Hale Family Reunion Day 2, Part 3

So, Ed and I had opted out of game night.

Yes, I love me some board games but I had ulterior motives.
I wanted pictures.
Beach pictures.
The kind of beach pictures that make even the naughtiest of
children look like cherubic angels.

I chose not to tell the kids about this before we left for the beach.
I figured that once they saw the ocean they'd do
just about anything for the chance to dip their
sweet little toes in that magnificent water.
And I was right!


They were soooo good and they let me take
oodles of pictures before I finally relented
and let them jump in the water!

This is a teeny tiny sampling of the pictures I took.
And they're all this awesome. (Awesome to me anyway!)
The only thing that could have improved these pictures
was having Brooke in them.
But she abandoned us to spend time with her
Grandparents and cousins. THE NERVE! ;)

Here we see how a cute picture between brother
and sister deteriorates rapidly:

And yet another example:

It's a very good thing they're cute!

Hale Family Reunion: Day 2, part 2

FAMILY HISTORY NIGHT:

Friday afternoon we all headed over the local LDS church

(where most of my extended family are members) for family history night.

My cousin, Karen, who was the planning, doing, coordinating guru for this reunion had the space looking so great!
I wish I'd taken better pictures, because these crappy one's just don't do it any justice!

My cousin, Laurie, led the evening with a wonderful
tribute to our Grandparents Hale.

Most of the information was known to me, but there were wonderful little nuggets thrown out that I didn't know. Like how my Great-Grandpa Hale loved him some blackberry "juice" from time to time. Fearful of being found out, he swore my Uncle Jimmy to silence!

Later, my Uncle Joe gave a wonderful talk about the importance of our Family History and presented everyone with a wonderful, extensive genealogy chart package to add to our own family histories.

After Uncle Joe had finished up, my Dad presented the video my brother, Matt, had made. He was able to get video footage from some of the siblings and cousins unable to attend the reunion. It was great to see their smiling faces, but it made us miss them all that much more!

After the family history portion we all separated to find dinner. My parents took Brooke with them and then later returned to the church for a family game night.

Ed and I opted out and decided to take Dominick and Diana to the beach!

(Check part II for the beach pictures!)

Here are just a few snapshots from our Family History Night!

Hale Family Reunion Day 2, part 1

Ah, humidity.

Oh, how we did not miss thee.

As soon as we walked outside this happened:

The air was so thick, you could drink it!

After making sure our gills could withstand the humidity
we made our way over to my cousin, Valeri's house.

Brooke had spent the night there with her cousins, and had made arrangements to spend the day with them at the beach. Upon hearing of the beach plan, Dominick also jumped ship and decided a day at the beach with new friends beat anything we could be planning.

After dropping off swimsuits and applying a liberal coating of sunscreen. Ed and I left with Diana and followed my Dad to the Naval Museum.
(If you are ever in Pensacola, make the naval museum
a "must" on your to-do list!
It's free.
It's educational.
It's "hands-on".
And it's awesome.)
This is the USS Lexington. Just one of the aircraft carriers
that my Grandpa Odom was stationed on during WWII.


This is a picture of my Dad (center), my Uncle Joe (left) and my Uncle Jimmy (right) standing in front of one of the planes my Granpa Odom worked on and flew in during WWII.



Our  little pilot in training!












We spent about two hours wandering around the grounds and still weren't able to cover of all it!

Hale Family Reunion: Day 1, part 2

After our tour de Pensacola and a wardrobe change,
we made our way to Ryan's buffet for the first family dinner.

While it was great to see so much of my extended family,
it also made me feel really OLD.
While I was happy that Brooke was able to make an instant connection with some of her cousin, it reminded me of when I was 16 visiting my grandparents with my own family!


Papa Odom, Mimi Odom, Brooke, Dom and Di.

Hale Family Reunion: Day 1, part 1.

For months I've been anxiously awaiting the Hale family reunion!
A vacation AND a reunion?? That's what I call one stop shopping!
A chance to see my parents.
A chance to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins.
And a chance to dip my toes in the warm waters of the gulf.
Despite the 10 hour drive from our home in Tennessee, as soon as we arrived we met up with my folks and the fun began!
We piled in my Dad's rental car and he took us on an amazing tour of Pensacola! The kids got a chance to see where he was raised, where he lived and where he went to school.
My dad is the best story-teller and we cracked up as he told us about his daily fried chicken dinners at his grandparents house and cried as he recounted the passing of his favorite cousin.

After the tour, we just had to get a glimpse of the beach which turned into a 10 minute field trip for the kids!

If you're an Odom, this sign needs absolutely no introduction:

Brooke, Diana and Grandpa Odom


Dominick leading the way

All under the watchful eye of the world's best Dad / Grandpa !