Our Colorado/Wyoming Trip and Robertson Reunion!

 We hadn't planned on going to the Robertson Reunion this year, as it seemed too costly and unrealistic for our family to make it there with all of the other traveling we had done.  We instead had planned to visit Michael and Sarah in Colorado this winter...when we could use a little break from the snow. But as the time drew nearer, we felt like we needed to go to the reunion, as it was going to be the last reunion for all of Scott's extended family.  Since it was too expensive to fly anywhere reasonably close to the reunion, we flew into Denver and rented a car and drove the 8ish hours to Star Valley, Wyoming. We have friends in Colorado Springs and Denver, and they we got to spend time with them on each end of the trip.  It was so great to see them again! And the kids were great in the car.  Here are some pics from our trip!

Partners in crime, these ones. Very intent on identifying the wildlife in the area. :)

In Colorado Springs we went to a place called Garden of the Gods.  It was amazing. You can see how impressive compared to the little James in front!

But here's a close up!

The kids seriously loved it. I think they could have stayed there all day climbing rocks.  Sure beats the playground!

Even the little kids were way into climbing

And this one is adorable and wanted to pose for me every other minute too. :)

I was seriously impressed with James' climbing ability. He got all the way up there, and even more amazingly, back down.

Three happy guys.

Another picture of James hard at work.

Isn't it beautiful?!?!

After Colorado Springs, we headed up to the Robertson Reunion in Star Valley. We stayed at a little Motel in Thayne and hung out all together at "The Ranch." :)

3-on-3 basketball tournament

They loved playing in the horseshoe pits when they were not occupied.  And they got absolutely filthy.

A classic pose. Must be a Robertson.

Daddy warming up for the horseshoe competition. 

A little "fishing"

And a little more fishing. :)

Alan especially had a lot of fun with the Robertson cousins.  One time I asked him if he was hiving fun with his cousins, and he replied, "They're not only my cousins, they're my friends." It was pretty sweet.

He spent a decent amount of time on here. :)

Cousin Eric playing the bagpipes at our family history fireside

A picture of the three James Robertsons at the reunion. The littlest wasn't thrilled with the idea of a James Robertson picture, but oh well. :)

These two were pretty great friends

Best cousins holding their geese. :)

And there was an awful lot of Wyoming pride the first day, so we wanted to represent the cougars as well.

Group photo!

Playing a little football

Everyone gathering before the testimony meeting

It was a super fun and relaxing time. Not to mention absolutely beautiful! After the reunion we headed back to Colorado to meet up with some other friends. Their kids were sick, so we ended up staying at a hotel, but managed to stop by to say hi on the way to the airport the next day.

We also stopped by Dinosaur Ridge, which wasn't far from where we were staying.

They had all of these footprints and other trace fossils to see.  It was pretty impressive.

Sitting on a dinosaur footprint

A little game of T-ball

And a pic of the babies!

It was another kind of whirlwind trip. We crammed a lot of stuff into a little time, but it was great. A fun little family adventure!

James turns 3!

 So back in July, James turned 3! He is getting so big and learning more every single day.  He is more stubborn and willful than ever, along with a good dose of brutally honest, and comes up with some of the funniest things ever to go along with it all.  Quite the character. His new favorite phrase is... "that's odd."  And his faces are as classic as ever. He had the Sister Missionaries in stitches the other night.

Anyway, back in July, this is how we celebrated his big day!

"Blue is my favorite" A very famous James phrase. And so we started out the day with blue chocolate chip pancakes.

He got this fun Green Eggs and Ham game, and was actually quite good at it.  Both the boys had a blast.

We had planned to go to a local lake to go swimming, since James so loved our day at the beach the previous week. Grandma and Grandpa even came over to join us. But when it came time to go, James decided that he did not want to go, but instead wanted to play with the kiddie pool and slip n slide in our backyard. (This is very typical James) And since it was his birthday, we did. But apparently forgot to take pictures.

Opening some presents

This boy loves bubbles!

Sister

And brother helped too

Clearly the best part. :)

Ok, he loved the book too. :)

And finishing it all off with a blue cake.  That was what he wanted. A blue cake. :)

All in all a fun filled day for a fun filled boy. Love you James!

Tucker Family Reunion- Palmyra NY

Yes. We had the Tucker Family Reunion in upstate NY! It was awesome. We were able to drive. And all of my siblings were able to come. Mom had it all planned out, and it was perfect. We got in late, late, Thursday night, but were able to meet our little nephews that we had never met before the next morning! We stayed in the Homewood Suites in Victor, NY, and I must say, I was the biggest fan.  We love Homewood Suites now. It was really a great hotel, and the people were so nice to us, even though we took over the common room each night and raided their entire stash of hot chocolate.  Alan calls it the hotel with the duck mascot. And we all love it.

And, I will say that I'm so bad at taking pictures. In looking at the ones I had on my camera, I'm pretty sure they are all ones that someone else took when they had my camera.  And the rest are from Mom's blog.  But they are a good representation anyway. :) 

We started off at a water park not too far away.

Looks like Geoff's the lazy one here

And the boys

We all loved the water park (James especially loved the tube ride that we went on...Alan, not so much . :)

Even though at times it was a little chilly. :)

Aunt Meg with her littlest niece and nephews.

Cousins together for the first time!

Love the tongue!

Ok, I think the progression of these next pictures is hilarious. I'm not sure who took them, but I had to put it in, even though it takes up a lot of space.

Oh, who is that over there...

L: Let me get a little better look...

L: Oh, hehehe, he saw me.

L: Hi, I'm Lucy...

Isn't this so much fun!

L: Until I claw your eyes out!

K: Oh, I didn't see that coming.

L: And now I'll poke you in the nose!

K: I'm outta here!

Such cute kids!

We also went to Niagara Falls...pretty sure that we actually did this after the pageant, but oh well.  For some reason this is the order I have the photos in...

On the Maid of the Mist... It was crazy! It was overcast and rainy anyway, and boy, I've never gotten so much "mist"

Family photo at the falls

Boys on the lookout

Bigger family photo at the falls

Waiting for a good meal after a long, wet walk. :)

Robertson family waiting for the pageant!

Foulk Family

Whole Tucker Clan (that was there)

On Sunday we went to see a lot of the church sites in the area.  We went to church at the Whitmer Farm, had a little photo shoot, and then went to the Sacred Grove, the Smith homes, and all that stuff...

Alan took about a hundred pictures at the Whitmer Farm. Apparently it was how we kept him occupied. I've decided to include one. :)

Daddy and his goose

Begin Photo shoot

Remember what I said about photos with grandkids??  Yeah, this one is a classic! It is one of my favorite pictures ever.

For some reason the kids were more willing to cooperate with pictures after the photo shoot...well, somewhat.

Brothers in the sacred grove!

Waiting at the barn.

On Monday before we left, we celebrated James birthday which was a couple of days later.

Following in his big brother's footsteps...he wanted a scooter!

It was a really great time for all! We had many a late nights playing games and even a little FHE led by Grandma and Grandpa Tucker on Sunday night that was a lot of fun. It was great to be able to spend time with family and all be together again for a little while!