Honor the Donners and Some

Our large family.... Donners and honorary Donners.

As I mentioned before, we had a big family vacation to South Dakota. There was a large group of us that stayed in a vacation house that could have easily fit more people. It was huge!!!! Also, the house offered a few days for all of us to peak into the lives of the wealthy.

The tale began Tuesday morning as we packed up and hit the road. Before we could get out of the house, Jake had to eat a little dog food. Mae was a little apprehensive about sharing, but conceded in the end. We had a very leisurely trip stopping in Casper to visit friends and watching a lot of movies along the way. On a side note, Jason knows every word of Cars by heart.

Jake and the food..

Just as we were pulling up to the house, we both realized, it was a mansion. Then the sense of awe was interrupted by the news of Shanahan being fired..... a shadow cast on the mood. This shadow didn't last long though.... the fun was just about to begin.

When we walked in, the whole fam was there minus dad and Dave who were on their way. Jason saw Lane and Chance and without hesitation, the play was on. The rooms were picked with a perfect area, including a crib just perfect for our little fam. We took a tour and then it was a shopping trip for the ladies. When you have that many people you have to shop... I mean really shop. We made it back with large amounts of food, beverages, a few gifts and Aunt Diane didn't even push an old lady..... overall a very successful outing.

After a dinner of chicken and a little pizza that the birthday boy requested and decided he didn't want at last minute, dad and Dave arrived. Then it was time for the great gift exchange..... When you have that many people, two celebrating birthdays and the rest exchanging Christmas gifts there is a whole lot of paper carnage. It was something to admire. And to finish off the bash we had to eat cake cake and more cake..... (One ended up doing a party at another house....... a multi-use cake). After a lot of visiting and catching up.... the game room rocked by the way, it was bed time. Most of the people in the house slept, but as always the young Moody men don't believe in sleep. So 2 hours had to get us by.

The boys having a bite.

Jake likes pizza too... almost ate a half of a piece.

Grandpa and Jason... preparing their lungs for blowing out the candles.

Rip and tear.

Jason wanted to play a lot of football now that he really can look like football man (that is what he calls himself now).

Jake with his new Broncos mascot...... still thinking about the coaching change.

Jason in front of his pile.

But wait... there is more.

The next morning came way too fast...... as you can imagine. But, the sunrise was very pretty. When I got down stairs.... I was informed that mom had already spilled V8 on the white carpeted stairs.... and the theme of the trip was born..... "We have insurance." It turns out that Uncle Mike had spilled some beer on the carpet the night before and Dave always has insurance when he is playing pool. It was New Years Eve day and we were all ready to celebrate.... some earlier than others.

The sunrise from the patio

Jake ready for a full day of finding things that he might be able to break.

Jason, Lane and Jake playing hard.



I was a zombie in this pic.

Aunt Diane getting some writing in before the rest of the house wakes.



Uncle Brian found the last beer in the fridge and decided that he should open it before anyone else got a chance despite the early hour.... it is vacation.

I have to admit that I did sneak a nap in a long nap, but I was one the few that was able to stay up to ring in the new year. We had a feast for lunch and many sandwiches were consumed before the leap second. By the way, Aunt Diane and Dave are excellent pinochle rookies and Jen can play like a pro even though it has been years. Also, Battle of the Sexes, 2nd edition takes a very long time so prepare yourself for that if you want to take it on. We were very happy that Matt came and joined in all of the game time fun. After a few hours of the game the women conceded and we moved on to Catch Phrase.... Bird noises and flapping arms always mean crows and if a name sounds like the word flower, it must be Flourance Henderson. And after struggling to stay up the new year had arrived. This meant bed time for me.

Lunch time...

More eating

It was a peaceful night until 2:30 rolled around. Colin and I heared Jason (he was on a mattress next to our bed) coughing and gagging..... then the fluid came out. He was getting sick... Colin jumped up and got him to the bathroom and the chain reaction began... lesson learned.... we must check to see if Jason is storing food in his mouth before he goes down for the night. Evidently ham can choke you when it falls out of the storage compartment in your cheek.

The next day came too fast. Our trip was coming to an end. We all packed, cleaned up and had our last big feast.... made up of the leftovers from the whole trip. This included a lot of chicken. The only fitting part of the breakfast was the toast. It was all good though. Before we could all go our own ways we had to have a picture taking marathon..... I didn't get grandpa and grandma Donners so if someone could pass that on to me, I would appreciate it. Also after going through my pictures I realized my camera spent most of its time in the kitchen. That is where I spent most of my time, but I would like to have some pics of the rest of the house too. Thanks for the help.

Uncle Mike and Matt...... Maybe next time Jesse and Josh will be able to make it.

Mom And Dad..... I could use a copy of this one too.

Grandma Denise and Grandpa Shane with the Boys.

How cute.

The Donner kids... Aunt Diane, Uncle Mike, and Mom.

The Franks.

All of us grandkids with Grandpa and Grandma Donner front and Center.

The kids with Grandpa and Grandma front and center..... they behave poorly.... more so than the grandkids.

Wouldn't our pics look good here in the den?

It was such a wonderful trip and we were sad to go, but it was nice to get home. The boys travelled better than we could have hoped and the pickup drives very well on bad roads. When we got home we were greeted by two very happy girl dogs and a lot of laundry. New Years brought so much fun and we were thankful to have that time together. Thank you all for such a great time and we look forward to our next adventure.... Honoring the Donners and Some Part II. Happy New Years to you all and may your new year bring joy into your lives.