Bremerton Blackberry Festival with Hubby

After a wonderful flight from home to Bremerton with my Hubby in the back of the airplane for the first time ever, it was time to enjoy some of the local festivities.

I can’t believe that we lucked out to spend our weekend at the Bremerton Blackberry Festival. So much to do and see and eat today! And the whole thing gets to happen with my favorite person by my side.

I knew the day was going to be awesome when we woke up to fog. We don’t exactly get the opportunity to see things like this in Phoenix, so I love when it happens on the road. Doesn’t this just make you want to curl up with a good book? Or some blackberry cobbler?

But there was lots to do today, so away we went! Hubby and I decided to let it warm up more than the 52-degrees that it was that morning. Yikes!

But today’s high is supposed to be seventy-four. Perfection, in my book.

Early that morning, we heard singing from our hotel room. When we looked outside, we realized that the Navy was singing and running all through downtown.

They had chants going while they maintained perfect timing in their formation. It was pretty impressive, and not just because a bunch of people were willing to run.

Soon it had warmed up enough outside to enjoy the festival! It went from 10:00 AM each day until about 7:00 PM, or whenever the last band finished playing their routine.

And, as you can see, the festival is a pretty popular destination. We even watched crowds of people arriving from the Seattle ferry to enjoy the little town’s biggest annual event.

One of my favorite parts of the morning was the official fly-over. While we enjoyed the Blackberry Festival in town, a miniature air show was taking place seven miles away at the airport.

Since only one of us would have enjoyed that, we stayed in town.

We made the official decision to just eat food all day. There were so many choices, and if we shared we could try even more!

I wonder who’s idea that was?

All day long, we were serenaded by different bands playing on the stage. See the guy in tie dye to the left? He danced all day! By himself! It was awesome.

 

But let’s get to the good stuff…the grub! Of course, he put jalapenos on it. He would put them on everything if he could!

We enjoyed a healthy rendition of chili cheese-covered fries. It was actually way better than I was expecting, since I don’t like usually things like that.

And we washed it down with a homemade Blackberry Soda, which we both decided tasted just like concentrated cough syrup. Not a huge fan, but that might be just us!

We found a nice shady spot on the steps to sit and enjoy our food. It was a great view to get in lots of people-watching. Today wasn’t disappointing at all! Hubby stayed in the shade to save our spot while I made a few runs for different edible items.

I wonder who’s idea that was?

We watched them make this balloon ring in the parking lot this morning from the comfort of our hotel room. You can see our hotel in the background. Isn’t it the perfect location to enjoy all of this?

This was my fault. I was being adventurous in trying things that I normally wouldn’t pick. But this was a big, fat fail. It is a blackberry scone with a glaze, which is what coerced me into buying it. But the scone itself was really dry. We both wished we had more concentrated cough syrup to wash it down.

It was that bad. Wop wop.

All through downtown were things for big kids and little kids to do. This just makes me want to put some sort of climbing wall in our future boys’ bedroom. Wouldn’t that be fun?

There were also ponies to ride. This just made me miss my childhood spent on a horse. Did you know that I wore cowboy boots to school until the sixth grade?

It’s hard to pick a favorite thing from today, but these guys are certainly in the running. It was a family-operated booth called Viking Chips.

These wonderful people made my heart go pitter-pat…because they made fresh-to-order potato chips!

Using a power drill, they spun the potato against a blade to create the curly goodness. Then, into the deep fat fryer they went while we impatiently waited.

And then, hallelujah! Chips sent straight from heaven! They lightly salted them and handed us a giant plate of hot chips. Not too shabby for $4, huh?

I absolutely love this picture of Hubby. He is so dern handsome (and old…today is his birthday)!

Sorry for the sappy moment. Let’s get back to the chips!

They were incredible. We seriously considered getting a second order but didn’t want to be those creepy chip-eating people.

We watched a performer while we ate our chips. He was fun and interacted with the crowd well. He kept bringing people up from the audience to incorporate in his tricks. He clearly saw that we were too busy stuffing our face to be bothered.

He did a trick, and then this audience member had to mimic it, complete with weird sounds! It was funny, and the guest followed along pretty well!

They kept stacking these books and got into some pretty tricky configurations.

I wasn’t paying attention very closely since we still had chips to eat at this point in time.

A little later, we decided to put my Coldstone birthday gift card (thanks, Dad!) to good use. Hubby got a shake, and I got the Founder’s Favorite. We should have gotten smaller versions, since neither one of us finished.

You know that something must be wrong for me to not finish some ice cream!

As the evening wore on, the festival came to a close for the day. It would continue for the next two days over the holiday weekend! But we had more important things to do tomorrow.

I get to show Hubby Seattle!

This was the gorgeous view from our room after things were slowing down at the festival. It’s very tiring eating all day and sitting in the shade.

But there was a lot to do, and we had a wonderful day. It was so much better to explore with Hubby by my side the entire time. I am so lucky that he got to come along.

