Last week was our Wilson Family reunion in Canada. Getting there proved to be eventful for many in my immediate family. . .
Before Kelly and I even left for the airport, we heard that David (brother), Leslie and their 3 kids were denied boarding for their flight because they didn't have passports for their kids (5 and under). This news also worried my sister who were planning to drive across the border with two kids, but it turned out to be an airline issue, not a legal issue. (Passports are not required by federal law, but apparently airline rules trump federal laws.) The whole thing was very sad. We missed you!
Two other brothers and my sister-in-law also missed their flight and had to reschedule for the next morning. Kelly and I were planning to carpool with them for the 3 hour drive to the lake, but we opted to take two cars, rather than waiting at the airport for 9 hours!
The reunion was in rural Ontario-- where Canadians have their summer "cottages". It was beautiful and cool and swarming with mosquitos! (What's a family reunion without lots of citronella?) We stayed at a "camp" on a private lake with little apartments and a lodge. It was perfect for our group.
Here we are! Uncle Marty counted 60 in total (including my cousin Bently's fiance and cousin Levi's baby due in Aug). (Missing-- David and family, Uncle Mike, Nancy, Blake, Bentley and Bonnie, Uncle Steve, Jeff and Melanie, Jaime, Roger, Levi and Katharina)
Saturday began with the kids Olympics. Each family made a family flag, and everyone got involved! 
Working on the Peterson flag. 
Flags on display.
Mary Jane (cousin) put together a fun relay to 'build' a spider on a web. The winning team (pictured here) was focused more on speed than anatomical accuracy.
While the rest of the kids built spiders, Eli (nephew) was focused completely on the next relay, which featured buckets of popcorn. "I think I just want to eat this popcorn."
The spirit of the olympics! (I love this picture.) ---My Mom and Dad put together cute olympic torches from poster board, favor cups and tissue paper.
The Olympics finished with a Nicholls family reunion tradition-- the shoe kicking contest, complete with three division-- kids, women and men. (I won my division!)
After the olympics and lunch, we hit the beach. Beach activities included swimming, canoe racing/tipping, catching minnows, watching from the beach--- and apparently hugging! (Jordan and Shawn)
Kelly and I left the beach early and took a drive around the lake and through the nearby town of Bancroft. We found Kawartha Dairy with the best ice cream in the province, right next to the Burger Bus and mini-golf!
-Gaskins performing a Sherrif Chuck skit (pictured above)
-Amy dancing with her dancing ribbon
-Ryan and Shawn riding unicycle
-Jack and Katie demonstrating pig noises
-Haiden pig noises
-Emily's award-winning story telling
-Haiden telling jokes
-Lori and Tori singing the Grandpa's and Grandma's song
-Bryan demonstrated his turtle's voice and seal and howler monkey sounds
-Katie showed her very high kicks!
-I sang a camp song, Absolutely Cuckoo
-Suzzie and Nathan marching band demonstration (Suzzie calling the commands and Nathan with an imaginary instrument)
-Kelly applauded (he insists THAT is his talent)
A few more pictures of our great weekend. . .
Canoeing was a popular activity. At one point, Nathan and Emily were stranded on the "island" in the middle when they neglected to tie up their canoe. They had a blast making survival plans and trying to catch fish while Uncle Marty wrangled their boat back to them. 
Nathan
Maggie and Tori talking on the dock.
Kelly recovering from our red-eye flight. Or maybe just enjoying reunion!
Evelyn enjoying her candy necklace.
Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!
Without you, there wouldn't be a Wilson family reunion. :-)
3 comments:
Great post Kara. It was a wonderful weekend that should have lasted at least another full day if not 2. Maryjane's spider was very cute & you know how I feel about spiders.
Thanks for the great post. It is wonderful to see pictures of everyone having fun. By the way, the rules were that only by land or sea travel were kids allowed throught the border with birth certificates, but by air the law now requires passports for any age. The airline people gave us problems by not cooperating with us. We could have still gone to our Chicago desination where the flight connected to Toronto and just driven from there, but we were not even allowed on the plane by the manager at the counter, plus I was so overwhelmed and upset that I couldn't make a rational decision. We REALLY, REALLY missed you all.
I love your hair in the picture with Kelly. It's long!
Someday I'll get myself to Canada! What a well-planned reunion. I loved all the details!
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