Zimmerman Family Reunion

This past weekend I went to St. Louis for our Zimmerman family reunion celebrating my Grandpa's 90th birthday which was in March. I had such a good time. I was very nervous to leave my family at home because I haven't been without at least one of them for almost 5 years. They were fine and even though I missed them, I was fine too. I had such fun at the reunion. It was so fun to see aunts, uncles and cousins, some I hadn't seen for 12 years. We didn't do anything earth shattering by any means, but our reunion was what I picture when I think of family reunions. We mainly sat around and talked, heard Grandpa talk about his life and some of his WWII experiences, and ate good food. It was fun to hang out with my cousins. We are all a little nutty and crazy, but that's to be expected since we share the same roots. It's nice to know that we share similar humor. My sister, Heather, made a slideshow of my grandpa's life. It was really good and I'm glad she put it on YouTube so I could show my kids. Kimball and Rebecah really liked the slideshow and have watched it 3 times. I knew Rebecah really liked it when I overheard her singing "God Will Take Care of You" the hymn that my sister used to end the slideshow, a favorite of my grandpa's. It really is a good song and it's teaching Rebecah an important truth. My Grandpa really is a wonderful man. I'm so glad he is my grandpa. He is in good health for 90 years old and I would guess that most people would think him younger than he is. It helps that he has been active all his life. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa with their living children and daughters-in-law. L to R: Annette, Rick, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Steve, and Jackie

Arizona Zimmermans. L to R: Tina, Aubrey, Rick, David, Joe, Dan, Annette. If Joseph ever talks me into moving to Flagstaff we won't be with out extended family in addition to Jonathan and his family.

L to R: Jackie, Eric, Lisa, Steve. I hope Kimball and Rebecah grow up as close as Eric and Lisa are. They are BFF and even though they both are adults and college grads they have chosen to live together.

Cousin shot. 12 of Grandma and Grandpa's 15 grandchildren. Front: Tina, Heather, Aubrey, Joe Middle: Sharon, Chandra Back: Laura, me, Lisa, Eric, David, Dan

Group shot. If my family and the other 3 grandchildren and their families had all been at the reunion the number of people would have almost doubled. That would have been awesome.

Listening to Grandpa answer questions about his life and WWII experiences.

Grandpa's war patches, badges, ranks, medals, etc.

Display of Grandpa's achievements.

Grandpa has been well recognized in Rochester, MN for all of his accomplishments over the years as a school principal and volunteer.

Tina, Matthew and me sharing popcorn.

Grandpa holding the paper rose bouquet that Kristin sent him. I was glad to see the flowers in person since I had heard so much about them.

Grandpa and me. I love Grandpa. I can't wait for our next reunion in 10 years to celebrate his 100th birthday. Longevity runs in the family so there is a good chance Grandpa will make it.

While the cat's away...

Over Memorial Day weekend I went to St. Louis for a Zimmerman family reunion and left my family at home. More about the reunion in another post, but here are all of the "fun" things I missed out on while I was gone. I'm not a water person so I really didn't feel too left out. Friday after Joseph and the kids dropped me off at the airport they went swimming at Dr. Allison's pool. They enjoyed swimming since it was so hot. On Saturday the went to Haw Creek Falls. (They had intended to camp overnight, but it was rather warm and Joseph decided it would be better to sleep comfortably at home than to sleep in a tent with the kids.) The Spring has been very dry so the falls weren't quite what they usually are, but there was still enough water for the kids to play and have fun. For lunch Joseph grilled hot dogs and the kids had a blast. One unfortunate event of the weekend was one of Kimball's fish dying. His smallest goldfish, Nestor, died and it was unexpected. They went to Walmart to pick up a new fish. The new fish is a calico goldfish. Who knew that there were so many types of goldfish...I sure didn't. Anyway, Kimball named his new fish "Acalica" probably because he heard Joseph say "it's a calico goldfish" and Kimball thinks this fish is a girl so he gave it a feminine ending. I thought it was rather clever. He must be picking up more Spanish than we realize!

Haw Creek Falls. The rock slab in the background usually has water spilling over it. Not the case currently.

Cleaning out the car after Haw Creek Falls

The family went to help the church youth group put flags up at the Cemetery. The family seemed to miss me but I'm glad that they had fun while I was gone.

