Hanks Family Reunion 2011

Last Saturday we had the Hanks Family Reunion at Oak Creek Campground, Utah. Bryan and I had been there before - briefly, a few years ago, so we kinda had an idea of what to expect. It was a really pretty forested area with creeks nearby. The best part about it was of course was the food and catching up with family members.............

Did you notice the bird on Ava's arm? It was a baby bird my mom passed on to me to raise. She found it on her lawn and wasn't able to put it back into the nest. I believe it was an oriole. I think it was the runt of the nest (maybe the momma bird kicked it out). So, we had to take it on the drive with us and feed it. It was pretty much able to fly from branch to branch. At this time, we'd taken care of it for just over a week.......

Grandpa and Grandma Hanks; amazing to think they started this family tree! What a tree it is!
lol
I'm not going to label who everyone is.... cause I'm feeling kinda lazy right now, but here are a series of photos:

My aunts, Jackie & Tammy (my dad's side), and uncle Jon were able to make it out and visit this year. We don't get to see them very often, and it was so great to see them. This was the first time Jackie had seen my kids :)
It was too short of a visit..............

LOL ~ Malcolm's classic "inside out" face................ the kids always get a kick out of it.
Ok, so do I ..............

We went down by the creek to take family photos and cool off a bit. Playing by water is always a big hit on a hot day.......

It was a big, long day for the kids............ Ava passed out (with the bird on her lap) on the way home while Isaac thought about it.

We released the bird into the wild the following day. We let it go in a cat-free area (a friends yard). They said it found more orioles to hang with and seemed to be doing fine.

Here are the casual family photos we took at the creek:

As fast as time goes..... it won't be long before our next family reunion....... I don't want to think about that right now because that would mean it would be Christmas. I'm going to focus on summer right now....... Ha ha!