Thomas Family Reunion....

My entire family met this summer in Duck Creek Utah where we rented a cabin large enough to accommodate the clan for a few days.  We rode four wheelers, talked, hiked, talked, ate, talked, roasted marshmallows, talked, played just dance on the wii (hilarious!), and talked some more.  There was also a lot more eating involved then I let on. 
Before the reunion we decided that we needed an update to our family photo collection.  We all planned to wear white shirts and denim bottoms.  This was trickier than it sounds.  Utah in July is dry dry dry.  And we were staying on dirt.  Dirt and white aren't pretty together.  Most of the kids were half naked up until the first photo was actually snapped.
Lucky for us, the backyard of the cabin we were renting proved to be the perfect backdrop for a photo. 
This is the entire Thomas Family. 

Back row L to R: Brian, Lyndsey, Ben, Jena, Matt, Shawn, Jayne, Charlie, Katelyn, Cory
Middle:  Mom holding Emmerson, Dad holding Lily (red flower in hair) and Presley, Kennedy
Front:  Max, Jackson, Landon, Ethan

Aren't we a beautiful group?  I love love love this picture.  However.  Notice how Presley's mouth is open in a strange way?  Nobody else noticed it either.  Until she threw up all over my dad.

My dad caught most of it on his arm while the rest stayed on Presley her self.  I love how Me, Shawn, and Matt are noticing something is amiss with my daughter, but everybody else is keeping their picture pose.  Hilarious.  Then.  Once everyone realized what went down a little bit of chaos ensued.  Everyone making sure they weren't hit with remnants of Presley's lunch.

I love that picture.  I think it just totally defines the moment.  Poor little Presley.  I'm a totally insensitive Mother.  I had a back-up white dress for her in her suitcase.  Three minutes after she puked I had her changed and back in another set of pictures.  The show must go on, right?!
For some reason as I was looking through these pictures, my absolute favorites were the ones that weren't staged.  The "behind the scenes" if you will.  Maybe because my family is perfect in my eyes.  Just the way we are.  Imperfect. 

Just a shot of us girls.

Katelyn, Jena, Mom, Me, Lyndsey.
And now ALL  the girls in the family.

Then the men.

Dad, Charlie, Ben, Matt, Shawn, Brian, Cory.
ALL the boys in the family.

A shot of my handsome brothers.

I've wanted a shot of my little family for a long time.  One with Shawn actually in the picture instead of behind the lens.  My wish came true.

I even got one of just my five babies.

And Shawn convinced me to get a few of just us.

And.  I really wanted a picture of just my parents.  Because my Mom hates pictures and it's a rare occasion for her to be a willing participant.  Peer pressure caved her this time.  I'm so glad.

This trip meant so much to me this year.  It's not very often that we gather as an entire family in one location.  I truly appreciate each of my siblings as individuals.  I enjoy spending time with them.  My parents raised a great group of people who have gone and accomplished a lot in a short time period.  When it was time to say goodbye, I have to admit that I cried the entire way down the mountain.  I wasn't ready for this reunion to be over.  Distance makes frequent get-togethers difficult.  When they do happen, it seems that time goes just a little too quickly for me.