Speers Reunion 2021- Bear Lake, Utah

The much anticipated Speers family reunion finally came and went. Due to rental car prices being outrageous, we ended up having to drive to Utah. We left July 3 and headed to Trinidad, Colorado to stay the night. We made really good time and the kids did amazing.

The next morning we got up and drove the last 8 hours to Vernal, Utah. We were excited to see my Grandma Wall and check in with her. She made us dinner, we played games, and chatted. It was nice to see her after so long.

She still looks amazing at 96!

We went over to take a walk around the Vernal temple which is the temple I was endowed in.

The next morning we got to go over to my Grandpa Haws' house and visit with him. He is old and having a hard time. I was glad he let us visit with him for as long as he was able. I loved being at his home again and having the kids learn play in the creek and race the boats. 

The homemade boats we always used to race with. 

My grandpa's house has some fun memories. 

Our Vernal visit was short, but I am grateful we got to see my grandparents and Aunt Laurie.

Our next stop was West Jordan, Utah to stay with Daphne for 3 days. She has a new home there and the kids were so excited to see her. The kids especially have really missed her since she moved from Baton Rouge. We had fun hanging out, playing games, and just being together. We sure wish she was still close.

We were able to see my Aunt Sheri and Uncle Dale in the morning and visit their home. Then we went bowling with my college friend Kristen Toone and some of her kids. It was so great to catch up with her. She is one of those people you can always pick up where you left off and it's like you never left. 

I miss the days in college where we would hang out. I called her Heinz cause she ate endless amounts of ketchup and she called me coach. 

Ragnar got to see his old mission buddies as well.

That afternoon/evening we went over to Sandra's house and visited with her and her family. She has 3 dogs, so between her three and Cortex, there were a lot of furry friends. We had a BBQ and then went to the park and got ice cream. It was good to see his sisters since its been a while. 

The kids loved Maddie the most as she was the littlest. Cavin with his allergies stayed clear ;)

Her son Jonas works at Dairy Queen, so we got some ice cream and checked out his place of employment. 

The next morning we went for a hike on a route called "The Living Room." It was a hike by the University of Utah campus and it was beautiful. We left early so the weather was gorgeous. Most everyone did well, but it was steep, so it was a little harder for Ella, but she made it up and the view was worth it. 

It was seriously so pretty and I'm glad Daphne took us hiking as it is not something we usually get to do. 

Later that day we went up to temple square to tour and see the renovations. It is a beautiful place even under construction. We also did a conference center tour. 

That evening we went to Chilis to celebrate dinner together and then came back and played games. 

It was so good to see his sisters. 

Thursday morning we headed toward Logan and stopped in Layton to say hi to my cousin Stephanie. She is the best and I am glad we got to see her and her cute kids. 

We made it to Logan and showed the kids USU and some of our favorite places and had Aggie ice cream together. 

I saw my old roommate Lindsay Sleight for a minute.

Then we visited the Ferrin family who we love!

Afterward we headed to my Uncle Randy and Aunt Jana's to stay the night. We had pizza with my cousin Jannika and her family, and my parents. Uncle Randy took me running the next morning, we had breakfast, visited with Ragnar's old boss Ed Fisher, got our car repaired and headed to Bear Lake!

Friday the reunion in Bear Lake began! The house was spacious and on a great piece of property. 

I loved this backyard swing the best!

It had it's own tennis court and playground. 

We explored and got to hang out together. The theme for this reunion was " We can Be...." and we each filled in what we can be during our family devotionals each night. 

Saturday was my brother Corey and dad's birthday, so we had a party and a lot of my extended family came to see us.

My mom with her siblings, but Laurie was missing. 

Me with my Aunts. I got to see all of them on this trip. 

My Uncle Randy

Here are some of the cousins that were able to make it up. 

My cousin Ryan also brought up his four wheeler for us to try out!

Sunday we went to church with over 800 people in this huge visitor branch. Then we played games, did a family history activity and went for a walk and relaxed. 

Cute girls had fun together. 

The living room was huge and it was awesome. 

Beautiful views on our walk.

Monday started with family pictures. Here are some random ones Ragnar took until we get them back.

We then went to the adventure park and played.

The kids loved this tubing track. 

Ella did the giant swing with her cousin Maddie.

We did a ropes course. 

Ella axe threw and Channing did the bungee trampoline. 

It was a fun adventure. 

That night we went to see Peter Pan at The Pickleville Theatre.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a great play and they did an awesome job. 

Tuesday was my favorite day...boating!!

The kids got to water tube. 

The water was really choppy and after a bit Ragnar was not keen on driving anymore. 

Me and my sisters!

Brothers on board!

After a few tries I was able to learn how to water ski! It was fun and I was so glad I was able to get up!

