Hawkins Family Reunion

We had the Hawkins Family Reunion a couple of weeks ago.  They wanted to come here so that mom could participate and not have to travel. Mom has an official diagnosis of Visual Alzheimer's. It has been hard to accept that life is not going to go the way we hoped and planned.  We were all so excited for mom and dad to be able to travel and enjoy time together after Dante and Alexys moved out.  Dad has had to accept that his health isn't what he wanted and he can't hike anymore, which was a huge blow! And mom and dad have had to accept mom's diagnosis and all the struggles that come along with it. It breaks my heart to see mom and dad have to deal with this. They continue to have hard curveballs thrown their way.  They work so hard to plan and prepare and then they don't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It's a hard pill to swallow.  They continue to amaze me with their resilience, positive attitude and faith. Hopefully they have lots of good times and experiences in their future, but they will also have a lot of challenges. Us kids are ready and willing to help and support them!

The reunion kicked off with a barbecue in Provo Canyon.  Hallee wanted to stay home, but decided to come along. I was so glad she came, but she wasn't so sure when we stayed way too late and kept visiting when she was ready to go home.

Hallee was happy that she got to spend time with grandpa and grandma. 

I was so excited to Matt and Lori came up for it. It was much easier to say goodbye to them on the cruise knowing that we would see them the next week.

Caitlyn drove up after work and joined us.  She was happy to see Matt and Lori! I loved showing my girls off to the family. 

Wyatt was sad that he missed the reunion because he had camp.  He wanted to see Ron, he loved getting to know him during the last reunion.

Friday night we all went to Lindsey's house for dinner and fun activities.

Hallee was so happy that Tessa came that night.

They set up a shop in their playhouse and Matt was their best customer. 

Tasha did a game where they asked all the siblings questions, like who was on the phone the most growing up.  They all agreed on most of the answers.

It was fun to hear their answers and laugh a lot!

Then they brought up the spouses and asked them questions about each other.

Mom and dad agreed on some of the answers, but it was funny to see them disagree on a few.

Lindy came with us on Friday and Saturday.  Everyone agrees that she looks like Tiff! Lucky girl!

Ron played old videos from Christmas Eve and the video of grandma from the family reunion in 2013.  I loved hearing her voice again. It was fun to hear her say that she hopes we will stay close and get together.  I'm sure grandma and grandpa were so happy to see us all gathered together.

Pam talked for a bit, she talked about how good looking we all are, ha! She talked about what a blessing it is to have such a close family that we can all rely on. She talked about how much it means to her to talk to me often and how that helps her feel close to Chris.  I feel the same way, I feel like I have Chris back for a minute when I talk to her. 

Don pulled me aside before we left that night and gave me this envelope.  He kept trying to talk, but kept crying so it took him a minute to get it out. He said, " I have felt Chris tell me that he wants me to give this to you." Then he cried again and said, "he used to say, just do it dad and this is what he has been saying to me." Then he walked away crying. There was $1000 in the envelope! That meant so much to me.  I texted them this response, "Thank you so much for your generous gift. Not only does it help so much financially, but it makes me feel so loved and seen! Chris was always so patient and worried about me when I was anxious (back when we didn't even know what anxiety was). To think that he is still helping me is the best gift you could have given me.  Thank you for keeping me connected to him and supporting us through everything. We love you guys."  I will keep that envelope forever, that means so much to me.

On Saturday we went to Brick Oven for lunch.  We weren't going to go, but after everyone's generosity Keith and I decided to go.  I have so many emotions with so many people giving us money and helping us out financially.  Sometimes I feel really bad.  Everyone works so hard for their money and life is so expensive for everyone right now. I feel guilty taking other peoples hard earned money.  Mostly I just feel pure love and gratitude though.  I can't believe how much people love us and how much they are willing to sacrifice for us. I'm crying while I type this, I just get overcome with love and gratitude. Not only do I feel loved by my family, but I feel loved by my Heavenly Father. I feel His love through my family.   I hope and pray that everyone will be blessed for their generosity to us and that we will be able to pay it forward soon!

Don pulled Mel aside at Lindsey's and gave her an envelope and said it was for Amarie and Caitlyn. He said, "tell them to work hard in school, but have fun too." I guess Caitlyn and Mel talked to Don in the canyon about college and they talked about how expensive it was.  He gave Amarie and Caitlyn $150 each. Caitlyn cried when I gave it to her. Then I told her about his gift to me from Chris and we both cried. Pam and Don have always been very generous people. They give so much and they never want to talk about it, they don't want any thanks, they just want to help people. 

We were in a crowded room at Brick Oven on three different tables.  I'm glad I got to sit by Pam and Lori.  We are such a big group, so it's hard to visit with everyone, but I think I got the opportunity to visit with almost everyone.  It was a fun few days. I'm sure grateful to be part of the Hawkins family. I hope grandma and grandpa got to see us all gathered together and hear us talk about how much we love and miss them.

