Thanksgiving Reunion

We loved being in Arizona for Thanksgiving!
We were so grateful we could be with all of Robert's family (minus one brother and his family, who we missed). We hadn't seen some of them for three years.
Everyone had such a great time. Robert and the boys were out for a week. The girls and I went out the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
Having missed all the activities in the beginning of the week, I wanted to catch up on being with the boys. The first day the girls and I were there, we went - with 16 of the cousin (only missing 3, two little ones and one recovering from a broken collar bone didn't come) - to a cool trampoline place. You can tell from the pictures that the area is wall to wall trampolines. Even with trampolines up the wall a bit. How fun is that!

There was an area with foam balls and basketball hoops.

There was an area for dodge ball - a Beckstead favorite!

On trampolines it was even better! The younger cousins had a better edge on the trampolines and got many older cousins out. There were a bunch of dodge balls games.

They had a cool area with a Velcro wall. You could put on Velcro suit and jump and stick on the wall.

We went as a "party" group and got the package with drinks and cupcakes.
It was fun having a cousins birthday party and two hours of bouncing.
OK, so lots of pictures of this place, but it was seriously cool!
With almost 40 people for Thanksgiving dinner, we went over to the church building to have enough space.
While all the food was getting put together there were games of Bump.There was a true feast with lots of wonderful foods.

We ate until we were more than full.
We're so grateful for the bounty we have and the wonderful country we live in.

As we let dinner settle there was a talent show - which included a balloon band playing jingle bells,

and a Harry Potter puppet skit, among the entertainment.

Once the talent show was over and we all stopped laughing, it was time for pie!
Jake couldn't wait - pumpkin is his favorite.

Robert was more than willing to accommodate those wanting a bit of extra whipped cream.

After we had our fill of pie, there were crafts to do.
We learned how to make Duct Tape wallets.

They were a big hit with all the cousins.

Even the girls.
They made more duct tape wallets and purses over the next couple of days.

Grandma showed everyone how to make turkeys with cookies and candies.

They turned out really cute.

We had more time with cousins.

And loved every moment we had to be together.

Every once in a while there was actually some down time.
Perfect for reading stories,

And putting together puzzles.

There were meals together, Black Friday shopping - but later in the morning, playing games, watching movies, and lots of catching up and chatting.
We weren't ready to leave and hope it isn't long before we see each other again.