One half spent a couple hours on the beach.

It was a fun day boating. 

Unfortunately my ski was too tight and twisted my leg and so I sprained my ankle.

My nephew John was on a leave from his mission, so he was able to join us for a couple days until he left to go back out Wednesday morning. It was fun to see him. 

Wednesday morning Ragnar made A LOT of kaiserschmarrn.

Then we did our annual Summer Olympics. 

The kids got in teams of 3 and off they went. 

They did events like pickle ball, horseshoes, trampoline, running, soccer, ping pong, air hockey, and fuss ball. 

I think they had a fun time together. They just love being with their cousins. 

These 4 girls are only about a year apart.

I was so happy to finally meet my nephew Grayson who is 7 months old now. 

He is a cutie!

That evening we went to the beach one more time to play and get milkshakes.

The beach was nice and close and the water is pretty. 

We tried the famous raspberry milkshakes from different places this week and today we tried Zipz. 

That evening we played Left Center Right with quarters and Natalie won!

It ended in a kid throwing up which happened a few times at the reunion, and always seems to with that many kids. 

Deacon lost two teeth after picture day!

My mom spent time crocheting. 

And my dad spent a lot of time trying milkshakes ;) haha

Thursday we watched movies, played, and hung out. My friend and neighbor from Smithfield, Utah came up to say hi to us which was nice. 

The kids had fun playing. 

The next morning we checked out of the rental and headed to Denver, Colorado!

We stayed with my good friend Cameron Bortolussi and his family. We got to see his son play baseball and hang out.

Unfortunately, the stomach bug caught up with us and Deacon threw up that night. 

We left super early the next morning and drove all the way home. 16 hours! The kids did so awesome and thankfully Deacon didn't have to throw up in the car. 

We had a great trip and made lots of fun memories!

Cavin is growing up!

Cavin had the opportunity to go to young mens camp with our church Lakeshore ward the first week of June. They drove 9 hours to the Ozarks in Arkansas for their adventure. I was pretty nervous for him to go for several reasons, but in the end, he survived and had a great time. 

There were about 10 leaders and 30 boys who went. We have a great group of young men in our ward who I am grateful Cavin has the association with.

The first day they went for an 8 mile hike and it was hilly and green. Cavin said it was hard, but a good experience. The camp theme was "I can do all things through Christ." They were trying to do some hard experiences to show themselves that they can work hard. Unfortunately Cavin said he twisted his ankle that night and didn't go on the second hike which is disappointing. 

The last day they went canoeing down the Buffalo river. It was a long trip, but he said it was a lot of fun and they were the first ones to finish. 

It looked like he had a great experience and was glad he went. I am grateful for the leaders who sacrifice their time to create these experiences for the youth.

Right before he left, we got the chance to finally go back into the temple for baptisms. We took some friends along, and it was great to be able to be there. 

We started our running/exercising training program and the kids had a wet mile run to start. They did great. 

Finally, Cavin is officially a brace face. He got braces right after he got back from camp. He is excited for a flawless smile in a couple years. 

He has had an eventful start to the summer. I hope it is one to remember!

Ella is another year older!

Ella turned 15 on May 5, 2021. She is a great kid and we have fun watching her grow! We went on our one on one date to go shopping for some clothes, and of course to half price books, then we finished it off with Dirty Juicy Burger. I enjoyed hanging out with her, and I'm glad she still wants to hang out together!

On her birthday she had early morning seminary, so we took a picture bright and early!

There are 3 words she is always saying! When she doesn't know what to say, she says "cactus", when we ask her a question, her immediate response is "fine", and whenever we leave the house she always says "Don't die!"

Her birthday was simple. We ate culvers for dinner and then opened presents. She mostly got clothes, shoes, jewelry, money, beanie boos, art stuff, and a coupon for a haircut. 

She wanted a cookie cake, so we got her a small one, then we watched the Masked Singer, which she likes, and she went off to her church activity. 

                             

Ella is a great kid. She works so hard at school and is awesome about waking herself up for seminary every morning. She is prompt and responsible and she is a very obedient kid. She does what she's asked and is not afraid to be herself. She knows who she is and isn't swayed by other's opinions, which is hard as a teenager. She is still playing the cello in her school's orchestra and is a great player and even better when she practices ;) She loves music and has a natural talent for it. She likes to sing and play instruments. She loves the color black and wearing hoodies and jeans. She never wears a matching pair of earrings and likes to have one of each. She loves elephants and cookies and cream Hersey's bars. She reads books non stop and probably at least 10 books a week. She listens to all types of music, but never likes a song for very long. She likes to compose her own music and is still writing a novel. She is an intelligent girl and we love her!