Legge Family Reunion 2010

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN. That was the backdrop for this year's Legge Family Reunion. It was a great success. However, our little family missed out on a lot of the festivities because Charlie and Liv were sick (vomiting, diarrhea, and fevers) for a combined total of two days. Charlie and I attended the family meeting and had lunch with everyone on Saturday, but we were down for the count after that. And I must say at this point, that I have a wonderful husband. He stayed with Liv while Charlie and I were gone on Saturday morning. And Father's Day wasn't exactly fun filled. But he never complained.

Thankfully, we left a day earlier than anticipated, so we did spend time with family on Friday. Eli was able to golf, and I did a little shopping and visiting. We also had some pool time, and THANK GOODNESS our monitor had reception at both the indoor and outdoor pools!

We finally got out to do "something" on Sunday evening. Gatlinburg has a great aquarium that we walked the kids around. They were still under the weather, but they enjoyed the fish. Charlie was particularly fond of the sting rays, and the shark exhibit was totally cool. The kids got a couple souvenirs there, and besides the cloth napkin Charlie stole from one of the restaurants we ate at, we didn't bring much home...including pictures. Here are a few we did get though.

Liv chose a little purple turtle wearing a tu-tu that we affectionately call Turtlina Ballerina.
Charlie chose a sting ray; his favorite animal at the aquarium. We call him Ray-Ray. :)

But we did bring home a TON of memories. Charlie brought home new words: sleepy, night-night, and pajamas (pronounced "ken-boone") And, of course, some lessons.

What I learned from this trip:
*Don't have family members that live in Florida. Their tans will always be better than yours.
*Never leave home without a thermometer!
*Always pack extra EXTRA clothes, sheets, diapers and wipes.
*If you have children, get a suite. Otherwise you can't go back to your room once you put them to sleep.
*Bring a baby-sitter, otherwise you can't do ANYTHING once you put them to sleep.
*Your last name does NOT have to be Legge in order to attend the Legge Family Reunion. In fact, there were only three people there with that name and 57 people attended!
*Apparently there are never enough go-carts and putt-putt courses in the world.
*Country Fried T-Shirts is a real store.
*Even if a nail salon says they take walk-ins and you walk-in about 2 minutes later, they may not take you.
*Don't let your children take a sippy cup of milk onto a balcony. It may end up on the car below.
*Even if you have a son who doesn't like the water, he might just hang out in the big pool for an hour and half.
*Tennessee in June is HOT!
*I need a pool in my backyard...and maids...and room service.
*A mountain covered in trees is one of the most beautiful things on this earth.
*So are the people in my family...inside and out.
*I like the way bright beach towels look when they are hung over railings on the side of a building.
*Good food is essential to a successful vacation.
*It hurts to nurse your children back to health and know there is little you can do for them.
*I love minivans! And now we have one.
*My cousin Jami is the sweetest. She ran out at 6:50 in the morning to buy us that thermometer we forgot to pack.
*I miss my Dad.
*I saw him everywhere. In gestures and features. In stories...and in my heart.
*Don't ever have as great a family as mine...it's just so darn hard to leave.