Hunter Family Reunion

During the week just prior to the 4th of July, I was able to go to my family reunion in Snowflake, AZ. Because there are eleven of us kids, it's hard for all of us to get together more than just once a year. In an effort to make sure it is at least once a year, we've begun having an annual Hunter Family reunion. Each year, a different family member is in charge of the food and activities during the reunion. This year, Jeanette was in charge and it was a blast!!! This is a homemade pinata that she made. The kids had so much fun trying to crack it open. In the end, it was so well made that an adult had to break it open.


This was the youngest niece to give it a go. She's just five months older than James, but she did a good job of banging away at that pinata.

On Independence Day, we went to the parade in Show Low. It was very exciting for all the kids because they still throw candy from the floats there in Show Low. But this was my favorite part of the parade. I love horses anyway, but Clydesdales are really amazing. As you can see, their backs are as tall as a grown man. I would be terrified to ride one of those. It would be a long way down!




One of the activities that is becoming an annual event is the kid's olympics. They are placed in categories according to age and they compete to get "medals". This is the finish for the 8-9 year-olds.


James didn't quite get the whole "race" thing and opted instead to sit and cry at the starting line. We eventually got him to run, but he was very frustrated that he had to wait until someone said "go".


Sorry this picture is so fuzzy, but I had to throw it in there. It's a picture of all the kids showing off their medals. The contests are so different (from running to jumping to throwing) that each child is sure to get at least one medal, and boy are they excited!


One of the favorite activities for everyone was making fourth of July garlands and hats so that we could keep track of everyone in our group at the parade. They turned out really cute and the kids had a blast making them.


These are my sisters, nieces and Mom making their hair garlands.

On one of the days, we went on a walk through all the Museums and fun things to do in Snowflake. James had a hard time appreciating most things, but he was a champ through it all. But he really went crazy when he say this plastic horse. He wanted to go touch it and sit on it and play with it. He was sad when we had to leave. This is James with his cousins Levi, Megan and Bryson.


Jeanette planned a wonderful day at the park filled with slides, swings, waterguns and jump rope for the kids. Not to be outdone by the kids, we sisters decided to make sure we could do all the same tricks we could when we were young. I surprised myself by being able to recite the little rhyme we would jump to as well.


This is Megan, who was James' play-pal through the whole reunion. Surprisingly, they played together very well, which was amazing because kids usually don't play together at that age.


This is James and Megan getting ready to go down the slide. Taking another step toward being a big kid, James went down the slide all by himself, climbing the stairs, sitting on the slide himself and everything.


Megan and James really enjoyed each other's company. Belinda (Megan's mom) and I just had to laugh when we saw these two doing this.



All in all, it was a great reunion. Though there were 39 of us, Jeanette has a big enough house that we all stayed there. In the evenings, the adults were able to play games and chat. I was sad to see it end, but I'm very excited for next year's reunion.