Lewis Family Fun

Last weekend my siblings (minus 1) and parents got together for a family reunion. Since 3 of the 5 siblings now live in California, we all got together in Southern California. Josh and I stayed with my sister in Laguna Hills. Our reunion started on Friday night. My brothers' families came to my sister's house for dinner and we ate, and ate, and ate, and ate, and even played a little Rock Band. It was a lot of fun. Ashley and Megan spent the evening as puppies woofing and panting.

*imagine a picture of Ashley and Megan on the ground pretending to be puppies*

Saturday morning, we got up and went to the Newport Beach temple to perform ordinance work for some of my Mother's Paternal family members. It was an incredible experience for all of the adults. I think we all felt like it would have been even better if my brother Chris and his wife would have been there. One of the most touching things, was getting to seal my Mother's parents. We shared many moments of "quiet joy" (the Sealer's words) together as a family performing sealing ordinance for ancestors. It was a wonderful experience, and when I die, you can read all the details in my journal. :) Seriously - one of the most incredible experiences in my life.

Lucky Jessie got to babysit baby Jane while all the adults were at the temple. Sara's kind neighbor babysat all the rest of the (7) kids. What an angel - we were gone for a few hours. We were just "chillaxin" most of the afternoon (a lucky few even got some naps in) and then we made our way down to Oceanside to my brother's house to enjoy his mad grilling skills. He's the one that says, "let's get together and cook some meat", so we got together, and he cooked some meat! 

*Imagine a picture of a massive grill and lots and lots of tasty meat*

The reunion wouldn't have been complete without his grillin skillz. We got to see Kevan and Sara's new house and Sara has done an excellent job decorating. There were a few ideas I might snag and adapt for my house... We had a great time sitting around and laughing and eating, laughing and eating, and of course, laughing and eating. (By the way, I think I gained about 5 pounds over the weekend...) All too soon, it was time to leave and head back to my sister's house.

Sunday morning we got up and got ready for church. Jane was dressed in an adorable little white dress with a pink ribbon around it. Since my sister just recently moved, a counselor in the Bishopric came down (after the meeting started) to see if they were planning on blessing her. It was a fast Sunday, and my brother and his family, my parents, and Josh and I, were all there visiting, AND Jane was dressed in white, so I can see how he was easily confused. We had a tiny chuckle about that. Sunday night, we feasted on Garlic Parmesan Chicken Rolls, a most delicious salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, and a most fantastic yellow cake with custard filling and ganache frosting. (See where I may have gained the 5 pounds??) That evening, we celebrated my Dad's birthday and shared stories and Dadisms we remembered. It was great. I think the adults could have sat and talked for another 3 hours, but the kids were getting restless.

After that we all just mingled until someone turned on the YouTube video of Love Story Meets Viva La Vida with Steven Sharp Nelson and John Schmidt. I didn't realize that my siblings all knew Steve Nelson growing up. (If you haven't seen the video, check it out on YouTube) At that point, someone turned on Coldplay's Viva La Vida, and all the girls + Nathan and Zack, started dancing around. Then we shifted to the Taylor Swift "Fearless" album and had ourselves a mad dance party. It was a lot of fun. That was something I'll always remember about the family reunion. It was then that we dubbed Taylor Swift's "Fearless" album as the official Lewis Family Reunion 2009 album.

*Imagine a picture of a bunch of crazy girls (of all ages) dancing around and singing their guts out*

Monday was the last day of the "reunion". Emily's parents were kind enough to invite us over to their house for an afternoon of swimming and some more tasty food. This is the day I turned purple. I got sunburned, and am still suffering the consequences. I guess that sunscreen I put on was too little too late.

*Imagine a picture of me with purple shoulders and a purple back*

Josh, Kevan, and Dave were having cannonball contests. Josh blew the other guys out of the water. (I know, I'm clever). I asked them if they were trying to empty Phil's pool. I got to spend a little one-on-one time with Jeff's kids, and that was really fun for me. We haven't seen them since Christmas 2007. After a fun afternoon, Dave and I took Josh to the airport, and then met my sister and parents at Kevan's house. In his preparations for deployment (Sunday the 13th), my Dad gave him a Father's blessing. We were lucky enough to be there as Kevan blessed each of his children as they begin a new school year. It was another really great experience. I felt as though I caught a glimpse of what the Lord sees in each of those children. I haven't been around them very often either, so it was good to know them more deeply. Again, an incredible experience.

I came home Tuesday night, but not without another trip to In'n'Out for lunch with Kevan, Sara, Sam, Jane, Kristen, and my Mom. Unfortunately, this was the first time I whipped out my camera all weekend. Lame! I might have to steal some of my Dad's pictures - in case your imagination isn't that great. So, please enjoy a slew of pictures of Jane.