We met Emma in the
Chicago airport. She was coming from
Washington, DC where she participated in National History Day, a week long
school competition at the University of Maryland. We spent two days in
Cincinnati, wished my Dad a Happy Father’s Day, and then headed to
Michigan. Checking into our hotel felt
like home since we have stayed there the last three summers. Our week in Michigan went way too fast. John worked everyday in Dearborn; Emma stayed
with Jessica Dyal and attended their stake’s Pioneer Trek with her. The Johnsons were also staying at our hotel
and attended Trek. The weather was
beautiful, no humidity and around 78 all week.
I did many Zumba classes with Dede Dalton and even participated in a
Zumba fundraiser with her on Saturday.
Friday we went to the temple with the Daltons and Johnsons and ate
dinner at TGIFridays. We had several
doctors’ appointments and enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool. We drove back to Cincinnati on Tessa’s 7th
birthday. She requested lunch at Max and
Erma’s and had fun picking out a few presents at Target.
Laurel and John, Cincinnati River
Larsen, Johnsons and Daltons
We spent a few weeks
in Cincinnati at my parent’s house. Before John headed back to China Emma
received her Patriarchal Blessing from Patriarch Thompson. Mom and Dad came with us. What a beautiful blessing! We spent the next day at the Cincinnati
zoo. The other highlights in Cincinnati were
helping my parents purchase a computer for their mission, James attending scout
camp with Adam, James’ 13th b-day, Rick’s calzones, going to two
dinner parties with dad and mom and her nursing friends, eating from my mom's
garden, swimming, going to the movies, and Zumba at the YMCA.
The McAllister family
reunion was a blast, but we missed John and Brad (who is on his mission in
Russia). Reunion highlights were attending
a Red's baseball game, two amusements parks, hanging out with cousins, bowling,
eating Snowies almost everyday with certificates that Marcia bought at a scout
auction, going through mom’s hope chest, slip n slide, fireworks in the
neighborhood, and walks.
James at scout camp
Emma getting her Patriarchal Blessing
Cincinnati Zoo
James turns 13
A week before we left
for America, Eliza slammed her toe into her bedroom door. It was pretty beat up and held Eliza back a
little this summer. Thankfully on our
last day in Cincinnati my mom (nurse of the universe) pulled the toenail all
the way off.
Tessa was super
strong bowling and loved having her cousins at Grandmas, but the next day she
started throwing up and basically spent the rest of the reunion on the
couch. The day we went to Coney, Tessa
wouldn’t ride any rides and my dad offered to take her home early. The next day she couldn’t walk. My dad and Uncle Rick gave Tessa a blessing
since we all feared JDM had returned. We
had weaned her off of steroids the first week in June and were hopeful she
wouldn’t need them again. Thankfully the
next morning she was showing signs of improvement.
Eliza's toe
McAllister Reunion
Siblings
Tessa, Eliza, Kate and Betsy at King Island
Luke, James and Adam at the Red's Game
Ryan, Amie, Brittany and Emma
Emma flew to Utah
where Aunt Becky Olsen picked her up.
Emma attended EFY at the University of Utah with Maddie Seely.
There were 6 people attending that session of EFY with a China connection,
which was fun for them - Conner Peterson and Jackson Peterson (who live
in Shanghai now), two Hoskin girls from Beijing, and one of the teachers who
lived in China for the past year. Anyway,
Emma and Maddie had the time of their lives!
Emma at EFY
In Utah we spent a
day at the Snowbird ski resort with the Johnsons, which was a ton of fun – rode
the Alpine Slide, Tram ride up to the highest peak and had a picnic, swimming,
Mexican restaurant for dinner.
We spent two nights
with Karen and her family. Tessa wants to
move into their house and wishes she had all of Kate’s toys. We had fun shopping with them for new swimsuits
and ties, swimming and eating ice cream at DQ.
My college roommate, Jessica Stanley, joined us for dinner at the Wilkinson’s
one night for Cincinnati Chili. It was
fun to catch up with her.
