Bluth Reunion 2012

Gayle & Ora Bluth Family Reunion 2012

July 5-7

Sacramento Mountain Retreat

Cloudcroft, NM

This summer the boys and I were able to attend the Bluth Family Reunion, thanks to Grandpa King who generously flew to Phoenix to help me drive to New Mexico with my brood.  Curtis was up to his ears in his 2 phd classes and summer course for Yavapai College and he couldn't afford to take time off so we had to leave him behind.

This is the 4th Bluth reunion we have held at this camping retreat and we love it!  The first evening after dinner, we all gathered for a little family trivia game played Jeopardy style.  They originally wanted the oldest represented child from each sibling to play, but since I was nursing Marco at the time that left Aubrey, the youngest of all the cousins, to play for our family.  It was a fun game and Aubrey held her own well.

Nathan know his way around this camp.  He was self sufficient the whole time.  I rarely had to worry about where he was.  The little kids pretty much stick to the long sidewalk that runs the length of the camp, riding their plasma cars and scooters.  And if you don't find them there, they can be found in the assembly hall or game room playing foosball and air hockey.  When I would enter the cafeteria for meals, I would find Nathan already seated with his tray of food chowing down with the other big boys.  I was fun to see him enjoying all his second cousins.

Bracky had a great time too, but he stuck with me more than Nate did.  A few time he ventured off to hang with the big kid crowd and he even managed to claim one of the plasma cars from time to time.  But he mostly stayed close to me, Grandma, or Grandpa.  One afternoon, the whole gang gathered at the b-ball courts to watch some Bluth family ball games.  After about 10-15 minutes I noticed that Bracken wasn't with the mess of kids playing on the back half of the court.  Grandpa offered to look for Brack and he found him sitting on the stoop of our cabin all by himself, poor guy.  Brack didn't seem too worried yet, he figured someone would find him eventually.

Marco was as cute as ever.  Grandma, Grandpa and Aubrey especially enjoyed getting to know him a little better.  Marco also got to meet Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Bluth which was really special.

All day long kids rode the cars gone this sidewalk.  There were 6 plasma cars and at least 20 kids that wanted turns which meant constant traffic starting at 7am and going till dark.

The kids didn't even mind the long trek back up the hill.  Every child slept well because they were worn out from all their playing.

Every afternoon around 2 pm the clouds would gather and start to pour out rain.  On one of the days the boys and I shared our love of balloon swords with the other kids to help pass the time in doors.  They were of course a big hit.  Mom and I worked as a team to meet the high demand, she pumped them and I shaped them.  I'm not sure how many we made in total but I do know my fingers were SORE!

Nathan's favorite buddy that he practically stalked, was Max.  Max is a year older than Nate and he seemed to really enjoy Nathan as well.  Nathan wanted to do everything with Max. He even wanted to eat the same foods as Max.  At breakfast one morning, I asked Nate what he wanted on his tray to which he replied "I want to eat the same stuff Max has."  So we glanced at Max's tray, put the same combo of food on Nate's tray, and he snarfed his food down so he could be done and ready to play with Max.

Every reunion we get a giant group picture to document who was there and how the family has changed.  This year we all had matching shirts with the family crest on them.

The biggest change this reunion from the last one 2 years ago, is all the babies that have been born, 8 in total.

I'm not sure how much longer my grandparents will be around but I am very grateful I was able to attend this latest reunion to savor the family and legacy these two people have established. I sure do love them.  Here's hoping they will still be around to enjoy the next reunion in 2014!

Boot Races

Every year after the Frontier Days Parade, Prescott holds their annual Boot Races.  Nathan was bound and determined to join the masses and make his mark on the event.

We paid the $10 registration fee and he received his t-shirt and number (#120).  Nathan was super pumped and felt very official!

We opted to keep Brack out of the race this year even though they do have a 3 and under heat.  We weren't sure if he would perform when it came down to the wire.  He tends to space out and get really clingy in those kind of situations.  He seemed content enough just to be there wearing his own boots (on the wrong feet) and cheer on his brother and cousins.

We waited in the hot sun for about 30 minutes before it was Nathan's turn.  There are so many people there watching and participating, it was INSANE!  Each of the children's age divisions had 3 heats.  Nathan, Jaxon, and Konrad all raced in the second heat of the 4-5 year olds. 

When it was finally their turn, Nathan immediately positioned himself in his "ready" pose.  He seriously held this pose for 10 minutes before they blew the starting horn.

 This being our first year to participate we realized that we came under prepared.  If you really want to win you need to spice up your boots with several layers of duck tape.  The tape helps keep your boots on so you can run without abandon and lesson your chance of tripping.  Before the race we gave Nathan a little pep talk reminding him to look forward and not get distracted by others around him and give to give it his all.  And we reminded him several time that winning was not his goal, doing his best was his goal.  We knew he wasn't going to win, Kleinmans are not known for their speed, we just didn't want him to come in last.  