Sedona Family Reunion 2012

So, in case you haven’t noticed by now, I really like my family. And every two years, we convene at The Chalet near Sedona, Arizona to spend a week eating a ridiculous amount of food.

Today will highlight some of the fun that we had last month during the family reunion. I won’t post over seven-hundred pictures on here. You’re welcome.

These are my little brothers, Parker and Kip. I can’t believe how tall they are getting and how deep their voices are. They really aren’t any fun any more because of it.

Aren’t they good-looking?!

Lots of time was spent in the hot tub “swimming.”

 

And everywhere you turned, there were cute kids looking back.

We played lots of games and puzzles during our stay. Corban was particularly proud of his pig puzzle.

T’liese made her famous Caramel Corn, which was gone within minutes. We demand that she makes this for us every time that we all get together. Triple batch next time, please.

We have our own little private Slick Rock just a short hike from the house. After climbing across the creek, we were on our way to this special place. It’s one of our favorite traditions and something highly-anticipated by all.

Of course, you can’t forget to bring a soda along for the ride.

Hiking to Slick Rock allows us to see all sorts of critters along the way…including this little snake.

Soon we were at our first slide area. This one is fun for kids of all ages because it is a pretty mild slope.

This is my brother-in-law, Brian, with their sweet little girl, Nora. She was pretty fascinated with all of the sliding going on.

Kip is a wonderful uncle who takes great care of all the kids. Here he is sliding down Slick Rock with Evan while my nephew, Corban, watched from above to ensure proper form.

The kids always loved it after the fact, but sometimes some concerned looks were given before. Isn’t this little man adorable? Evan no longer lives just a few miles from my, but now a few states over. It’s already killing me!

Here is Kippy after going down Slick Rock. What a handsome boy! This is my first outing with my new camera, too, and I am just thrilled with the results. I am even more tickled that I got it in time for the reunion this week!

Here is my beautiful sister, T’liese. She, along with her husband, Joe, and son, Evan, moved to Texas last week! We are so happy for their new job, but I am really going to miss having them so close.

But that’s what airplanes are for, right?

This my Utah sister, Charloe, and her hubby, Brian with sweet little Nora. Brian is a drug dealer pharmacist in central Utah, which allows Charloe to stay home with their three cute and exceedingly-intelligent children. I know that she loves it!

Look at this gorgeous blue-eyed baby. And she is such a nice girl…hardly ever cries and is just as social as her older cousins. What a sweetheart Nora is.

These are my beautiful sisters. Charloe is five years older than me, and T’liese is 2.5 years older. My brother is just one year and nine days younger than me. Four kids in six years…can you imagine?!

My Mama is amazing…for many reasons!

After our sliding area had been used sufficiently, we moved on to our shallow pool area in the creek just a little further down. This is perfect for little kids and big kids alike to enjoy. There is lots to do and see in a very secluded Oak Creek Canyon.

There is a reason Evan is so dang cute…his parents are simply gorgeous people. Here is Evan with his daddy, Joe. I’m pretty sure that Evan is saying “cheeeeeeese,” just like he did in every photo I took of him.

This area of the creek is so much fun, and we all enjoyed being in the cool water. It was about eighty-five degrees today up the canyon, so it was wonderful to escape the Phoenix heat.

Kip and Corban enjoyed finding some snails on this rock, which soon found its way back into the water. Corban was pretty excited, as you can see.

I caught him before he could say “cheeeeeeeese.” But he was thinking about it.

This was our playground for the day. Isn’t it breathtaking? I’ve decided to move into The Chalet permanently. I wonder if anyone will notice?

This is Charloe and Brian’s second kid, Brynn. She is such a cutie and was a slugger when it came to posing for a photo. What a pretty girl!

Sweet little Evan was oblivious to the mischievous actions going on behind him. What a smart kid to ignore those trouble makers!

I love this little man. Corban is Charloe and Brian’s oldest kid. He just started second grade, but he could probably teach it because he is so smart! As you can plainly see from this photo!

Not everyone enjoyed the water in swimming suits. Some spectators watched the festivities from a safe dry rock above all of the action. This is Mama, Parker, and my step-dad, Merrill.

If you’ll notice, Merrill is wearing a souvenir that Mama brought back for him just a week before from our heavenly Disneyland trip.

What a good-looking trio! T’liese is expecting their second boy in November, so they will soon be a family of four.

Have you ever heard of photo-bombing? Yeah, me, neither. Until this unfortunate picture was taken. And none of us could stop laughing at the horrific face that T’liese willingly made for us to enjoy forever.

My Hubby missed the first few days of the reunion because his little sister got married. I headed down early Saturday morning to attend the wedding and spend time with his side of the family. We came back up to Sedona together after church on Sunday. I was glad to finally have my man with me.

Now I could really enjoy the reunion!

