West Virginia 2012

 The Kendrick Family Reunion is held each Fall in West Virginia.  The Virginia family and the Indiana family meet in the middle at Bluestone State Park.  It is such a beautiful place, and Fall is the perfect time to be there.

 The Kendrick family is my mom's side of the family.

 See what I mean about how beautiful this park is?  The mountains, the New River, the Fall leaves, and the crisp Fall air makes it all perfect.

 Gabriel spotted a pear tree outside Uncle Denny and Aunt Sandy's cabin.  He was eager to find a good pear from the tree that he could eat.  Uncle Brian climbed the tree and yanked on the branches so a bunch of the pears would fall to the ground.  The kids found about three pears that were good enough to eat.

 Gabriel and I wore matching Lake Rudolph shirts our first day there.

Grandma made pancakes for breakfast one morning.  Gabriel and Uncle Brian suggested M&M pancakes, so that's what Grandma made.  They were pretty yummy!

 There were walnut trees all around our cabin.  Grace thought it was pretty neat to go out and collect the walnuts.

Gabriel talked Daddy into playing Pokemon cards with him.  Gabriel is pretty much the only one who understands how to play Pokemon.  I'm pretty sure that he makes up the rules as he plays and that's why no one else understands how to play.

 Little Gabe, Gabriel, and Daddy made a Beyblade stadium using the kids' rain boots.

 The first Dairy Queen in located in Hinton, West Virginia where Bluestone State Park is.  This Dairy Queen's food is not like the food we have at our Dairy Queen chains.  We are always sure to make a stop at DQ for lunch at least one day while we're visiting.  The view from inside the restaurant is amazing.  It overlooks the New River.  You can see all sorts of different birds, like Bald Eagles.  We also saw mountain goats on the little island in the middle of the river.  So it's good food and entertainment!

 Another advantage of visiting DQ is getting to check your messages.  In the park there is no cell service.  When we go into town, we check for e-mails, text messages, and voicemail.  Ha!

 Friday night Aunt Linda hosted movie night.  The feature presentation was Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked.  The kids ate hot dogs, cotton candy, and nachos while watching the movie.

 Gabriel was one tired kiddo Friday night, so he and Daddy went back to the cabin early for bath time, pj's, and some cuddling before bed.

 Saturday morning was a beautiful morning, so we walked to the playground.

 The kids played and ran off some energy.

 Uncle Brian and Aunt Erin joined us for a bit and let Lizzie and Jager (their fur babies) play too.

 Here is a group picture from Saturday evening.

 Here are the Kendrick siblings:  Patty, Chrissy, Sandy, Linda, Judy, Jim, Wanda, and Barbara.

 Erin, Mom, and I found these cute pink t-shirts in the gift shop.

 Grandma Mickey, Aunt Sandy, Aunt Judy, me, and Aunt Barbara

 Grandma Mickey will be turning 80 on November 12th, so we celebrated with a surprise birthday party while everyone was together.

 The look on her face totally says, "I knew you were up to something!"

 I think she enjoyed the attention anyway.

 She looks amazing for 80 years old.  Better yet, she is active and healthy too.

 On the way home, we stopped at one of Erin's favorite restaurants --- Biscuit World.  She said it's "deee-licious!"

 I thought it was funny that she said it was her favorite restaurant because when Dan and I see the signs for it as we travel through West Virginia, we make fun of it.  Not only does the name seem a little ghetto, but it also sounds like a heart attack on a plate.

 The kids LOVED it though!  Gabriel ate an adult-size plate of biscuits and gravy and wanted MORE!  Grace ate a sausage biscuit.  She was in heaven because sausage biscuits are one of her favorite foods.

Another note:  This was Gabriel's first PUKE FREE trip to and from West Virginia!  He is old enough and big enough to take Dramamine now, and it did the trick.  We cleaned up ZERO vomit while traveling!  It had to have made the trip more pleasant for him!