Parnell Family Reunion, 2012

Every year the Parnells get together for a family reunion.  For the past several years we've gone to Hot Springs, AR. We were in  Hot Springs again this year, but we are actually changing the destination for next year. I'm not sure where it's going to be yet, but it will be fun to have a change of scenery. We left Thursday around noon which was perfect because Nathan and Charlotte both fell asleep after about an hour and slept most of the way there. Although when Nathan woke up, the questions began: "Are we almost there?" "How much longer?" "Are we there yet?" The only way we could put it in perspective for him was in terms of movies..."We'll be there after you watch all of CARS and part of  Toy Story 3." And that made perfect sense to him!  

 We had several families staying in the "Big House" which was our central meeting place where we ate dinner and visited each night.  Other families (including us) rented condos and then came to the Big House in the evening. Our condo was a lot of fun because we stayed with Uncle Stuart and his family along with Grandmother. Nathan and Charlotte LOVED being with their cousins Logan, Landon, Lexa, and Layton and being able to play non-stop! The boys actually slept together on the fold away couch in the living room. 

When we first got to the big house, we were most excited to see Baby Pearce! We have all been missing him and couldn't wait to get our hands on him.

On the second day, our family and Auntie Carrie went canoeing! We did this last year too, and Nathan had so much fun and was so happy to go again...that's all he's been talking about! This year was fun though because we brought Charlotte with us. We had two canoes, boys in one and girls in the other. We packed a cooler full of drinks and snacks and had so much fun. We would paddle a ways down the river and then find a spot to stop and swim and take potty breaks! We only had one "mishap."

After lunch, Charlotte wanted to ride in Daddy's canoe. The river was really gentle so we thought no big deal. So Carrie and I got in front of Wayne's canoe and went around a turn where the current was pretty strong. There was also a big tree with low branches stretching across so I yelled at Wayne to go to the left of it. But when you're canoeing, it's a little easier said than done maneuvering exactly where you want to go...especially when you are the only one rowing! Wayne's canoe was heading right for the branches and he had Nathan and Charlotte duck (which they did) but as he was trying to duck, he tipped the canoe and fell right out! As soon as I realized that Nathan and Charlotte weren't going to fall out, I couldn't help but laugh. Although I'm not so sure Wayne thought it was funny. What made it worse is that there was a family swimming right where it happened! They were all laughing at him! What goes around come around because after we gave him a hard time for falling out, Carrie and I got stuck on a rock, and Wayne had to paddle upstream to us to get us turned around. It was an exciting trip!

After our canoe trip, we all came back, took naps and showers and then headed to the Big House for more visiting, playing outside, eating, playing "Parnell Family Jeopardy" and fighting over who got to hold Pearce! Of course Mimi and Pops (Cliff and Edie) wanted Pearce whenever they could get him, and all of the other family members wanted to hold him because this was the first time most of them have seen him. Worst of all, Nathan and Charlotte wanted him too! So whenever I finally got a hold of him, here are my kiddos trying to take him away from me too! Pearce was very much loved that weekend and was such a good baby to go from one person to another. 

On Saturday, our family, Stuart's family, Grandmother, Carrie and Pearce all went to Mid America Museum which is an interactive science museum for children. The kids had so much fun with all of the activities. We were there several hours but could have stayed longer if it weren't for us adults starving and wanting to eat lunch! My favorite part was watching Nathan and his cousins doing the Hurricane tunnel. 

After Mid America, we had a great fish fry dinner, lots of desserts, and our annual family auction. Of course, we took lots of pictures too! Nathan and the rest of the kids played so well together. We brought Nathan's bike, and Logan, Landon, Lexa, and Layton brought their scooters. Grandmother brought Charlotte's hot wheels too so it was fun for the kids to be able to ride around the cul-de-sac outside. I was worried about the house being so close to the water, but Nathan was such a good boy and always stayed on the deck or out front unless an adult was with him. I was really so proud of him and Charlotte. They had fun being silly and playing around, but also used nice manners and were always very respectful. One thing that kept the kids occupied was them searching for "crystals." The "crystals" that they were finding were actually in the rock bed lining the front of the house! I'm not sure how many rocks, I mean crystals, Nathan and Charlotte swiped from the Big House, but I know we had a huge freezer bag full of them!

This last picture is of Nathan getting a spikey hairdo compliments of his cousin Jake! Jake put so much gel in Nathan's hair that it did hold well, and the next day, all I had to do was re-wet it and spike it again! Since the crystal hunting was a big hit, we stopped at a real crystal store, and he and Charlotte stocked up. We had a great time with our family and can't wait for next year and a new place!