Barker Reunion 2009

Ammon's immediate family had a "reunion". I think we can call it that because there are 2 married couples and a grandbaby. :) We met half-way in St. George. Emma had several tantrums on the car ride up. She's used to sleeping on her tummy, so had a really hard time sleeping in her car seat. Like her mom, she is a monster without sleep. (Thanks again Jana for helping out with her. You are a saint!) We got into St. George around 6ish, had some dinner, and then the girls went to Footloose at Tuacahn. It was SO good! Jana's old roommate was one of the leads, and Ren was played by Thayne from So You Think You Can Dance last season. He always annoyed me, but it was still cool to meet a sorta-celebrity. :) Kira, Jana, and I stood in the longest line just to get his autograph and picture. Of course none of us had a camera, but luckily Jana knew someone else (of course she did) who attended the show and had a camera handy. YES! :) We got back from the show super late and I crashed when we got back to the condo. The next morning we woke up UNBELIEVABLY early and headed off to Zion National Park. It is gorgeous, and was about 15 degrees cooler than we were used to, so if felt nice. We hiked Angel's Landing, which was about 1200 feet in elevation. It was steep, so naturally I got a little dizzy--being scared of heights--but it was gorgeous! Ammon backpacked Emma up, and I took her back down because I didn't want her going on the last 1/2 mile of the hike where you are basically crawling on your hands and knees because it's so steep! Once we finished that hike, we went on Weeping Rock, which was a very beautiful natural waterfall.



















Emma had about had it since it was around 3 and she hadn't had a nap or lunch, so we booked it home. Needless to say...once her tummy was full and she had a bath, she took a great nap! The rest of the family went swimming while Ammon and I joined Emma with a nap. The pool in St. George was unnecessarily cold compared to what we were used to. :) Becki and Dallin then taught us how to cook an amazing meal, and I shared my budgeting tips with the fam. We also decorated our family reunion hats, and took our family pictures with our camo bandanas (in remembrance of Elder Kimball...11 months to go!).


We then read scriptures, and got caught up on what we missed on So You Think You Can Dance, of course! :) (By the way...AMAZING show! My favorites were Gravity, Ruby Blue, and Ade's solo. HELLO!) The next morning we woke up early again, went to the temple, ate lunch and Denny's, and headed home! It was super short, but very fun to see everyone. Can't wait for next year!

Here are a few random summer pics...