~ part 4: Pugmire family reunion @ Zion Ponderosa Ranch

We LOVED having our reunion at the

Zion Ponderosa Ranch!!

(www.zionponderosaranch.com)

the view from our cabin

(the day I took these it was a bit overcast, but the temperature was perfect)

It's hard to see from here, but at the "barn" there was a climbing wall (barely visible on the red part), bungee trampoline (the blue thing), a zipline (that tiny kids up to grandparents used, but none of us! EEK!), tennis courts, sand volleyball, and a playground. Photos of the fantastic pool will follow below. Inside the barn there were pool tables, ping pong tables, another climbing wall, and the kids' camp headquarters. That's also where you signed up for driving quads, paintballing, jeep tours, horseback riding, etc. I didn't get any photos of the main lodge, but it was very nice and the meals were fantastic. After our last Pugmire reunion two years ago, this fact alone was reason to rejoice!! lol... 

I should also mention that they have a realllllly nice 

massage therapy office!!!!!!!!! Birthday treat, YEAH!!

The photos are not that great, but we loved our cabin. 

It was quiet, clean, and the A/C cranked!

The kids of course loved sleeping in bunk beds... although we wished for a *little* more privacy as two of them were on the top bunk and we were on the bottom bunk, with Calvin out on the couch. 

There's my HOT, sexy man!! (He's a bit browner now!)

I HATE this photo, but posting it is like part of a 12-step program for me (as well as motivation to go back to the gym!). Throughout the years, I've always hated photos of myself, and then years later I look back on those photos and think "Gosh! I was HOT then!" So, as much as I hate this, this is for me to look back on (we're going to have this blog published into a hardbound journal periodically). So when I'm 80 I will finally think this is a great photo of me! LOL!!

Kizi goin' down the slide! (there were two)

... and Daddy too!

Aunt Jeannette with Caleb

A better view of the double-tier pool. 

Caleb and Uncle Scott

Caleb

Kizi and Daddy (mid-fight!)

Kizi, Daddy, Calvin and Grandpa Pugmire

"Gotcha!"

Aunt Annalisa, Summer, and Nana

Aunt Bethany, Viola, Uncle Charlie, and Kizi

Aunt Ruth, Uncle Scott, new baby Samuel, and cousin Jacob

Summer and Aunt Annalisa

Aunt Bethany, Viola, Uncle Charlie, Kizi and Jonathan

(those were sweet squirt guns, by the way-- they sucked water straight from the pool, you didn't have to stop and reload!)

Cousins hangin' on the wall between the pools

Aunt Ruth, Tommy and Grandpa

Tommy, Jonathan, Kizi and Caleb

Now some folks say Kizi looks just like me, but I sure see a lot of her wonderful Daddy in her too...

Aunt Ruth, Tommy, Uncle Scott

Aunt Annalisa and Summer

Kizi LOVES it when Jonathan throws her in the pool-- so no worries, she wasn't traumatized by this.

Calvin at our cabin

The Pugs getting ready to go paintballing! I LOVE the Dickies, they were SWEET. I've gotta get a pair...

The kids looked SO stinkin' cute in those little camos!

Glad they were on our team-- scary looking, huh?

This one... just about kills me. How handsome is Caleb? He looks like he's about 22, about to climb aboard an F-16.

War wounds! This is Calvin's badge of courage (I won't mention how hard he cried). 

You should have seen Aunt Annalisa's! ("Never surrender, neverrrrrr!!!") 

So, we were paint-balling virgins, believe it or not. We thought, "whee, this'll be great fun!" We had no idea what we were in for until we got all outfitted, walked over the top of the hill to the paintball range, and then the guide started telling us that we could lose an eye if we took off our masks anywhere other than in the safe house, and that a girl not too long ago had lost an eye from paintballing there! WHAT?? Why didn't they tell us that back at the lodge? ("Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!" lol)

Other than the stifling heat which was made worse by the masks we had to wear, it WAS fun... at least until we got hit. Jonathan could hear Kizi from several yards away when she got hit. "OWWW!! (crying) I'm doooone! (crying some more)." I have to say, I was surprised at how much those dumb paintballs HURT! Calvin totally broke the Geneva convention in about six ways. He listened to the instructions we were given... and then, after Kizi and I were out, up in the safe house and he was out with Dad and the rest of our team (it was all family on both sides), he took off down the hill with his arms up (meaning surrender, which is what you had to do to get out once you were hit). He went safely deep into enemy territory that way, then hunkered down and started shooting! 

Most nights we gathered up at the big cabin, which was about a 20 second walk from our (siblings) row of cabins. Jonathan's mom and dad stayed there along with a couple of their kids. FUN, fun nights of games, Rock Band, and watching Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan. This is me doing my thing, working on Grandpa's shoulders. We didn't take any photos of the rest of the fun... too busy laughing most of the time. ;)

After a late night of hanging out together in the big cabin, we woke up on my birthday (June 26th) to find this!

It was a sneak HEART attack!

(the blue one says "How old are you anyway?" 

and the green one says "Wow, you are old!")

Jonathan's wonderful sister Ruth and her little family put over 50 of these adorable little hearts all over our porch! I knew it was her by her handwriting. I think her girls Lauren and Emmy had fun helping her. They were very stealthy; we had no idea until I looked out the window in the morning. I really kind of almost got a little ferklempt. It meant a LOT to me. Jonathan's family has always been very nice to me... but I've always felt like the odd man (... or woman) out. He's the oldest of seven, so he has 5 sisters who are very close to each other, and one brother (Uncle Ben) who is 10 years younger than Jonathan and isn't married... so I'm the ONLY sister-in-law/daughter-in-law. Anyway, I won't belabor the point, but Ruth, THANK YOU. And whoever else helped you, THANK YOU. It made me feel very loved. It was a wonderful birthday present that I will always cherish. And of course, tell Lauren that I LOVE the flute. 

(haha, it was a stick with a couple of holes gouged in the top-- TOTALLY awesome.)

"You are HOT!" (LOL!)

"We love you!" No, I love YOU!!!!! You guys are the best...

:)

The rest of my birthday we spent driving and hiking around

ZION.

WOW. It has such an unusual feeling for a state park. It was just amazing. But you can see and read more about that on the next post.

Aunt Amber (Jonathan's cousin's wife) and her daughter Addison, with Kizi. I missed getting to visit with them that night because-- poor me-- I was getting a WONDERFUL massage for my birthday! 

*sigh!*

And of course, we had to have some time on the quads.

This is Calvin rippin' it up.

Jonathan valiantly volunteered to be the adult supervision while Caleb tore up the track in this bad boy. 

YEAH Kizi! I love watching their cute little butts lean in to the curves. They are awesome!

Sorry the lighting is atrocious, but I had to include some shots of the kids on the bungee trampoline. Above is Calvin, then Caleb below. They wouldn't do ANY flips, little chickens!

Now Kizi, on the other hand-- she was flippin' out!

Look at that form!

I'm pretty sure that if you asked the kids they'd say at one of the highlights of the trip was hanging on for dear life while wild Uncle Ben ripped around on the golf cart. He took off the governor so that thing could really fly, so um... yeah... he pretty much terrorized the pedestrians, hahaha! Thanks Uncle Ben, we love you!