When the horn blew, Nathan took off running with all his might and luckily he finished in the middle of the pack.  And the best part, he was completely thrilled with the experience even though he didn't even come close to winning.  He's super proud of his boot race running and next year we'll remember the duct tape.

Kiddie Parade 2012

This is the first year we have participated in the 4th of July Kiddie Parade.  Our boys were super excited to be IN a parade and they had fun decorating their bikes and picking out their outfits.  

We rode along with fellow bikers in the "decorated bike" category.  The Prescott Kiwanis Club sponsors this event every year and they judge the participants in each category and pick a winner.  Our boys didn't win anything but our niece Ava, won the "Best Decorated Scooter" category!

Jaxon

This little parade is just right for kids.  It isn't too long, it was over in about 30 minutes, and at the end everyone got and ice cream sandwich!

Marco enjoying the fresh air and getting ready to take a little snooze.

Nathan enjoyed being famous for the weekend when his picture ended up on the front of the Daily Courier!  We had people calling us for several days afterward asking us if it was him or not.  Nathan thought is was pretty awesome!

Forest Fire Truck

Last month our Stake hosted a community preparedness fair.  They had a great turn out with lots of great information.  Smokey the Bear made an appearance and he let our boys check out his giant green fire truck.

The back seat even had enough room for Curtis's lanky ol' legs!

Marco y Nene

3 Months Old

Here's our little Marquito at 3 months old!

His little personality is really starting to shine through.

Marco is a happy baby.  He adores his big brothers and lives for their (hopefully gentle) attention.  When Marco smiles his entire face lights up.  He is super ticklish and we all love to nuzzle his neck and steal his sugar.  His giggling has really taken off, there are not many sounds that can compete with a babies laughter.  Marco is starting to enjoy holding onto toys and immediately sticks them in his mouth.  He loves to suck/chew fingers especially his own, but only for play not comfort.  Luckily my persistence is paying off, because he has figured out how to suck and hold a chupi in his mouth though he prefers it only when he is tired.  The moment he is deep asleep that sucker falls right out. 

Marco is still a little butter ball.  This past month we have moved up to 9 month size clothes and size 3 diapers.  After having 2 days in a row with several major blowouts I decided it was time for bigger diapers.

Marco's eyes are even more twinkling and bright now that his tear ducts have cleared up!  Both eyes cleared up within a week of each other and I love staring into his goop free dark chocolate eyes. YUM! 

We have officially moved Marco into his crib!  He is such a good sleeper.  When he is tired all I have to do is give him his chupi and a blanket to snuggle with, cuddle him for a few minutes, lay him in his bed and he drifts off to sleep.  He is regularly sleeping from 8pm-4am with a 15 minute feeding and then he goes right back down.

I love my baby Marquito!

Anniversary #8 & Windmill House

Our 8th Anniversary fell on a Monday this year.  We really wanted to attend the Temple but they are closed on Mondays and with all our weekends in June already spoken for we opted to celebrate our anniversary on it's actual day and still head down to the valley and just have some fun.  Nathan and Bracken spent Sunday night with Grandma and Grandpa Kleinman so we could get an early start, but it ended up that we used the time to sleep in a little and then combined with caring for an infant along with my inability to control my hair (you would think by the age of 29 I would have the whole hair thing down but some days it still gets the better of me) we hit the road a few hours later than planned.  But luckily we didn't have any pressing business other than leisurely filling our time so it worked out fine.  We stopped in at Ikea and picked up a few things for our bedroom.  I have been itching for some change around the house and decided to start with our room since what I had in mind were small changes compared to other spaces in our home.  Not having our older children with us allowed us to soak everything in and take our time getting ideas for other future projects.  After that we ate a late lunch at Mimi's Cafe, and then did a little shoe shopping for Curtis.  He was in desperate need of new b-ball shoes and we were able to find a pair that fit his long size 14 feet comfortably.  On our way home we grabbed some frozen custard from Cullvers and headed back to our boys.  I forgot the camera so no pictures to document the day but it was a fun and rejuvenating outing with my love.

 

Later that same week, Grandma and Grandpa Kleinman took our little family out to the Windmill House, a nursery/restaurant/event location in Chino Valley, for dinner.  The Windmill House has gorgeous grounds and the boys loved running free and enjoying the fresh, cool evening air.  We all enjoyed the BBQ buffet and live country music.  Bracken even treated me to a few dances.  He even joined Curtis and I during a waltz.  I wasn't able to talk Nate into dancing with me, he had one of his rare shy and reserved moments which he later regretted.  Every now and then Nathan tries to talk me into eating dinner there again so he can dance with me too.

After dinner the Grandparents lingered in the dinning room to enjoy more music and watch our sleeping Marco allowing the rest of us to play a rousing game of tag outside.  It was a blast.  We were all laughing like crazy and for some reason all my boys, especially Curtis, enjoyed ganging up on me so I was "it" a lot.

 

If you look really close you can see Nate and Brack on the play set.  They had noticed it through a fence in another part of the property and the little buggers figured out a way to get to it.  I was impressed with their craftiness.