Larkin Family Reunion - August 2008

We were all looking forward to having the entire Larkin clan together for a big reunion this month, and were obviously disappointed when we found out that Travis and Maria's family was not able to come at the last minute. But, we carried on, and still had a fun few days together!


We started off by all going to see "Les Miserables" at Tuacahn. It was wonderful, as always. There's no setting quite as spectacular as this canyon ampitheatre! It just can't be beat.


Our next activity was a day at the Veyo Pool. Check out the bathing beauties here! We enjoyed playing in the pool, eating those famous Veyo corn dogs, and the kids participated in their all-time FAVORITE Veyo activity . . . catching crawdads in the stream! Those critters are creepy.

Hmm. . . I couldn't believe that I nearly saw a full moon, right in the middle of the day! Thanks, Jer, for that fabulous shot. It will be a favorite for life.

Chelsea's giving us a little wave and a shout-out from the pool!

Eli has discovered this really cool way to pose for a picture. ROCK ON, DUDE!

Sunday night we all got together at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little family slide show, ice cream, and a few TRULY UNFORGETTABLE performances! We also celebrated the August family birthdays. No birthday gift from our family to Sienna would be complete without one completely ridiulous item. It all started back a few years ago when I forgot to get Sienna's present ahead of time, and so for a Sunday night birthday celebration, I pulled out the only thing I had that might "pass" for a 3-year-old gift. A lovely peach striped neck pillow. Now let me say, it WAS cute and fuzzy and cuddly and all, but I will never live it down. As a result, we've just made it a tradition to keep giving these fabulous, but non-child-friendly gifts to her every year. This year's gift? A lint roller. Ali was thrilled, she really needed one. :) Just check out that convincing smile!! (The girl hasn't figure out that it's a joke yet... but isn't she so polite?!)

Next, we moved on to the evening's performances! Chelsea first favored us with a visit from "Betty Sue" singing about her "Party Dress." The kids all love Betty Sue.

But the icing on the cake was Tacy and Tim's performance of "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli. It all started out innocently enough. Cute little Tacy came out and did a lovely ballet dance to the first half of the song. And then, it happened. TIM happened! In bursts Tim wearing nothing but his 1987 Dixie High School gym shorts, a headband wrap, long socks and some gym shoes. That's bad enough on its own, but then he tried to channel his inner-Michael Flatley and started to dance . . . with gusto!

He "dazzled" us with his amazing (yea, right!) leaps, spins, and poses. It was hard for anyone to really watch, since we were all laughing so hard we were crying!!

After a breathtaking solo by Tim, Tacy graciously joined him to finish out the dance with a bang. They attempted a few couples tricks, and gave the splits a try. Unsuccessfully.

Poor Jer could hardly stand it. All he could say to Tim afterward was, "For Pete's sake, HOW am I ever going to be able to top THAT one??!!"For once, someone made Jer look like the mellow, stable one! Gotta give that Tim some serious credit here. He tossed all pride aside, and gave us something we will NEVER forget!