Braithwaite St. George Reunion - Singing in the Tabernacle & David Archuleta

 We went to St. George from July 23 to August 2.

On our way down to St. George we stopped in Lehi for Perrin's baptism. Audrey was so excited to see her bestie, Matilda. At the baptism Matilda asked us, "Can I sit by you? I just really love you guys." Months later, Audrey still talks about Matilda and saves one of everything for Matilda.

We stayed in the 1910 condo this year in St. George. We went down about 5 days before the reunion officially started and Brent and I traded off working during the day while the other took the kids swimming. We had dessert at my parent's condo on Sunday:

Then we went to Andrew's house and he gave a concert of the songs he's written for the movie that Brittany wants to make. 

I took Audrey on a walk to find bunnies but we didn't see as many as other years. She really wanted to pet the bunnies!

Ava & Adalyn had a play date and painted their faces! These two drama/singing girls have so much fun together!

We spent lots of time in the pool- the best!

Audrey created a picnic for herself and Coen:

We had Andrew's family over to our condo for dinner and games. We played Fact or Crap which is a perfect game to play with Andrew. He actually knew tons of the facts already!

My mom took Ava and Adalyn to Mary Poppins. Ava was so excited and had planned that I would do her hair in a bun. 

It kept storming every night when we were there- monsoon season! It would be clear and hot in the morning, and then around 5pm a thunderstorm would roll in. The night of the play was no different, so they delayed the play to let the thunderstorm pass. They didn't get back until 1am! They slept over at my mom's condo and went right to sleep!

On Thursday Cher & Laura came into town to get the reunion started! Friday morning we went to the dinosaur splash pad. Audrey loved the train ride, despite the look on her face in this picture. I think she was a little worried about a dinosaur.

It was so hot! A splash pad is a must.

The cousins created a human dam at the splash pad and thought it was great fun.

Coen & Nathan had a sleepover the night before at Nathan's house. Coen was brave and did it! These two are also cute little buddies and love playing together.

The whole group swam together a few times which was fun:

The kids fought over who got to push the elevator button each time, since we were on the third floor.

One day I stayed at the pool with Coen while Brent and the two girls went back to the condo. About 30 minutes later, I saw Audrey come walking up the sidewalk and she pulled open the gate to the pool. Someone had not shut it tight so she was able to open it without a key fob. She came walking into the pool area all casually like, "hi mom." She was wearing her clothes and started walking over to the pool. I went and picked her up and asked where dad was. I assumed a few steps behind her. She told me he was at the condo. Sure enough, Brent never came, and I found that she had left our condo on the third floor, walked down three flights of stairs, walked around a building to get to the pool area, and opened the pool gate all, by herself. This girl freaks me out sometimes!! We went back to the condo, and found the door open with Ava watching TV on the couch, totally zoned out, and Brent working in the bedroom. After that I made sure our condo door stayed locked at all times! 

My mom & Cher did tie dye shirts for the kids for the craft this year. Fun! Cindy & Bren stayed with us for a couple nights and joined in the fun.

We had a taco night at my mom's with everyone.

Cute baby Livy! 

Lots of us went on a hike on Saturday morning to see petroglyphs in Ivins. We got up a little early so it wasn't too terribly hot. 

So cool!

I didn't think that Ava and Coen would want to get up early and hike in the heat so I left them home alone in the condo. They're getting so big, I can leave them for a little bit now! I still asked Laura to go over and check on them to make sure they were doing ok, but they handled getting up and turning on the TV just fine :)

My cousin Lindsey's family came down for the weekend and joined us for some of the activities, including the hike. 

We went to the Tuachan market and we saw the very last marble machine for sale! Brent loves these things and was tempted to buy it, but we already have three. So we just visited with the couple who makes them and they gave Audrey a few marbles to take home. 

We all went to enjoy Andrew's beautiful pool and lagoon. The lagoon is huge! We all took turns paddle boarding. 

Saturday evening was the Braithwaite concert at the St. George tabernacle. There was a good crowd!

The three sisters sang the Star Spangled Banner. I was nervous just to do this! 

Video of the sisters singing:

Laura and Jordan sang duets and solos, and Andrew played his piano pieces. 

Cher and I were sitting on the side and were cracking up at people's expressions in the audience. 

A couple videos of singing (sorry I don't have one of Andrew's playing, but he was amazing as always!)

Laura singing Never Enough:

Laura and Jordan singing the prayer:

At the end the kids all sang "What a Wonderful World." Ava was especially excited to get to participate. 

Little cuties at church:

On Sunday evening we went to Andrew's house and had a family talent show (Ava's request instead of a play). Each grandchild participated and did something different!

Coen taught everyone how to draw Pigeon: 

Ava played the piano and also did her "Do Re Mi" duet with Coen:

At the end, Laura and I popped up and did our "Loathing" duet from Wicked that my dad loves.

All of the kids wore their tie dye shirts. My parents have a dozen grandkids!

On Monday we played pickle ball and swam at the clubhouse pool. 

My parents got Chick Fil-A for the grandkids and then the adults all went out to lunch at Outback. This was a new thing- adults only! It was fun to be able to talk.

In the evening most of us went to see Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. We left Audrey watching the Disney Channel in a bed at my grandma's condo and she fell asleep watching and never made a peep, phew! 

Joseph was played by David FREAKING Archuleta. 

A few weeks before the play Laura text me, "I hope I get to sit by you so that I can see your reaction to David." I text back, "I hope it's you sitting by me and not Brent when I freak out." *half-kidding*

When we arrived at Tuachan, my mom handed each of us a ticket- she had four rows of four and we just sat where our ticket was. I ended up sitting next to Laura, and Brent was down on a different row. Haha! When the music started and David rose up out of the stage singing, Laura got her wish of watching me freak out and get star-struck. 

In the end, even though I have a major soft spot in my heart for David, we all agreed that this style of musical theater is not for him. He has a soft sweet voice compared to all of the other cast who could belt out their lines. It was still WAY fun and I'm so glad we saw him!

The next morning I went shopping for dresses with Brittany (I found too many!) and Brent went to Andrew's pool/lagoon again. Brent did not want to get out of the pool to drive home! We finally got all packed up and drove home that evening. We stopped at Iceberg for dinner and Audrey enjoyed her shake!

What a fun reunion! Lots of good memories, food, and people.