4th of July Weekend/ Andersen Reunion

We got back Saturday from Lake Powell and started unpacking and getting laundry done. That night we went with Devin and Sarah to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We found a great spot at the soccer field at BYU. They even have benches with backs on them. When we thought the fireworks were over (I knew they were not over but I wanted a head start to the car anyway..) we headed back to the car and watched the second ending of the fireworks :) Troy watched them for about 5 minutes and then found the people and benches behind us much more interesting.

Sunday we went to the 2nd day of the Andersen family reunion. We started at the Orem cemetery where my dad, grandpa and brother are buried. Funny and sincere stories were shared. We got to talk about my dad. It was one of the neatest things I've done with my family in a long time. After we went to the church and did an Iron Rod activity for the children and we sang some songs. Tyler got to share his testimony of the importance of a mission. Plus some newlywed cousins shared the importance of a temple marriage. We sang my dad's song as a family with Aunt Lynette and Uncle Corwin (sp?) They have the most beautiful voices. I think it was similar to hearing my mom and dad sing together.

Saturday we started the day off early with the 5k Freedom Run. I didn't run it but Ben, Devin, and Sarah did! Ben did awesome and got 20th out of about 1500 + people. Here they are with their "you finished" medals.

I drove around quite a while to get to Kiwanis Park. The police had everything blocked off because of the parade and so I had to go all the way around Provo to get there. On my way I saw these...

After we went home and got ready we headed back to day 3 of Andersen family reunion. We played an ancestor game where we had to figure out which ancestor was secretly put on our back in sticker form. We had a handout of names and facts. After we figured out who we were we got to go to the station that described the ancestor that we had. Each family made a poster of the 2 ancestors they were assigned. Tyler presented our poster and did awesome! Some skits and family performances of patriotic songs came next. I was extremely impressed by the Andelin girls. They should go on star search or something. Devin quickly put together a skit that was a joke including Uncle Dean. He was a good sport :) The next activity was watching home videos of Grandpa Andersen's family. We have some pretty funny relatives! After lunch we went and played ultimate, organized by Devin of course.

I love having such a big family. I love that both sides of my parents have really organized reunions. I think because I am older now I appreciate the things I am learning at the reunion. I used to just want to run around, but now I really appreciate the things they take time to share with us. Thanks to all who put so much effort into it!