Parnell Family Reunion 2011

Last weekend, we went to Hot Springs Ar. for our annual Parnell Family Reunion. I spent all week planning, packing, preparing, and cleaning! It is crazy how much I have to do and pack for the 4 of us to be gone for 3 days! Luckily, I didn't have to worry about snacks. Helen brought over a travel bag filled with all sorts of goodies for the road trip. We left around 10:00 am Thursday morning. It was a 5 hour trip, but we timed it pretty well. Nathan and Charlotte both fell asleep around noon and took 2 hour naps in the car. Nathan was such a good boy. He watched his movies with his ear phones on, and was so sweet...Charlotte, on the other hand, got a bit frustrated towards the end of the trip. She kept pulling at her car seat straps like she was trying to get out, while screaming at the same time. She got so mad that she even reached up and pulled her hair so hard that a clump (I'm not exaggerating) came out in her hand! Her scream/cry can be so shrill and ear piercing that we felt like doing the same thing! After doing this for about 30 minutes, Charlotte finally gave up and took another short nap before getting to our condo. Thank GOODNESS!

For the last five years that we've had the reunion in Hot Springs, we've rented the same "Big House" as our central meeting place. Since it also has 6 bedrooms, some families stay here, and others stay in separate condos. In the past, we've stayed at the big house, but this year decided to get our own condo with Grandmother, which made it so much easier for Nathan and Charlotte to take naps and go to bed when needed. Plus Grandmother completely stocked it full of food and drinks!

Day 1

After getting checked in and unpacked, we headed to the big house for dinner and to visit with everyone. In all, around 50 people (including kids) were there! It took Nathan about 2 minutes to warm up, and then he was off playing with his cousins and being Mr. Charming! By the time we went home, both Nathan and Charlotte were exhausted. They fell asleep right away and looked so sweet together...I love that they both have their arms raised!

Day 2

The next morning, our alarm clocks (Nathan and Charlotte) woke us up bright and early. A big group (including Helen) went to play golf, and we decided to go to the Alligator Farm and petting zoo along with Auntie Carrie. Nathan loved it! The highlight for him was when Wayne and I both took turns holding a small alligator, and Nathan got to pet it. We tried to talk him into holding it, but he was just fine with petting it (with one finger).

The man below is the owner of the Alligator Farm, which has been in his family since 1902. He only feeds the alligators every other day, and had fed them the day before. But because he had some family there visiting, he decided to do a bonus feed. He also told us that a few months earlier, when he was feeding the alligators, one of the alligators actually attacked him! He ended up having to get 37 stitches in his arm. Nathan was so funny watching him feed the alligators. He liked it, but you could tell he was a little nervous about it...

Day 2, Night

After spending the day at the alligator farm and having a picnic, we headed home to rest and get ready for dinner that night. On the second night, we had a wonderful dinner of BBQ. Nathan and his cousins played and played. He loved going down to the lake and throwing rocks in. Jake (one of his cousins) was right by Nathan's side the whole weekend. He is older than Nathan and really took care of him. After dinner, all of the kids watched a movie downstairs while the adults played a game of "Parnell Family Jeopardy." It was so much fun!



Nathan, Jake, Jordan, Lindsay, and Nick

Silly Pose: This was what all of the kids always did...cute picture then silly one!

Nathan and Jake

Lori and Charlotte

Parnell Family Jeopardy

Day 3

Again, we woke up early, left Charlotte with Grandmother, picked up Auntie Carrie, and headed to the Caddo River (40 minutes away) to go canoeing. We were hoping to get one canoe, but had to get two. So Wayne and Nathan were in one with our cooler of food and drinks. And Carrie and I were in the other. Nathan was so excited, but as soon as we got in our canoes and started paddling, he got really upset and kept asking Wayne if we were going over a waterfall. Wayne kept telling him "No" but Nathan got more and more upset. Then we realized that earlier we were talking about hiking up to a waterfall and going swimming. We decided against that idea so that we could go canoeing, but Nathan thought we were going to canoe OVER a waterfall...poor little boy, he was so scared until Wayne promised him we weren't going to see a waterfall at all. Finally, Nathan calmed down and had a blast!

Day 3, Night

Our canoeing trip was a great experience. We stopped often to snack and swim, which Nathan loved. The only bad thing was that I put my cell phone in a zip lock bag which wasn't as waterproof as I thought. my phone works, but the screen is blank which means I can't text, scroll through my address book, etc... OOPS! After getting a little rest and cleaned up, we headed back to the Big House for a fish fry and the family auction.

Carrie looking at items for the silent auction

Every year, we have an auction (silent and live) in which all of the family members bring items to include. We all bid on them, and then any money that is raised goes towards next year's reunion to help keep the cost down. While the adults were participating in the auction, the kids were all playing in the living room. The had talent shows where they took turns singing songs (Nathan's song of choice was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) playing Simon Says, and having dance contests.

*I have no idea why this section is all in white, and I've worked for an hour trying to fix it without having to re-do the whole section. I give up!

The Auction begins! We had so much fun! We actually raised over $2,000! Nathan had such a long day and night and was really tired towards the end. He hung out with all of the other kids upstairs for a while and then took turns sitting on mine and Wayne's laps. Pretty soon, he just couldn't take it anymore...he laid down on the floor and went to sleep :)

We had so much fun seeing everyone and getting caught up, and I loved seeing Nathan and Charlotte with everyone. We are so lucky to be part of such a loving family. Can't wait for next year!