Reunion

The day after the kids left, we headed to the Branson, MO area to meet up with Derek's family for a big reunion. It was a great distraction for me as I know our house would have been way too quiet and a great time spent close together with our three girls.

Feeding her baby...like always. She has very well-fed babies. 

We spent the first day there catching up with cousins, swimming, coloring, playing...

The next day, among other fun stuff, we took an expedition on the Branson Belle. I really enjoyed it, and I think the girls did too!

Waiting to get on the boat. 

The Branson Belle herself. 

Pretty sure B's favorite part was her very own cup of ice. 

Our family took up three rows on the ship. Pretty silly clan!

Checking out the views on the top of the boat. 

Every now and then these two decide to hold hands everywhere they go.
It kills me with cuteness. 

My brother and sister in law and nieces and nephews. 

Derek's parents. 

This lady put a new spin on multitasking. She'd wind herself all up in a couple strips of fabric, whip out a tiny violin and play a tune. Upside down. Apparently she was on that show America's Got Talent. And she did. 

Some of the family wandered around until we found a fish hatchery and an observatory for the dam at Table Rock Lake. 

I love the wonder of aquariums for kids. That's why we visit Walmart. For the fish tanks. And for toilet paper.

Feeding the fish.

Sweet cousins. 

Is he not the cutest! I'm a blessed aunt!

Is she not the cutest! I'm a blessed aunt! Oh wait, I think I said that already. 

2/3's of my girls. Love them. 

Break from the heat. 

The dam view. Ahem...the view from the dam. You know. 

Oh heavens! That's a lot of first cousins! Just missing one in this picture. They're so lucky to have each other.

Trying to power appliances with his brute strength.  

Lunch on our deck at the condo's. 

The big reunion weekend wrapped up with a cook-out swimming gathering at a nearby sand beach. We had a very large pavilion reserved for everyone and there were lots of fun things on the agenda.

The little girls could have dug and dumped and poured all day long. 

I'm pretty sure A wasn't eating rocks. Fairly sure. Kinda. 

One of the planned activities was a "slides" contest. Family members competed to have the best slider at the reunion. Competition was stiff and the burgers were yummy.

Of course, it wouldn't be a McCullough get-together without a puzzle nearby!! 

The slider judging table. 

Some of the entries waiting to be judged. 

There was also a mini-olympics. This was my team. We were pretty much awesome.

Just doing my part to bring home the gold!

One challenge in the rotation. 

Taryn played ringer for a couple teams caught up on the hula hoop portion. Like mother, like daughter!

As the evening came to a close most everyone ended up in the water. Rough-housing and splashing. Talking and catching up. It seemed no one wanted the beautiful evening to end.

And, of course...here's the whole clan!  I'm so blessed to have married into such a loving, close family. It was a joy to get away for a few days with them and I look forward greatly to the next reunion!