While sitting on the deck to enjoy the beautiful weather, Nora entertained us all by crawling around and saying hello. Isn’t this girl so beautiful? Her eyes are just stunning.

Kippy and Evan wrestled on the deck while we watched. We still don’t know who officially won.

Since our entire week revolved around eating, here is a shot of what Mama brought for their savory treat. A cheese ball with crackers, and it was yummy!

This is how we do food at our reunions. Each family is assigned a day where they make breakfast and dinner. We found out the hard way that lunch was an unnecessary evil thanks to all of the snacks. In addition to the “real” meals, each family also provides one sweet snack and one salty snack.

We have this down to an art form now. It works perfectly for us!

In fact, here is our Schedule of Events for the week. I was in charge of organizing the reunion this year, so you know that I made a schedule. This shows the food assignments, too.

One of the best things about our family reunion is that there is always something fun going on. Merrill enjoyed some crossword puzzles…something he rarely gets to do at home while working full-time and running a full-time cow ranch!

This guy has been so busy this past year, so I was very happy when he got some down time in Sedona.

While Merrill worked on his crossword puzzles, some of the other guys played a rousing game of bocce ball. This is a family favorite and is played constantly while up Oak Creek Canyon.

Soon it was time for dessert, and Parker provided wonderful lime and lemon cheesecakes for the evening. He even printed recipe cards for everyone to make them at home. I am glad he did, since these were delicious!

None of us could make up ours minds at to which flavor to choose. So we made it easy and just did a small slice of both!

On Monday, it was time for the Annual Family Olympics. Parker was the emcee and helped to keep score. This prevents cheating, folks.

Everyone came out for the games. It was a great year for Olympic events, especially with the real Olympics going on in London at the same time! I am glad that we didn’t spend much time watching them. I would much rather visit with family than watch television.

Our Olympics were done by each family creating an event. Merrill and Mama hosted the Tommy Hawk Throwing Event, and Corban is showing us proper form in this photo.

For some unknown reason, Merrill won. Is this suspicious to anyone else that he won his own event?!

Charloe and Nora didn’t seem to mind that the Olympics were apparently rigged.

Kip climbed the tree to get the ball down from our next event, Distance Rolling by Parker.

The goal was to get the two balls as close to the bucket as possible without touching. I don’t think a dirtier bucket could have been found anywhere.

Maybe that’s why I lost? I didn’t want to get anywhere near that thing!

Evan is showcasing his excellent Distance Rolling skills with his daddy’s assistance.

Here are my wonderful parents. I sure do love them.

Nora really enjoyed the Olympics today, even if she didn’t get to participate! If there was an event for Cuteness, she would have definitely won.

Hubby and I hosted the BB Gun Target Shoot, which was a hit with all of the members of the family possessing testosterone. Sorry, ladies. It won’t happen again.

Grandpa got to help Brynn with her sharpshooting skills.

And Mom was pretty excited that she hit the target. Small goals here, people. Small goals.

 

And, in a completely unexpected turn of events, Merrill also won the BB Gun Target Shoot! You would think that he’s done things like this all of his life?

The next event was jumping rope, which was fun for some and torturous for others. I won’t share which category I fell into.

But this is one of my favorite pictures from the entire week. Who knew that Brian could be so light on his toes?

Charloe and Brian hosted Simon Says, but I didn’t get any pictures because I was too busy losing.

Needless to say, Joe was pretty excited about the whole Family Olympics thing. He medaled in several events, too, so being excited really paid off!

Corban showed us all how it was done in the Hula Hooping activity. Surprisingly, this was Kippy’s event this year.

Which is why he easily beat everyone else by several minutes. I’ve never been good at this one. But I’m OK with that.

The Water Balloon Toss by T’liese and Joe was a crowd favorite. Sadly, this was the only event that I placed, and it was only because Hubby was on my team!

The idea of the event was to toss a water balloon, then take a crab-apple step back and repeat. Whoever got the farthest away before the balloon broke was the winner!

Hubby and I placed silver in this event. It was probably my favorite out of them all!

Nora got bored at this point and fell asleep on Uncle Joe’s UNC T-shirt.

The award ceremony was chocolate-filled and emotional for some. T’liese even bit her medal to see if it was real. Each family was in charge of bringing the prizes and medals for their event.

Like any of us needed more sugar! I didn’t complain too loudly.

 

Joe and T’liese hosted a very nice Family Home Evening about temples. And then we got to build various temples with Play-Dough. So smart and fun!

 

The green one is the Washington DC temple, but that is obvious. And the yellow one is the Mesa temple, but I’m sure that you could tell that from the palm tree out front.

I used to be better at Play-Dough…

After a thrilling yet relaxing six days spent with family, it was time to head out. I hate when the reunion is over.

Everyone in favor of holding this event every year, say aye!

It was a wonderful family reunion. We all enjoy spending time together, and doing it in a beautiful mansion in the woods is the perfect way to do it every two years.