As you all know my visit to California was sublime. I had a great time. Then, only a couple of days after getting home Gary's parent s paid us a visit. It was so nice to have them here with us. The kids love seeing them so much. We took them to all of the Abilene Hot spots. We had a great time at the Zoo feeding the animals, giraffes, bears, fish, and even bison.
Gary's parents treated us to dinner at the Bonsai hibachi grill. Totally delicious and entertaining. We got Gerald to try Sushi and he didn't spit it out or start gagging. Hooray!! We also visited the Grace Museum, which includes a children's museum that is a blast. We also went to a drive-in and watched Harry Potter. Loved the movie and the company. The drive in is fantastic because your kids can be loud and run around and it doesn't bother anyone. We also went bowling. Notice who got the highest score - Brynn!!!
What can I say she's a natural.For some reason I took hardly any pictures. I think I was just plain busy and didn't even think about it. (I would really appreciate if you could please email me some pictures when you have the chance Charlene, please?) Also our dishwasher broke just in time for entertaining guest, Charlene was kind enough to help with dishes the entire time they were here. Thank you, Thank you. We really loved seeing you and wish we could see you more often. We sure love you guys and can't wait to see you again. Good luck on your missions!!!
Just a couple of days after they left we headed to Sanford Colorado for a family reunion. I met my Uncle Jack and Aunt Sherry, and family for the first time and they are wonderful. Let me just say that I think it is ridiculous that I am meeting my Aunt and Uncle for the first time at 31!!!! I seriously need to make up for lost time and plan on visiting Sanford many times in the future. We did a lot of really fun things.
We watched the Pioneer day parade. Did I fail to mention that Sanford is a small Mormon town and Pioneer day is HUGE. The parade was fantastic. This is just some of us watching the parade. In all I think there were 38 of us. There was a tent city in the front of my Aunt and Uncle's house. Within an hour of putting up our tent the whole town knew and were asking questions about it. All the kids in town decorated their bikes and rode them in the parade.
This little boy traveled the entire length of the parade route on his pogo stick! Awesome!!!
This was one of the many beautiful floats. This one represented the pioneers. It was especially dear to me because the handcart on the float is the one my ancestor Charles W. Pinkert pulled from Nauvoo to Salt Lake and from there to Sanford Colorado!!! The man who ran the town museum was nice enough to drop it by our aunt and uncles house so that we could see it up close. It really was a treasure.
We also got to see the cabin that my Great Grandmother stayed in while she was the superintendent of Sanford school. My dad has memories of staying there as a kid when he went to visit her.
The kids had so much fun rolling around in the grass and acting silly.
There's mom and dad inside the cabin.The same kind man who brought the handcart over so we could look at it also opened up the cabin so we could walk inside.
We got this view because the The man who ran the museum led us into the belly of the museum through some steep narrow stairs that led to a look out tower on top of the museum. The government payed to put a tower on top of what was then the fire station during world war II and payed people to take shifts looking out for planes! Who knew.
Here is a view of the inside of the museum. We loved it. The same man who ran it was the town mechanic and just felt compelled to preserve the history of the town. He spent a lot of time and effort on it. It is a jewel. I learned so much about my ancestors just by walking through it.
Aside from all the genealogy we had a lot of fun.
In this picture Gary is playing a very captivating Plants vs. Zombies! It is the new addiction in the Bradshaw home, myself included!
Here we are all playing a super fun bean bag game that is a tradition in the other Signs family. I was horrible. I really need to practice for next time we visit.
Here's Gary leading a game of Cranes and Crows. Everyone loved it.
We watched the Pioneer day parade. Did I fail to mention that Sanford is a small Mormon town and Pioneer day is HUGE. The parade was fantastic. This is just some of us watching the parade. In all I think there were 38 of us. There was a tent city in the front of my Aunt and Uncle's house. Within an hour of putting up our tent the whole town knew and were asking questions about it. All the kids in town decorated their bikes and rode them in the parade.
