Family Reunion Week

This week was the White Family reunion, which is held at Tanner's Grandparents' house in Perry, Utah every year. With the passing of Tanner's grandfather in January, this was an particularly poignant reunion for the entire family. We arrived a few days before the actual beginning of the reunion to spend some time with Tanner's immediate family at Heath and Stephanie's house in South Jordan. We had a great time and Tanner, Heath, and I had an especially good time playing Scorched3D against each other on computers! Clark loved playing with his cousins and because most of them were girls, they took very good care of him!

On Thursday night, we were able to get babysitters for our kids, and we were able to go to a session together as a family at the Jordan River temple. It is always nice going to the temple with family.

Friday was the start of the reunion, so we all packed up and headed out after lunch. Tanner and I rented a car, and I was driving so Tanner could finish an essay he needed to submit for Bar Review. We were cruising along I-15, and suddenly I smelled something. I turned around and Clark had thrown up ALL over, and I mean ALL OVER himself and his carseat. Luckily, we were in a little bit of a traffic jam, so it was easy to pull off to the side of the road. We cleaned him and the carseat up and changed his clothes. Tanner's family were in other cars behind us, and they all stopped to see if they could help...but honestly, how fun is cleaning up throw-up?! It's not exactly the kind of family bonding experience and memory you want to have with everyone. I was just grateful knowing that they knew exactly what we were going through, since they have all experienced this kind of thing before.

I thought it was a one off thing with Clark that maybe he had just eaten too much lunch, but boy, was I wrong. He threw up one more time just before we got to Perry. When we got to the house, we threw everything into the laundry, and Clark and I got in the shower. Clark proceeded to throw up, albeit very little about another half a dozen times that night, so we just kept him in a diaper. Oh yeah, did I mention we were also camping outside in the backyard?! By the end of the night, Clark had it coming out of both ends and I will spare you of any further details, but it continued for the entire reunion. He seemed to act okay energy wise, but I was kind of worried about him. the face of my sick child...he's still so cute.

Then, Saturday night, Tanner started to feel unwell after the cousin dinner. We got back to the house a little early, and Tanner started in with the same thing as Clark. Great. He laid on the couch in the fetal position all night, and his dad and brothers gave him a blessing. He started to feel better the next day. Despite everything, we had a good time visiting with the rest of the family. Everyone predicted that I would get sick on the plane ride home, and I prayed EVERY NIGHT before we left that I would not get sick. And I didn't. It took Clark another week to be back to normal completely. After doing some internet research when I got home, I think he may have had Rotavirus. I called the nurse and she said as long as he stayed hydrated than he would be fine in a few days. I don't know if Tanner just got a mild form of the virus, but I was also hoping and praying no one else in the family would get sick. From what I have heard, Tanner's mom was the only victim of being exposed to the sickies, and it sounds like she had a terrible time with it as well. It was kind of a whirlwind trip and definitely a memorable one for better AND for worse. Below is a slide show of some captured moments by Grandma and Grandpa from the reunion. From making father's day ties, to family campfire skits, to just general hanging out, it was a week to remember.