The Thomas Family Reunion - 2010

On June 11th, Dan, Alisha and I made our way to SL where Dan had two VA apppointments. Both went well and before long we were connecting up with the Sugies at Burger King on 4th South. It was pretty late when we left SL and headed towards Nampa, ID. where we had a couple of rooms reserved for us. However, that didn't stop us from getting up early and moving on to Tacoma, WA. We were going to our 2nd Thomas Reunion, organized by Elizabeth and James with help from Will and Jenni at Discovery Bay on the Washington Peninsula. We had 3- 3 bedroom condos for a week right on the water front.

We traveled with the Sugies most of the way there and Sitani and Marley took turns riding in our car with us. It was a blast! We stopped in Hermiston, OR. for a little Mexican style dinner and then finished off the trip arriving at Elizabeth and James that night.

The next morning Will picked Seth up at the airport. Jenni, Luke and Jenn, along with Mark and Laura and their families all came over to Elizabeth and James' where we had Anabelle's blessing. She was so beautiful and Mark's blessing was amazing. We are so grateful for righteous Priesthood holders in our family.

After taking pictures and the men changing out of their white shirts, we packed the cars and traveled across the narrows to the peninsula. It was so green and beautiful everywhere. We loved the condos and everyone found a place for themselves. Laura and Mark picked Grace up at the airport on Tuesday and so, we were all there except for Daniel and Dalynn, Mika, Ember and Maren who had to stay in Baltimore. We had a blast spending the rest of the week swimming in the pool, visiting light houses, playing on the beaches, exploring forts,

picking flowers,

going geo-cash treasure hunting

taking lots of wonderful family pictures, enjoying the Olympia National Forest,



seaside coastlines

and towns(Forks, WA. too),

going through an animal retreat,




having a campfire-(campout for some), having family home evening all together again with the added blessing of grandchildren there, finding a magestic family tree,

enjoying a quiet moment alone
kyaking in the bay one morning with Gracie and watching two seals follow us around. We saw three beautiful, huge pink star fish under the water and watched them move around the rocks. And, thanks to Jenni, we had a huge birthday party for all the summer birthdays.

The children all pitched in and bought Dad and I a computerized picture frame for Mother's and Father's Day this year. Then they spent countless hours gathering pictures and downloading them for us to have. We now proudly display a slideshow of all the reunion pictures right in our living room. Some nights I lay there on the couch and watch the pictures as they come and go.

I've only touched on some of the things we did together. Kristi and others have done a great "day by day" blog of the reunion and of course they have other wonderful pictures, too.

What glorious memories with great pictures to remind us of a FANTASTIC THOMAS FAMILY REUNION!! Thank you everyone!!
(All the pictures on this blog are from my camera but Kristi and others have many more pictures on their blogs.)

And This is Where the Fun Begins

See those two men's suit jackets on the chairs? It's rare when we have 2 suit jackets hanging around. I have to say, I loved it!! One is Dan's and the other's Marks. As I told you, this is where the fun begins, especially since they brought a new little girl home with them. We had such a good time with Jace and little Anabelle. Grandchildren are the best! And I just remembered why Gracie came home and then left us again. She was bringing home most of her things from college to leave here while she's on her mission. Then she went back to Provo for another week. On May 27, Elizabeth came over from WA and Mark and Laura came up from Provo along with Gracie. They were all here to go through the Temple with Gracie on May 29, attend her mission Farewell on Sunday and to attend Alisha's graduation on the following Wednesday. Seth joined us on Thursday, too!! It was so good to be with everyone in Gracie's Endowment Session. What a wonderful experience. One day we will all be together in a session until then, we'll be so grateful for those who were with us that day. To celebrate Gracie's call along with celebrating Alisha's graduation, we went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was so fun. And although we were all a little tired (some of us more than others) At the end of the day there were rainbows in the sky. The next day Gracie shared the Sacrament Meeting with the Sister Missionaries and although her talk "didn't print off" from the computer, she did an awesome job speaking in Church. Afterwards we had a little supper for friends and family that came to hear her speak. At Gracie's request we kept things simple and relaxed but we definately enjoyed the company. Over the next few days, Elizabeth, Grace, Alisha and Tessha all tackled the garage. They got out Gracie's things, repacked them and also packed up all of Alisha's things. Elizabeth and Tessha packed up the car with everything they could possibly squeeze in. On June 1, Alisha walked the stage and received her diploma. It's hard to talk about but it's been amazing what she's accomplished in her younger years. I remember praying all the time through her first few years that she'd live a little longer. When she was baptized at 8 years, I thought, "Wow, she's made it to 8." And here she is graduating from High School with a diploma. Kind of tugs at the heart strings a bit. She's had some fantastic teachers and friends all along the way and we'll be forever grateful for all they've done to help. Mostly, she never gives up.






The next morning Mark, Laura, Jace and Anabelle,
as well as Elizabeth and Tessha took off for home

while Alisha stayed to keep me company for a little longer. I finished making Anabelle's blessing dress

and we all got ready for our long-awaited trip to Salt Lake for dr. appts. and on to Washington with the Sugies for the second Thomas Family Reunion. The fun continues!!! (
Dates and Times may not be exact due to a lack of memory.)