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Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Bryant Family Reunion part uno

It’s in less than a week!!! My whole family will be trekking to California for the Bryant Family Reunion. This is my dad’s side of the family.

The oldest generation includes Loya (my Grandmother –named after a specific grand rock in Yosemite), Barbie, Wayne, and Herwill (deceased just over 4 years ago).

These brothers and sisters have an amazing history with National parks- Grandmother’s dad was one of the settler/ trail-blazers for Yosemite. In fact, there’s a plaque there for him. The history continues down the family line, as my dad was born in the Grand Canyon over one of the summers his family was there.

We’ll be staying in King’s Canyon –linked with Sequoia & Yosemite- and my wing of the family (all my siblings & kiddos) will be camping! This sounds like a GREAT time, however, with little children, we could be asking for a lot of stress!! Mary and Allen are heading to CA early to spend some time with Allen’s family. Benny will be a vacationing pro by the time he gets to the campsite. Rachael and family are coming –and they’re still camping in spite of poor Rachael being 8 months pregnant! Next, Dave, Lex & Noah will be bringing Lexi’s younger sisters Desi and Kimi. Ella LOVES to play with these girls and it’s exciting that they’ll have the opportunity to see a different part of the country and hang out with all of us. These girls come to lots of family events, and have become part of our family. Sarah is hitchin’ a ride with Rach, but she’s boarding in a cabin with Granny. Mom and Dad are taking Granny and will be picking up Grandmother (who lives in San Bernardino, Ca) –they’re staying in cabins as well. We will be taking Chaedon along with the girls, which will be GREAT! Just like Kimi and Desi, I’m thrilled that Chaedon will get to see new things and spend some good quality time with all of us. We’re leaving next Wednesday, and the lists of stuff to bring are becoming INSANE!! *By the way, this picture does NOT do any justice to the size of the Sequoia Trees there*

So, I’m throwing it out to you, my faithful blog-readers! Do you have any suggestions on A- camping with babies, B- stuff that you’re pretty sure I’ll forget to bring along, and C- car/ entertainment suggestions for 3 kids on a 12+ hour drive????? Any additional suggestions will be helpful and appreciated!

5 comments:

Kate said...

This site is extremely helpful. They have packing lists, activities for kids, menu suggestions, and camping recipes. http://www.koa.com/familyzone/camping101/

Teri said...

I wish I had camping advice. We can't camp with Brayden so Spencer and Earl really look forward to Scout Camps! We'll be driving to Anaheim in September, so you'll have to share any advice you have for the drive when you're done!

Joni said...

Hey girl, sounds like tons of fun! We have two travel DVD players that you are welcome to borrow. They save us major stress anytime we go anywhere that is longer than a two hour drive! They are nice because you can either watch the same DVD on both screens or Ella could watch some kid show while you watch your fav chick flick! I know that doesn't help with Mia, but like I said you are welcome to them, if you want! Have so much fun!

Unknown said...

I'm so excited! It'll be a blast. :)

Heidi said...

The portable DVD player is a must. Both for the drive and in case of any meltdowns in the forest (for the kids who just aren't campers I have one of those.) Also a friend of mine said she would wrap a bunch of small presents from the dollar store (games for the car, coloring activities etc.) and give them to her daughter at stop points along the way. That way she wouldn't get too bored. I thought that sounded like a fun idea. And of course, lots-o-snacks! Have fun!