that were nearby and then started coming to join us. Small problem: he forgot to get Maxwell out of the stroller! He was a bit confused at my waving arms until he remembered. Max was patiently waiting in the stroller, looking back to see where everybody was!

Wow, they were impressive!

They offered to let people take pictures with them. I had to bribe McKay to sit with me for the picture and Max strongly objected when one of them tried to hold him for the picture. As you can see, he isn't too sure about that stuff hanging in front of the acrobats face!

Max thought it was so fun going down the steps with Jordan. He hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet so he just steps off the step rather than stepping down.

The elephants were my favorite. You can see them on a web cam here. There are several baby elephants at the safari park.

The boys had fun looking at the elephants too. McKay loves that he is big enough to climb up on the fence by himself!

McKay's birthday was on a Sunday this year. Here he is having his favorite cold cereal, Lucky Charms, for breakfast. It was a real treat because we haven't had Lucky Charms for quite a while. What a lucky boy!

McKay got to open his presents before church at 11 am. Maxwell couldn't understand why he didn't get to open any this time but kept himself busy by pulling the wrapping paper McKay had put in the trash bag OUT and attempting to reach gifts McKay hadn't opened yet.
McKay loved opening his presents and was excited to see what was in each one.

McKay was happy to be sung to in Primary and was very excited to get a special red scripture marking pencil.

After church, McKay talked with Nanna, Papa & Chantelle on the web cam and one-by-one showed them each gift he had received. Jordan had taken his gifts to McKay's bedroom so he had to make several trips back to the computer.

We invited some friends from our ward over to have cake and ice cream for McKay's birthday. McKay and Melody Jacobson have become good little friends so it was like a birthday party for him playing with Melody. They enjoyed the toys and all the balloons we had blown up. Maxwell is about 6 months younger than Violet but they still play around each other. The great part about it is that they have awesome parents too so it was a lot of fun.

McKay wanted a Toy Story cake so I did Andy's bedroom. Jordan frosted the 'wood floor'. I warned him he better not do too good of a job or he'd be the official birthday-cake-maker. :) It turned out great and McKay loved it!

Jordan carefully put the candles in the bed, we sang happy birthday and McKay blew them out. That is when I noticed he'd only put two candles in the cake! OOpS! So McKay got to blow candles out again with four the second time!

Happy Happy birthday to my big 4 year old boy!

We finished the night off with a movie night. We watched Wall-E, a movie McKay got for his birthday. It was a fun day.

The following Tuesday at McKay's swimming lesson I heard him telling them that he will be 5 on his next birthday! Let the countdown begin!