Joseph's Birthday

Joseph turned 31 last Thursday. He took the afternoon off from work which he deserved. After Rebecah woke up from her nap Joseph opened his presents. He was excited about the kite that he received and we immediately took off to go try it out. The weather was perfect for kite flying...I think it was the only windy day of the week. We all had fun trying our hand at the kite. I hadn't ever flown a kite before and it was fun. We had Joseph's usual birthday dinner...chicken enchiladas. For dessert we continued with a Mexican theme and I made a tres leche cake. In the evening Joseph had a church meeting.

New pants for the temple.

Kimball flying the kite.

Rebecah's turn.

Cake Time!

Father and Son Campout

Last weekend Joseph and Kimball went to the Father and Son camp out that our church sponsored commemorating the restoration of the Priesthood. Joseph had work last Friday in Little Rock so I met him halfway to drop off Kimball. Kimball was SO excited to be going camping it was all he and Joseph talked about in the days leading up to the camping trip. Kimball and Joseph had a great time. They went hiking...

...and took a ride on a paddle boat. Kimball's feet didn't reach the pedals so Joseph did all of the work!

The weather was a little cool and rainy, but not so much that they were miserable. Rebecah was rather sad that she couldn't go on the camp out, but they are all looking forward to camping this coming weekend when I'm gone.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day. I felt very loved and special all day long and that is really what makes Mother's Day great. For breakfast I made red velvet scones and they were really tasty. It might become a tradition to make them every year for Mother's Day. After breakfast I got my present. Joseph and Kimball were both so excited about it that they didn't want me to wait. Joseph decided that for my present he would convert our computer room into a crafting room for me. We rarely use the computer in this room since we have wireless internet. Joseph put away all of the computer accessories and cleaned out the cabinet and turned the room over to me so I can have space for my craft and quilt projects. I really don't need an entire room and I tried to explain it to Joseph, but he wanted to "give" me this room. He put in air fresheners, a wedding picture and a family picture and on the table were chocolates! I told Joseph he can still study his scriptures in this room, but he said he would find somewhere else to do that so the room is mine. Now I need to make sure I have enough craft projects so the room doesn't go unused. Joseph was able to sit with us at Church, which is a huge treat! The Primary children, unfortunately, didn't sing, but both kids had a little craft for me that they made at church. For dinner, Joseph and I made chicken quesadillas and they were really yummy. For dessert I made a chocolate peanut butter mousse cheesecake and it was really good too. We are now eagerly looking forward to Joseph's birthday next week and then Father's Day. I don't have a room to give Joseph, but I have a few craft ideas up my sleeve for him!

Big Girl Bed

This week we transitioned Rebecah from the crib to a twin bed. She has done great the last two days. She had been climbing out of the crib more and more each week so we decided that instead of risking a fall we would just move her. She made this move much sooner than Kimball did. He was a month shy of 3 before we moved him! Rebecah LOVES her new bed. She and Kimball both were so excited the evening Joseph and I made the switch. Rebecah has done really well staying in her bed. She actually can't climb in and out of her bed by herself so that may have something to do with the easy time we are having. Her bed is intended to be the top bunk in a set of bunk beds so the top bunk came with a side rail. We will use it until she is accustomed to a big bed. She's growing up fast! On the Kimball front, he was the beneficiary of a good deed yesterday. We walked by the American Red Cross office in town and Kimball paused to peek in the window and see what was going on. On our way back to the van we had to pass the door again. Just as I was getting ready to leave a woman came out of the Red Cross and she asked if she could give a soccer ball to Kimball. The ladies inside had seen him peeking in their door and they wanted to give him a little present. It made Kimball's day and mine. It was a nice simple reminder that there are still generous, kind people in the world.

Hike to Glory Falls

Yesterday we went on a family hike to Glory Falls. The trail was supposed to be 2 miles round trip, but to my best guess it was close to 2 miles in each direction. The hike took about 45 minutes each way and that was carrying Rebecah for a good portion of that time. You can just see my blue shirt in the distance. This was on the way back and I was hot and tired from carrying Rebecah so I was glad I didn't have to worry about smiling!

Rebecah and me at the beginning of the hike.

We have had a dry Spring so the Falls weren't as exciting as they could be but it was still neat to see. Here is a view from the top of the falls. Usually it isn't safe to stand so close to the top of the falls to get pictures because the rocks are usually wet and people have been seriously hurt when they have accidentally fallen through the hole. The rocks were dry where we were so Joseph took a picture while I held on to the children!

The underside of the hole.

As you can see, the falls weren't much to speak of, but it was still a nice family outing. The kids and Joseph enjoyed touching the waterfall with their hands and getting splashed.