Family Circus

We are finally getting settle back into a somewhat normal routine after getting home Monday night from a VERY hot but VERY fun Morris Family Reunion in The Dalles. I took 200+ pictures! I tried to keep this post as short on pics as possible, but it still probably will be a bit long!

We got the The Dalles on Saturday about 11. Doug's Uncle Dan and Aunt Doreen live there and pretty much hosted/fed/lodged/paid for the entire weekend. They are such wonderful people! We went to the Discovery Center with the family. I thought it was fascinating.. Evelyn loved running around with her cousins and playing in the kids area on the play ship!

Dan and Doreen live on a bluff overlooking the gorge and Mt. Hood. It is so pretty and rustic at their house. We stayed in a hotel but spent most of our time here. All 29 of us! It was a bit crazy but also lots of fun! Below is one view from their deck.
It was bloody HOT both Saturday and Sunday. Like, 107 hot. The kids REALLY wanted a water balloon fight, so we had one. At first it was just gonna be the older cousins.. but then us big kids got in on it, too. It was so much fun. The pic below was the last pic I took before putting my camera inside and getting soaked myself. I am bummed I didn't get any "after" shots. I had fun..we all did!
Doreen LOVES toys and playing with the kids. She is really into matchbox cars and has a big track and everything. She is the coolest! Below is Evelyn and my nephew Greg (31/2) playing with cards. Greg can't quite say "Evelyn", so he called her "Alvin" all weekend.. it was the cutest thing!
We took a break from the mayhem and checked into our hotel late afternoon. Evelyn was jumping around on the bed and was being her usual cute self. Yes, she is wearing a hat.. it didn't last long, trust me!
Evelyn got really good at putting the cars on the track. She loved playing with her daddy. She was SO hot.. but really didn't seem to mind! I kept making her chug water.. I am sure she thought I was nuts!
Her cousin Mitchell LOVES her very much and was a big helper keeping an eye on her at times. She was ok with it most of the time, except when he would try to carry her. That didn't go over well! Here is Mitchell cheering her on as she sends cars down the track!

My shy little Evelyn disappeared over the weekend for the most part. She hammed it up for anyone who showed interest in her and she really had so much fun.. even if she was totally off her normal nap/bedtime schedule. She even smiled for the camera.. AMAZING!

Doug's cousin (Dan/Doreen's son) Bill is a doctor who also does photography as a hobby. We got some good family pics of the kids and of the whole group. I haven't seen Bill's pics yet, but Doug took this one of all the kids. They actually all cooperated well. I have the cutest nephews ever! They range in age from 20mths (Evelyn) to 91/2.

Here is Greg and Evelyn playing with "Gammie Dorie" as Evelyn calls her. She LOVES Doreen and still is talking about her. Doreen made time to play with the two littlest kids alone so they could do things at their pace. She is awesome!
Monday was the big day.. we all went to the Circus! We got to the grounds in the early morning to see the Elephants put the "big top" tent up. It happened to be thunderstormy so things got off to a late start. So late that Doug, Evelyn and I missed it because we needed to get cranky pants (Evelyn) down for a much needed nap! Below is one of the elephants.. we got to be pretty close to them.
Evelyn only took a one hour nap so we weren't sure how she would do with a two hour circus show. Well.. she LOVED it! Pretty much captivated the entire time. She almost fell asleep once, but once we got some food into her she perked right up! Here is Evelyn and daddy outside the entrance.
Evelyn went on her first pony ride, and oh, my did she have fun. She was grinning ear to ear the entire time! It was so cute!
This expression is pretty much what was on her face the entire show. She really liked the trapeze.. it looks like a swing and as you know, she LOVES the swing!

Here is Doug's bro Don and his kids plus Zach my other nephew after getting their faces painted. The show was very kid friendly.
It was one of the best weekends of the summer! I am so blessed to have married into such an amazing and wonderful family!