Day at Sea

Friday was our last day on the cruise and it was a day at sea.  We slept in a bit and then got breakfast.  After that we all met as a family. 

It was July 4th so dad shared some thoughts on our country and how Heavenly Father guided our forefathers to make this country a free country.  I am so grateful to live in the United States of America,  it really is the land of freedom and opportunity.  Our country needs some help, politicians are out of control and power-hungry, but I do believe that Heavenly Father is guiding this nation and will continue to do so as long as we turn to Him.

Mom and dad have always been very patriotic and taught us to love our country. Lori shared some thoughts from Cody about our country.  It was so fun to hear his perspective after living in a different country. He talked about his memories of the 4th of July and that he thinks of fireworks at his grandparents house.  I think of that too.  He also talked about how he took hot water, electricity and other convivences for granted, but now he realizes what a blessing that is. I'm so glad Lori shared Cody's thoughts. He has always been a very insightful, thoughtful person.  We sure miss him!

We all laughed at dad for bringing his own cup on the last cruise, so he made sure to show us that he brought a cup again this time.

We stopped when Matt and I saw a whale so everyone could come see it.

After that grandma and grandpa played the candy bar game with the grandkids.  We did this on the last cruise and used to do it every year at the family reunion.

Then we took some pictures. Grandma and grandpa with the grandkids! All of these kids love grandma and grandpa so much and not just because they take them on cruises!

I love all of these people so much. I hit the jackpot with my family and the people they married!

The OGs!

I still look around because I feel like someone is missing.  We aren't complete without Jen.

I'm so grateful that my kids have been able to grow up with their grandparents. My parents have been wonderful about supporting their grandkids.  It's been so fun to have them join us at their games and performances over the years.

Mom and dad have always been so supportive and generous with us.  They have been worried about us while Keith has been out of work.  A couple of weeks ago they were so generous and gave us some money and told us to just take it and use it however we need. That took a huge burden off of us. My whole family has been so generous and I can't think about it without crying.  It has made me feel so loved.  We are so blessed to have such an amazing, generous family.

Mom and dad have been wonderful examples of a loving marriage.  They are the most Christlike people I know and they would do anything for their family.

Caitlyn is getting her CNA this summer and needed to take 40 vitals, so everyone helped her out.

After the family gathering everyone went off and did different activities.

I can't remember what we did. I might have taken a nap.  Matt loved sitting on their balcony with mom. I love this picture. 

I think this was the first day on the boat. Paul and Tiff were so nice and watched the kids at the pool a lot.

I think this was the first day too.  We always saw family when we went up for meals.  We would grab tables when we could get them so everyone could sit together. 

Wyatt got some 4th of July swag.  Wyatt cracks me up.  One day we were eating lunch and Wyatt came over to us and asked where Caitlyn and Jonah were.  Wyatt was in his swimming suit with one flip flop on. He said he left his key and his phone in his room and needed to get into the room. I asked why he only had one flip flop and he said he couldn't find the other one. I was able to get the cleaning lady to open their room for me so I could get Wyatt's stuff.  Then I texted the whole family to track down Wyatt and have him come meet me at the room.  I was looking for Wyatt a lot on the boat, ha! He was living his best life and didn't let missing a shoe stop him!

I love this picture.  The week went by so fast and it was already our last night at dinner!

The waiters sang a song for us at the end of dinner.  They walked around the dining room and they all joined the line when it passed them. I looked over and saw Jonah following them in the line.  I was confused and wondering what he was doing.

Turns out Mel offered him $20 to go up there and perform with them.  He jumped right up and did it. Mel, Paul and Tiff were laughing and recording him. When he came back to the table he said, "best coworkers ever!"  He is so funny and sure makes things fun. 

These three were our waiters. The main waiter wasn't very friendly, but he warmed up as the week went on. 

I loved watching everyone get up and dance every night. 

Mom loved to get up and clap along every night.

After dinner we were all excited to go to a comedy show.  They had two comedians and it was in the big theatre.  Unfortunately, it was not very funny.  The first guy was okay, but the second guy was so bad. 

Cute girls.

We tried to go to the 4th of July bash after that, but it was packed so we went upstairs and got ice cream cones instead.

I think we all had ice cream withdrawals after the cruise.

We all gathered up by the ice cream machine to visit.

The last night is always hard, it's hard to see these amazing experiences end. All the adults stayed up as late as we could before we were ready for bed.  It was great to have so much time to visit on this trip.

We all enjoyed playing games and laughing together.

The kids stayed up to play games after the adults went to bed. It was weird to have Caitlyn, Jonah and Wyatt in the other room and not even know when they got home at night. Wyatt loved the freedom! The trip was amazing.  I'm so grateful for this time with my family and the memories that we made. Thanks mom and dad!