Benson Family Reunion 2012

The second weekend in June of every year, we have a family reunion for my mom's side of the family.  This takes place down in the Hill Country that includes immediate family and extended family all the way down the line (1st, 2dnd, 3rd, 4th cousins, etc).  Obviously, we see our immediate family throughout the year, but this is the one time where EVERYONE gets together.  This was Pierson's first time to go because he was only about 3-4 days old by the time the reunion took place last year.  Jeremy, Pierson and I headed down on Thursday morning so we could take it slow (remember something about my child HATING being in the car?) and hang out with my parents for one night before everyone else got there.  We had just gotten outside of Dallas, when I turned around and saw this....

 

and thought to myself....this is going to be joyous.  But, it only lasted about twenty minutes...sigh!
We made a pit stop in Waco to let the little man run around and burn off a little energy.  I'm sure everyone at Kohl's was wondering why we were letting our child run around everywhere.  Pierson made himself at home in the toy department and found the barbies...lol.  Daddy was excited.   

Thursday night, Jeremy, P, my mom and dad, and myself all slept in our little house and that was interesting.  Pierson slept okay, but I was in the same tiny room with him, and well....neither one of us really slept that great.  My parents always get a bed and breakfast in Blanco for the weekend, which helps out a lot.  My parents, P and I, and Alicia and Adisyn all stayed there.  We were also lucky enough to have JoJo and Papaw come down and spend part of the weekend with us.  I might add that it appears my niece Adisyn is starting to like Pierson.  They hugged on each other all weekend.  Pierson absolutely LOVES to hug people, stuffed animals, Tank, etc so it was pretty cute to watch.  I have attached a TON of pictures which may bore most of you, but they are for my own records. 

A little hug to get the day started

Mom and her grandkiddos

They loved riding in the wagon. 

Sweet P

Sweet Adisyn

My Boys!

JoJo and Papaw

Lynn, Meme, Mason, Cheryl and Brian

Sadly the best family picture we got the entire weekend  :)

Michelle, Mark, Delaney, Melody and Mason (not paying attention)

P and Daddy

Mom and her sisters

Meme, Aunt Cheryl, Delaney, Melody and Bill

I asked for a pic of them, and this is what I got!

Sweet Cousins

Jeremy, P and I decided to leave Sunday morning.  We missed out on lunch with everyone, but my boy was pooped, and lets face it...I was to.  I have to admit that sometimes it is hard to travel with a little one, but I think we did pretty good this "go round." 

Happy 1st Birthday!

We celebrated P's birthday the day before.  We had a construction theme party, and I think it turned out pretty cute.  Wowzers, we had a lot of people at the house (I'm guessing at least 50-60 people) that day but it was certainly a good time.  Below is a pic of the invite, but I somehow managed to screw it up when I scanned it in.  But...you get the point.  I must give credit for the invite to Cara...otherwise I will hear about it..hehe.   

I begged and pleaded with people to not bring toys...some listened and some didn't.  Haha.  P got a new wagon (which he LOVES)., money (going directly to that college fund), a lottery ticket, his first couple shares of McDonald's stock (hmm..wonder if one of his grandparents might be a banker?), outdoor toys, a swimsuit, books, bubble machines, water table, remote control car (I think daddy likes that more), two lawn mowers, tools, a guitar, and tons more.

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a crafty person at all, but I certainly tied, and may have copied some things I saw on the internet (Pinterest).  

I do give myself credit for this genius idea.  Gummy worms in shovels, etc. 

Anyone hungry for a chocolate tire?

Can't have a party without a little Chick fil-A chicken nuggets right?...I mean gravel!

mmmm...dirt pudding!

I will apologize in advance as I have a crazy amount of photos, and them my parents took even more.Before the party really started, P took some time to try out the new toy his daddy bought him while I was at work.  Funny, how Jeremy always tends to spend money on Fridays when he is at home...interesting.  However, P did love it.  He and cousin Adisyn tried it out before the party and both seemed to enjoy it.  

Gotta love Adisyn's look  :)

That would be Shana pretending to help...she was really eating chicken nuggets. 

Get me out of here!

That would be the one and only Big Dave and cousin Melody

  The rest of the pics are from Big Dave's camera, so I apologize that they are so big, but lets just face it...it is taking too much darn time for me to figure out how to make them smaller.  Again...sorry for the pic overload!

Megan, Dot Dot and Cara

Pierson and Big Dave.  Side note...that is not a booger coming out of P..not sure what it is. 

P looks so happy with Big Dave.  Not sure what Hayden is doing...lol. 

Marley, Melody and Delaney

Haley, P, Hayden and Jordan

Haley (Shana Junior) and Jordan (Ronnie Junior)

Eric (Curvie) and Melody

When we started to sing Happy Birthday to him, he just smiled and started clapping.  It was adorable.  I think he loved all of the attention.  



 

 

 

Could he be any cuter??

Mark and Michelle, oh and a great pic of Melody in the background

Cousin Adisyn, Aunt Alicia and Uncle Weirdo

Best family pic we could get. 

Sadly, I don't have any pics of JoJo and Papaw with P.  I am hoping they may have some on their camera.  We are so appreciative of everyone that came out to celebrate our wild man's bday, and P is also thankful for all the fun new toys he received!

Lastly, on P's actual birthday, we just took it easy and hung out at home.  Oh, and is there anything wrong with letting your child run around in his birthday suit?