Reunions 2011

Hello All!  I've been missing from the blogging world for awhile.  Packing and cleaning the house, then going to two family reunions, moving one week later and then opening up a new business....yeah, it's been busy.

Sadly I lost our new camera.  I have been sad about loosing this possession. I had photos on it from the reunions and from Clark's baptism.  So sad.  But as Lee has reminded me a few times, it's just money.  We can buy a new one (someday). So the following pictures are from other people.  Thanks Vicki and family for the pictures!!! 

On to the reunions.  The last part of July we met up with some of my mom's family for a Thompson reunion in Nauvoo.  We had a great time seeing my Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Bob and Grant and Sandra and family, along with my family.  We drove up on a Friday night and left Sunday morning, so it was a short trip.  Now all my kids can say they've been to Nauvoo and Carthage.

The Nauvoo Temple

It was destroyed by fire in 1848 possibly by persecutors.  Our church rebuilt the temple from the ground up, completing it in 2002.  I went to Nauvoo when I was a teenager and there was just a grassy lot where the temple once stood.  So beautiful!

Saturday morning Lee and I and the kids went on a wagon-ride tour of Nauvoo.  I am so glad we did.  We got to see many buildings without even having to go in them.  We will go in them someday...

After the wagon ride we drove the Martydom Trail--the trail that Joseph Smith traveled on his way from Nauvoo to Carthage, Illinois where he was kill by a mob in 1844.

Here is our group at the Carthage Jail in Carthage, IL.  The jailor moved Joseph Smith along with his companions to the upstairs of the jail--the house/living part--as to provide some protection from the mobs. Joseph and his brother Hyrum were killed when the mobs did come.

 

A picture outside of Carthage Jail

 

We went to a park afterwards.  The miracle of the quail happened here or in the vicinity. From Elder Russell M. Nelson in the July 1999 Ensign: "The book of Exodus reports that quail were miraculously provided to feed the hungry people of ancient Israel (see Ex. 16:13; Num. 11:32; Ps. 105:40). The pioneers had an equivalent experience. After the last of them had been driven out of Nauvoo, many were sick and some had died. Their provisions were meager. On the river bottoms near Montrose, Iowa, on 9 October 1846, many quail miraculously flew into camp. The quail were cooked and fed to some 640 destitute people."

 

 

 

After Nauvoo we congregated at my house.  If I have my count right the most people we had there at one time were 46 people! It was really fun.  We had some fun activities.  For one of them we went to Clifty Creek Conservation and hiked to a natural stone bridge.  It's a fun hike in general.  On the way back my little kids got tired and it's not very fun carrying a child and a backpack for even a quarter of a mile.

Where we stopped for lunch--at the stone bridge.

 

 Grandpa was quite popular with his iPad--especially with the grandkids. They now know about Angry Birds!

That night we went bowling for Family Home Evening.  Very fun!

The next morning we went to Miller Cave at Fort Leonard Wood.  My youngest brother Sheldon has been wanting to go back to this cave for awhile.  Now that he is home from his mission and visiting us, it was the perfect opportunity!  Sam and Sheldon inflated an air mattress and floated back into an opening in the cave.

        

 

Later was the pie eating contest! We split up into different age groups.  I am not sure who won out of the little kids/toddlers, but Ethan won out of the kid round, Sheldon the adult male round, and guess who...ME for the adult female round.

Even my mom joined in!

Ila was lucky and got to do the female adult round!

 

I thought Deb had won, but she was still chewing and I swallowed the pie as quick as I could and I won!

We had a pool party that evening.  SO FUN!  I had more pictures on my camera, but these will have to do.  I really love swimming at night.  There is something fun and magical about it!

Daniel, Steph and Sheldon did a few who-can-hold-your-breath-the-longest competitions.  Stephanie won every time.

 

GO SHELDON!

Wednesday morning the 27th, was so wonderful and special.  My oldest child, Clark, was baptized.  I am going to do a separate post on this, but here are some pictures.

After lunch we played some fun little games and then my parents showed us pictures of their recent Italy trip with Sheldon.

Here we had an unwrap-a-Starburst-in-your-mouth competition.  I won a couple of times!  And I am sure if you'd ask Lee, yes, I am an excellent kisser.

Aunt Stephanie fixed several of the girls' hair.  SO CUTE!  I am not sure who else she did, but I know at least one girl is missing from this picture (and it's not Haley--she didn't want her hair fixed).

 

Wow, writing about all these events make it seem like it was one CRAZY reunion!  I do hope that it was relaxing for my family....and I think it was a little bit at least. That evening we went to the Waynesville Park to play and have dinner (on our way there we went to see the soldiers retire the flag at 5pm). A big playground with a splash park is there along with the Roubidoux River close by.  Such a fun place.  The weather was incredibly nice and I don't think I noticed any gnats!

Even swimsuits need accessories!

 

All the sisters!

 

We roasted marshmallows at the park.  Instead of doing s'mores I made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies and we put the gooey marshmallows in between the cookies.  YUM!

This is Sheldon who recently returned from a proselyting mission in Italy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there he picked up some useful things about real Italian food.  One of them was lasagna.  OH SO GOOD!  Thanks for making it Sheldon!  Um, when are you coming again to visit me???

 

It was Clark's birthday the day he got baptized.  We celebrated his birthday earlier--which I will post later--but he lucked out and in addition to grandparent gifts, he got some gifts from his Aunts that day, ! Lois gave him spray whipping cream and silly string.  He LOVED them! Stephanie gave him a Lego game.  Clark = Legos.  And yes, he loved the game! (And still enjoys it!)

My friend came and took pictures for us at the Waynesville Park.  I wasn't planning on doing pictures, but she is a photographer and offered to take some.  It worked out really well and the pictures turned out great!  I wish Andy, Roger, Brittany and Lexie could have come.  They were the only ones missing out the family.  I missed not having them there.

The daughters and Mom!

The parents and siblings...minus Roger. (Just imagine one more person sitting to the left of me in the picture.)  Yep, there are 10 kids.  Five boys, Five girls.  We are blessed with a wonderful family and fantastic parents!

I love this candid shot of the family. Not all of us are in it, but I still love it!  It reflects our family.  Even with such a big crowd (and we Bartholomew's like having a big crowd) we love talking and laughing with each other.  Our kids get along great too!  Can you imagine how awesome this picture will be in several years?  We just need to add one more spouse (ahem Sheldon) and lots more grandkids (two are on the way as I type!).  SO FUN!

Thanks for coming everyone! And yes, they ALL stayed at my house.  Even two friends that came with my sister were there too.  With a seven bedroom house and 4 bathrooms in Fort Leonard Wood, it worked out well.  Now that we are in a much smaller house Clark told me that only two families can visit us at a time.  

I told him we could fit more...