This little boy traveled the entire length of the parade route on his pogo stick! Awesome!!!
This was one of the many beautiful floats. This one represented the pioneers. It was especially dear to me because the handcart on the float is the one my ancestor Charles W. Pinkert pulled from Nauvoo to Salt Lake and from there to Sanford Colorado!!! The man who ran the town museum was nice enough to drop it by our aunt and uncles house so that we could see it up close. It really was a treasure.
We also got to see the cabin that my Great Grandmother stayed in while she was the superintendent of Sanford school. My dad has memories of staying there as a kid when he went to visit her.
The kids had so much fun rolling around in the grass and acting silly.
There's mom and dad inside the cabin.The same kind man who brought the handcart over so we could look at it also opened up the cabin so we could walk inside.
We got this view because the The man who ran the museum led us into the belly of the museum through some steep narrow stairs that led to a look out tower on top of the museum. The government payed to put a tower on top of what was then the fire station during world war II and payed people to take shifts looking out for planes! Who knew.
Here is a view of the inside of the museum. We loved it. The same man who ran it was the town mechanic and just felt compelled to preserve the history of the town. He spent a lot of time and effort on it. It is a jewel. I learned so much about my ancestors just by walking through it.Aside from all the genealogy we had a lot of fun.
In this picture Gary is playing a very captivating Plants vs. Zombies! It is the new addiction in the Bradshaw home, myself included!
Here we are all playing a super fun bean bag game that is a tradition in the other Signs family. I was horrible. I really need to practice for next time we visit.
Here's Gary leading a game of Cranes and Crows. Everyone loved it.
Brynn and Luke rolling around in the grass. Last time they saw each other they didn't really know what to make of each other but this time they were good pals.
There was a huge pine tree next to the church that is the town climbing tree. I was so proud of Lorin because she was right up there with all her boy cousins. She got as high as they did. She is fearless!
Not to be out done by a bunch of kids my cousin David (who is a grown man and in the bishopric in his ward) had to climb the tree!!! That's him in the blue shirt and cacky shorts. He got as high as the kids did. We are all just thrilled that he found his way out of that tree.
We also went to the Sanford store and got ourselves a hamburger. It was about the size of a convenience store and on one side there was a small kitchen where the owner made hamburgers. You could buy some chips and order a burger. We had to have the authentic Sanford dining experience. The burgers were great.
One of the neatest things about our trip was Blake. He is the little boy standing right next to Ethan. This is going to sound like a joke but he is my cousin's wife's sister's son. You may need a pen and paper to figure it out. My cousin's Wife Jenny has a sister and Brother-in-law who live very close. Blake and Ethan had a lot in common and spent time together everyday. Ethan often refers to him as cousin Blake. It's not often when Ethan makes those kinds of connections with other kids. It always warms a mothers heart when her children find good friends. I know the Lord's hand was in it. Blake's parents Kelli and Brad are fantastic and I am so excited to have made new friends too!All in all - Fantastic two weeks!!
5 comments:
Great post! I really like the picture of all three kids on the grass in front of the cabin. What a fun-filled month for you guys.
We sure had a great time with you and the rest of our new found family! It was neat getting to learn about our interesting heritage. I'm so glad we went, and that you could come! I'll get you those pictures as soon as I get home!
That really was a great post! Looks like so much fun! I ditto Lisa...that pic of your kids is beautiful, actually brought tears to my eyes! Brynn and Ethan's smiles are so genuine and precious, and Lauren is looking like a little lady! I will be leaving town the 13th through the 17th.
You are gorgeous. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
It's awesome that you got to spend that time in the Town of Your Family. That's a pretty special thing.
I thought when I saw the title of the post it would contain something like, "Look outside! We are visiting!" Nobody there. Boo.
I was so glad David ascended well too! Hey thanks for coming,we had a super fun time. David wants to know how your bean bag practicing was going. He's ready for a rematch.
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