Around here, June has been the month of family reunions! We were home for just a week after our Andersen reunion when it was time to get back on the road to Park City, Utah for BrownCon 2014!
(The explanation behind this epic photo and the theme of the family reunion will come in another post)
The Browns have done a good job of spreading themselves across states -- Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Utah -- so coming all together in one place was a pretty amazing feat! Even in the face of deployments and surgery all 18 of us were there - 10 adults, 8 children - and we had a great couple of days at the Marriott Mountainside Resort.
Several of our gatherings happened around the firepits as we roasted hot dogs for dinner or lunch
Valerie outfitted us all with personalized water jugs (love!)
and personalized roasting sticks. What a great idea!
And how about this mountain backdrop?
Dana had her 2nd birthday the day before the party began -- what better reason than to celebrate with Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes!
I continue to declare that Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes are the best cupcakes on the planet! This rootbeer float cupcake was no exception.
We also snagged one "Mormon Celebrity" sighting . . . . Dave Rose, coach of the BYU Men's Basketball team. We didn't talk to him - hence the stalkerish quality of the photo below - but we did share a firepit!
When the sun went down it was time for s'mores and we did this just about every night. Valerie brought out some nutella, Hershey's chocolate spread, peeps, and raspberries to mix things up a bit.
Nutella + raspberries + marshmallow. This one was Scott's idea and it was most delicious!
Anna worked really hard to ignite every marshmallow she roasted. Nice job, girl.
She cracks me up. I swear, everyday is a comedy with her.
A Brown gathering is not complete without something pirate related so we secured that checkmark with a Pirate Breakfast. We all gathered in Dennis & Valerie's hotel room/suite for pirate bandanas, eyepatches, moustaches, and bagels.
One afternoon we fit in some swimming
And the second afternoon we bought day passes for the Park City Mountain Resort and spent the afternoon running around with the kids from alpine coaster to alpline slide and back again.
I think we rode the Alpine Coaster a total of 6 times, or more. I was surprised by how fast and fun it was! It was definitely a family favorite.
(Anna, 8 and Lily, 11)
Lisa got some great photos of us with the kids on the Alpine Slide too. Thanks!
Payton's face cracks me up! Such determination and will!
Altogether it was a great facility and great way to spend the day. Everything was so close together that we could set the kids loose to play on the climbing wall, mini golf, carousel, bungee trampoline, and kiddie rides and for the most part we could always see where they were at.
Conner and I paid a few extra bucks ($8) to take a ride down the zip line! I loved zip-lining in Kauai and Conner was the only kid who was heavy enough to ride (75 lbs minimum) so we made it a mother-son adventure.
I thought this was the coolest "start" set-up. You put your feet on that gate and when they push the button the gate opens and off you go!
It was even more fun because we got to fly side by side. How about that view?!
I was in the lead for most of the line but at the very end Conner came out of nowhere and swooped in for the win!
Later that evening we all gathered at the McPolin farm/barn for family pictures. The wardrobe color scheme was black, grey, white, and pink. Can't wait to see how they turn out!
Hey, there's Randy and Kate! They are always so great with the kids.
To the above activities add some hot-tubbing, a round of golf, and a pizza party like no other (details to come) and that is what a Brown family reunion looks like!