We also stayed with
my cousin Mike Mains and his family in Highland. They have three kids that our kids have never
met, and they all played so well together.
They have a beautiful home (castle) and our kids couldn’t get enough of
the indoor pool, dance studio, and Movie Theater. Mike fixed us two fabulous meals. On our last night the Wilkinson’s came and
Mike made us pizza in his Italian brick oven.
James loved his homemade root beer.
We spent a full
Saturday in Provo – touring BYU campus, showing the kids the different
apartments where we lived, eating lunch at Café Rio with Heidi Miller and
Michelle Brittner and their families, buying Emma a ukulele for her birthday,
running into the Olsens at the BYU bookstore and attending Steve Hayden’s reunion
rock concert that night.
Park City
John’s family reunion
in UT was super fun. I am including Grandma’s summary here:
Grandma
Larsen’s letter from the Family reunion:
“Saturday, July 13: The temple
trip to the Bountiful Temple with the grandchildren doing baptisms (thanks,
Nate, for the family names you prepared for us) and the adults doing an
endowment session. Due to the fact that so many of the Utah temples were
closed for maintenance the Bountiful Temple was filled to capacity and our
experience was lengthier than we anticipated, but it turned out to be a truly
wonderful time. Those who helped with the baptisms and confirmations
commented that they kept thinking of Dad and of how much he enjoyed doing the
baptizing with youth sessions. What a thrill to be in the temple together!
Sunday, July 14: Arrival and
gathering at the Larsen Reunion 2013. The hunting lodge near Coalville,
Utah was a wonderful a facility. The large wrap around decks, three
stories of windows overlooking the valley below, large modern kitchen, and
roomy bedrooms really accommodated our large crowd. Along with the lodge
there were eight cabins available for our use. A big thanks to Stephani
and Linds and Steve and Bonnie for bunking in the cabins since the main
building didn't have the bedroom capacity that we needed.
Monday, July 15: With our boat rental
scheduled for 7:00 a.m. it was an early morning for us
all. Anyone interested in skiing or wake boarding headed for Jordanelle
Reservoir at 6:30 a.m. and Stephani and I scouted out
the shoreline, trying to lay claim to a good stretch of beach for our day in
the sun. After investigating several inlets and picnic areas, we finally
ended up with our party located just around a bend from the marina.
Between the rental ski boat, rubber raft, inner tubes, and kayaks, we had
a great time. Thanks to Linds, Jeff, and Randy who did the driving and to
everyone who helped with the logistics of getting kids here and there and
everywhere for their turn on the boats. By the time we had supervised the
kids playing on the beach, given grandkids rides on the inner tubes, knee
board, skis, and wake board, paddled the kayaks to the far side of the
reservoir, had lunch, and applied several layers of sunscreen, we were ready to
head home about four and get supper and ready for the night's activities.
Monday evening's program following
dinner was missionary reports from SaraKay, Sam and me and then Shauntel
conducted the "Stephen A. Larsen Literary and Fine Arts Fair."
Shauntel had invited each of us to perform a memorized poem or present a
work of art or written composition. At the program each participant
received a ribbon for participation and took a few minutes to explain to the
family what they had created for the occasion.
Tuesday, July 16: The agenda for
the day included a Zumba session under Laurel's capable tutelage, a volleyball
(beach ball) game for all ages, an intense adult volleyball game for the
die-hard volleyball players, and crafts in the lodge for those not involved in
the games. Later a kiddie pool and fun in the hot tub while Paul and Jenny
took a few of the kids swimming in a nearby pond. An afternoon thunderstorm
moved in about three so we did our "Float it or fly it" activity on
the covered lower deck. Each sibling and spouse were team captains and
members were randomly chosen for each of seven teams. Tim acted as
photographer and documented the creations that took shape during the hour
allotted. Later each team demonstrated their "invention" and
those with flying machines went to the third story deck and flew them to the
crowd below. Steve used a timer to document how long each plane or
parachute contraption was aloft and determined the winner. There were
lots of interesting inventions but the winner turned out to be the little paper
airplane that caught the breeze and sailed peacefully to the ground, staying
aloft a few tenths of a second longer than it's competitors.
