Avarie and her cousins were able to enjoy some time at "Monkey Joe's", a play-place filled with inflatable slides and bounce houses. I think the older cousins had the most fun, but Ava enjoyed crawling around and watching everyone.
We also were able to have a BBQ and relax at my parents house enjoying the insanely gorgeous weather before heading out for the big reunion. My mom and dad took 3 of their grand babies for a walk. Avarie, Owen, and Preslie were all born last year within 2 1/2 months of each other. Avarie was going to double up with Owen in the car stroller, but we decided it would be safer if she rode solo. I love her face in these pics :)
Family Pizza Party
It is a tradition for the Sal family to have Chicago-style deep dish pizza at reunions....and it is GOOD. I don't have pics of the family pizza party/game night, but here is a pic of Lou Malnati's delightful pizza. We spent the evening catching up with family members and played a game to learn new (and some surprising) things about each other.
Papa's Birthday Party at Cubby Bear
This is a pic of the oldest and youngest Cub fan in the Saliwanchik family. So sweet :) Little Owen is the only boy grand baby (until our little guy arrives in November!)Fourth of July
We all gathered at a nearby picnic site and enjoyed an afternoon of BBQ, Pinewood Derby tournament, lawn games, and the traditional waterballoon toss.
A kiddie pool was set up for the babies to cool off in...Ava and Owen loved it - Preslie not so much :) My sister Linds bought these matching swimsuits for the cousins (Ella has one too, but wasn't in the pool for the pic)
Here is the set-up for the family Pinewood Derby. There were 18 competitors, spanning in age from Papa Sal to the youngest grand babies. Some were VERY creative with their cars and spent a lot of time working on them! It was a really fun event :)
And the winner for the fastest car is.......Lonestar Larsens!!! We decorated our little speedster Texas style. Bennett was pretty excited we won - the car is still on display on our dresser.
A Saliwanchik family picture. We were so glad everyone was able to be there...I love getting together with cousins/aunts/uncles!
Papa Sal and his great-grand kids. I love all of their different expressions!
Animal Farm and Park
We spent a day at a fun animal farm complete with train ride, followed by a quick evening stop at a local park (hence the reason Avarie is in PJ's at the park). We then went out to icecream at Maggie Moo's....delish :)
You can see the growing baby bump in this family picture at the farm.
Children's Museum
And our last stop of the reunion, after saying some goodbye's to family members that had to catch flights, was the Kohl's Children's Musuem. What a fabulous place! It is set up like an entire city, and kids get to be the grown-ups. There are also infant play areas set up all over for the teensies to get their fun in as well. Avarie and her cousins had a BLAST. I wish we had this museum close to us!
A HUGE thank you to all those that worked hard getting this reunion organized. Thank you Grandma Mary and Papa Dunn for such a wonderful vacation...we know you spent a lot of time and money for this family event. We love and appreciate you so much!!!
