Adams Family Reunion: Ensign Ranch

ADAMS FAMILY REUNION


By the looks of the photo above, our Adams family has grown to be quite large.  We used to get together every year, then every other year, now it's more like every three to four years, mostly in part to how large of a group we are now!  Grandpa Paul and Grandma Vera had six kids and each of those kids had 4-6 kids, and now most of those grandchildren have gotten married and have had kids of their own, which probably explains how hard it is for grandma to remember all of our names!


A couple of my cousins, Jimmy and Gina, decided to take on the daunting task of planning this summer's family reunion.  It was held at the Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum, Washington.  Jimmy had to reserve it a year in advance since the demand is so high.  It had a large main building holding several individual rooms, an enormous kitchen and dining area, and a large gym/meeting room with pool and ping pong tables.  Also on the ranch, there were several individual cabins with a bedroom and an attic area.  I knew in advance that it would be more of a camping feel than a ranch feel, but I have to admit that I have been a bit spoiled lately with accommodations, so Dallas did a lot of consoling and reminding me to "suck it up..."
What a good husband, huh?

(TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOS DOUBLE CLICK ON THE IMAGE)

Dallas and I unpacked, set up our cabin, and then met up with our nieces and nephews a couple cabins down.  The main building was just far enough away that we ended up driving to and from a few times.  On one of the drives we let Will have a turn at the wheel, since all he talks about is cars.  It about blew his mind to be in the driver's seat!  Don't worry, I don't think the car ever went faster than 5 mph.  Needless to say, Dallas was Will's best friend after this.

It was so much fun to be able to see everyone.  From our immediate family, five of the six of us siblings were able to attend (lil Bradley is serving a mission in Brazil and won't be home til April), four of us are married, and now have 11 children.  Dallas and I get to see Erik's family a lot since we all live in California, but it was so much fun to see Bryan and Richard's families whom all live in Washington.

One of the joys of growing up on our family farm, was being so close to so many cousins.  I remember spending hours playing out in the orchards, climbing boxes, making up crazy adventure games with everyone.  We literally had acres of land for our playground and often found very creative ways to get into trouble and/or cause havoc.  I sometimes forget how lucky we all were to be so close to each other.  I love that some of these cousins now live in the Bay area as well, and we get to see them every so often.

After dinner there would be a program or activity for the whole family.  My favorite was when the five siblings (my dad and his 2 brothers and sisters) were questioned about some of the crazy antics they did while children.  Dallas now knows exactly where our craziness comes from!  Dad and Aunt Pauline got into trouble all the time and were known for their practical jokes.  It was so much fun to hear them and their siblings recount favorite memories.

Dad took Dallas and I on a fun drive through out Ensign Ranch.  There are some gorgeous camping spots, lots of beautiful wildflowers, and a very willing model to help me take human interest shots.  I sure do love my daddy!  After our drive we helped collect firewood for the different cabins and checked out the fun sleeping arrangement all the kids had in the attic.

The next morning, after breakfast, we all congregated for family pictures.  Erik designed our family t-shirts, but I didn't get any shots of the back with the actual design...

I love the picture of Grandma with her kids.  Grandpa passed away in 1996 and Aunt Julie wasn't able to make it to the reunion, so we are missing two in the picture, but I still love it.

After family pictures, we split up into three separate groups to go on hay rides and some rode horses.  It was fun to see all the kids piled into the back of the wagon with Grandpa and Stuart hanging off the back.  After the hayride, Will wanted to pet the horse.  Even Dallas conquered his fear of horses to please little Will!

Canoeing was also available at the ranch.  Dallas and I opted to watch little Will while everyone else went out on the lake, mainly due to the cold wind that was picking up and the unsturdy look of the canoes...not to mention an adorable two year old that wanted our attention.  Bryan was a sweetheart and went with all the girls, Natalie, Katrina, and Ellis.  He ended up rowing by himself for 90% of the time out on the lake, so I'm sure he got a good work out!  Stuart went with Lincoln and Max and Erik and Heather went with Rulon.  The boys got into some trouble when they started to play "bumper cars" with the canoes.  It was pretty fun to watch Erik and Heather squeal at them!

Our last fun activity before leaving the ranch included a MASSIVE water slide.  You could go down on tubes or on your own, but Dallas and I opted again to stay out of the water...at this point it was down right chilly and we were not wanting to risk hypothermia for the cause.  Instead I was the one taking all the pictures :)

The kids loved going down with their Dad or Uncle Bryan, piling the tubes on one another, and jumping into the large puddle that had formed at the bottom of the slide.  I absolutely adore how much all my nieces and nephews love each other and literally count down the days to see each other again.  I am constantly amazed at how blessed Dallas and I are, on both sides--Perkins and Adams, to have such loving and crazy family members!

It was such a fun reunion and we are so grateful for all the hard work put into it by our family members.  We love you all and can't wait for the next time we can all see each other again!