For the "float" portion of
the competition we all walked to the meandering stream below the lodge and
positioned ourselves for the competition. After scouting out a stretch of
stream that was unencumbered by fallen logs and other debris the boats were
launched and started their journey down through the winding creek. Some
of us were wading in the creek downstream and ready to catch the boats as they
emerged from the grassy banks and underbrush. Although most of the boats
survived the rigors of the journey of special note was the Piro ship launched
by Stephani and Josh's team that had a bushy paper sail that was set ablaze
prior to its launching and created a fiery spectacle for all of us onlookers.
The favorite "family talent
show" proved to be another highlight of the day. Whether it was
individual acts or group routines, everyone was a star and we were a grateful
audience. After dinner the 10 and under group held a short insight
session and each child responded to the question, "What makes you
happy?" Later the adults held their own session while a movie
entertained the little ones. The topic for the night was to give a verbal
snapshot of an incident in the last two years that that we would like to share
with the group. It was a wonderful session with lots of variety in the
"snapshots" shared and a lot of laughter and tears. It was
especially satisfying to me to hear the contributions of the youth. What
struck me the most was how they are seeing the hand of the Lord in their daily
lives and they know that He hears and answers their prayers. What a sweet
experience for us all to see the growing testimonies of the rising generation.
As a clever addition to this session, Beth and Chantelle sang an original
rendition of "Tomorrow" from "Little Orphan Annie" which
had altered lyrics regarding the Larsen reunion.
Following the insight session everyone
raided the kitchen one last time before putting the little ones to bed.
Of course, with it being our last night together no one wanted to go to
bed so some sat around and visited, some worked on finishing up their craft
projects and the teenagers started taking dance instruction from Anna Sue and
Joseph who demonstrated their expertise with the jitter-bug during the talent
show earlier that evening. As the hour became later, the dancing group
continued their instruction on the deck and some of us adults sat and watched.
I gave up about midnight and went to bed but the
teens kept dancing until nearly 1:30 a.m.
Wednesday
morning everyone was up early and getting their family packed up and ready for
departure. By about 10:30 a.m. most were ready to
go so we had one final family prayer together and said our good-byes.
Friday, July 19: Drove to Lehi,
Utah to participate in the Allan F. Larsen reunion at Staff and Kaye's.
Those attending from our family were Steve, Chrissy, Jared, and Anne
Marie; John and Laurel and their four; and Mike and Marci and their bunch.
It was fun to see them visit and interact with many of the aunts and
uncles and cousins who they have not seen for years. Others attending
were: Gary and Linda and Mindy, Garen, Emily, Lisa, and Ashley and
families; Staff and Kaye with Jennifer, Coco, Jimmy and families; Jeanie and
Scott and Julianne, Maren and families; Mark and Rita with Jessica,
JoEllen, Jeanette, and Jeff and families, Rick and Terry, and Karen and Jim and
Jacob and his new bride, Betsy. We visited while the grandchildren swam
in the private pool or watched a movie in Staff and Kaye's home movie studio or
played video games. My bunch left Friday night for other destinations and
I stayed at a motel in Lehi for the night before rejoining them at Staff's the
next morning. I so appreciated the opportunity to visit with Daddy's
siblings and catch up on what they are doing and to see the grandchildren in
person. Although I see the kids on Facebook occasionally, it was very
satisfying to get to visit in person. I so appreciate Staff and Kaye
being willing to open their home to all of us. I love the Larsens and
appreciate their many kindnesses to me and their sweet friendships over the
years.”
Larsen Family
Maddie, Camille and Emma
Tate, Seth, James and Ben
Eliza, Laurel and Tessa
John
