1, 2, 3, 4... Exhaustion

Wow, I think that's all I can say.... okay, I suppose I can fill you in a little more than that. We had my mom's family reunion this past weekend (Thursday - Saturday), and I was 100% in charge. We didn't have the whole Clark Family there, but about half of us made it. My husband has forbidden me from ever planning this big of a reunion on my own again. I didn't feel too stressed out until we were there and things started going wrong.

On Wednesday the reunion officially began, but I couldn't make it up to Portland because Justin was at work. But the group went to the temple and then Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.

We went to the Oregon Coast, which I decided was a bad idea for such a large group because with the weather there you can't count on anything! Besides the fact it is well known amongst my mom and her siblings that they can be very picky and feisty about plans made, even plans they make themselves. So I knew this going in to it all, and did my best to grit and bear it all. It wasn't too bad and only had one real melt down. Not bad for three days of planning and such. We had to change plans a lot because it was extremely windy this weekend, even for the coast. The sun was nice and warm, but not warm enough for the harsh wind.

Thursday we had some lunch and then later tinfoil dinners at the beach with a fireside following. Before dinner Levi was playing with his cousins and did a face plant into the pavement. He had a nasty abrasion on his forehead to prove it! We also celebrated my Uncle Riley's birthday as a big group. I had bought a cake at CostCo for him, and not knowing I had, my cousin Maria made him a gorgeous cake. So needless to say there was ample amount of cake (which I am okay with). Maria's cake was actually my favorite cake in the world, so I ate as much of it as I could without being a pig. After that day we noticed we had a touch of sunburn. Most of us stayed at a motel in Newport that had inexpensive suites (kitchenettes included). We had a gorgeous view from our room, and we decided we should have stayed at this place instead of where we did on our honeymoon. Needless to say it was nice and we enjoyed our room a lot.

Friday started wonderful as we went walking on the beach outside our hotel and found some tidepools. The sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. However when we headed back for the sandcastle contest, the wind was easily 15-20 mph, and we couldn't even keep up the windblock for the babies. So we opted to go to a park for lunch. On our way out for the day I bought Justin a hat (and totally spaced sunscreen for myself... don't worry my kids were protected), he must not have worn it much though because he was just as burnt as me if not worse by the end of the day. While playing Levi sustained a bite(that left bruises) from a cousin... reasons unknown. He also scraped up his back while sliding down a part of the structure that he shouldn't have slid down. Poor kid! After lunch the kids played some 'Olympic' games I came up with, and we then went out to Mo's for dinner. After dinner was the photo and then family trivia. While we were waiting to take the picture Levi found some guys on the pier crabbing. He was so excited! They even let him help pull up the rope once. We also sang our happy birthday's to my nephew Calvin, as it was his birthday.

Saturday we went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center where they were having their annual Sea Fest for the Kids! It was a blast and we got some free stuff out of it. From there was lunch back at the park (since the wind was still obnoxious) and then goodbyes to all. Sometime while at the park Levi banged his chin on the playground and ended up with a nasty bruise. Luckily he wasn't like his mom who split hers open five times growing up. But he's still young, right? We headed from there up to Lincoln City for the Kite Festival, but the crowds were awful and after letting Levi look for a bit we headed home.

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Sunday was my dad's birthday (not 55 yet!), so we had a big dinner at my parents to celebrate followed by left-over smores (we had way too many for the trip... but no one's complaining!) and cheesecake! So one reunion, two sunburns, three birthdays, and four injuries to Levi later... exhaustion!

Monday we tried to relax most of the day. We tried to go swimming in our complex pool but found out it was still closed (it had been since Wednesday). So we went to the public pool in town. Both Levi and Hazel had a blast!

That's all from us... see you next week!