Family Camp - 2011

So, we just got home from James's family reunion.  This is a straight up, legit, family reunion most commonly referred to as 'Family Camp' or "Shippendom" that occurs every 2 years.  It was my 2nd time attending Shippendom. (If we're not including the year that James texted me constantly the whole time he was there when we first started dating...)

I'm not gonna lie, I was not thrilled about the idea of driving 18 hours to get there this year.  I know, I know, you are probably thinking "Why didn't you fly? Don't you fly for free?" and the answer is yes, we do.  But the closest you can fly to Eagle Lake is Reno, Nevada and that is still 2 hours away.  We flew to camp in 2009 and while it worked out pretty nicely, we didn't get to take all of our camp stuff and it was a little bit of a hassle.   So this year, we opted for the drive.  It was a LONG drive, we ran out of gas once, but we finally got to the beautiful Eagle Lake.  We were the second people to arrive so we picked out a prime spot and set up camp. 

After the hustle and bustle of getting there and setting everything up, it was super fun and relaxing.  Most days I couldn't even tell you what day it was.  I think that's how you can tell a good vacation.  Some of my favorite things about camp this year were:

Spending time with people we don't see that often  ~  campfires every night  ~  zip lining!  ~  and relaxing at the beach.

James and I now have a total of 3 nephews and 2 nieces on his side.  They are all so stinking adorable - hopefully that means our kids will be too. :)

Dylan

Brennan

Reese

Eva

Camden w/ Grandma 

I'm really glad we took Sadie.  Although she was scared of the campfire and some of the more rowdy children, I'm pretty sure she loved it.  She would run down to the lake and jump right in.  She even jumped into the raft with us one time and went for a ride.  Plus, EVERYONE was feeding her (what dog wouldn't love that?) - we're lucky she didn't get sick!  She slept at the bottom of our sleeping bag and kept our feet warm.  James took a picture of her one morning when she sneaked up to the top and rested her head on the pillow right in between us, it is so cute!  I will try to post it.

She is quite the little dog-model if I do say so myself.

And last but certainly not least - some group shots.  This is the first time the whole Brinkerhoff clan has been together since we got married so of course we needed pictures.

Nixon's, Galant's, Gibson's and Brinkehroff's!

Standing in front of the Genealogy Chart. You gotta zoom in on this and check out Reese.  I love it.

The Brinkerhoff's standing on the infamous 'tree stump'.

EVERYONE!

I am so blessed to have married in to such an amazing family!  I'm already getting excited for the next family reunion at Eagle Lake!

If you want to see more of Shippendom 2011 - check out my facebook page.