Rust Reunion 2013

This was SO much more than just a reunion.

It was a few days on the beach.
It was 14 people trying to fit in a 2-bedroom home.
It was a farewell for my dear Sister Natalie.
It was an opportunity for my husband to finally meet the rest of my siblings.
It was our last spurt of summer before school started.
It was our first unofficial Kubb tournament.

Pretty much, it was awesome.

I always love our Rust Reunions. It's just my parents, my siblings and any others we've brought into the family since then. With the 14 of us being all spread out (well half of us are in Idaho..), it's hard to find time to get all of us together.

And on top of that, this was my first reunion as a married woman and let me tell you, I loved the perks of it.

1. A bed. Because of our lack of beds, I usually have to fight for the love
seat, or settle for the ground. Married people get first dibs on the beds, and now I'm a married person! Granted, we slept on an air mattress for the whole week, but it was still an improvement!

2. From backseat-middle to shotgun! 
When your husband drives the 30ish hours from Rexburg to California and back, you get promoted to shotgun by default. Although I'm one of the older individuals in the family, I always get stuck in backseat middle because I'm the shortest and "don't need the leg room". Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the upgrade.





3. Going along with #2, usually I am stuck listening to whatever my brothers want to listen to while we drive. It varies from sports games to Hugh Nibley lectures, depending on who's driving. Usually, I'm not a fan. But since it was Eric and I in control of the sound waves... you guessed it, Harry Potter on tape theee whole time. We finished the entire 6th book! That would have never happened if I was single :)
4. Almost Guaranteed Koob winner. So, thanks to an awesome couple, we discovered an awesome game called Kubb, Koob, Kuub... who knows. Anyways, it's pretty simple, and all it takes is wood blocks and dowels, but it is seriously so much fun. We sent a link to my dad and he whipped up our very own Kubb set right there. Didn't take him any time at all! We made, we played, we conquered! Granted, we didn't win ALL of the games, but we made a pretty smokin' team.

5. The beach is better with a significant other.
We didn't get any pictures of us together on the beach. But this is one of us pulling a big root ball up on shore and digging through it to find all sorts of fun sea creatures. We found a gazillion starfish, several baby lobsters, a few sea urchins, plenty of crabs and much more! Hand-held walks on the beach and someone to help rub suntan lotion on your back were also some perks we enjoyed.

After an awesome few days at the beach, it was time to come home (to Overton) and help Natalie get read to leave. She spoke in two different wards on Sunday morning, and did an awesome job. Eric and I jetted out as soon as she finished speaking and headed right back up to Idaho that very night.

We didn't even plan to be color coordinating... but due to the fact that my wedding was just a few weeks previous, everyone's closets were loaded with mint, coral, cream and yellow!

It was really such a fun trip and so good to be with family! We loved it and look forward to our next one!

Love, The Hillams