St George Family Reunion – Land of Lloyds

My side of the family spent a week together bonding over music, food, games, and biking. We have a big bunch—7 siblings with all their families—so it was quite a bit of effort for my parents to get all of us together. We are so grateful to them for hosting everyone. Seriously, they did so much preparation and put a lot of time and resources into making our reunion amazing. They found a vacation rental with 6 bedrooms and an attached bathroom for each, plus a game room in the loft and access to a pool and trails. We were only 8 minutes away from Tuacahn amphitheater and Snow Canyon. It was an excellent location with so many fun things to do!

Our bedroom was a kid’s dream full of bunk beds. We were only a few steps from the entrance to the pool with a lazy river, water slides, and a hot tub. We basically took the kids to swim daily. Two dining tables were put together to seat most of us at mealtimes. My brother brought some fancy speakers and sound equipment to DJ, and everyone got a chance to karaoke or jam out on the keyboard or guitar. One of my BILs even brought out his accordion.

There were definitely surprises. My youngest sister introduced us to her boyfriend she’s been dating since last year. A few of my siblings were late in arriving because of traffic from a chemical fire on I-15 that turned their 7 hour trip into a 20+ hour drive. Thankfully everyone made it safely. We got to meet my sister’s pet bearded dragon, and she got to see ours. One of my SILs got bit by a scorpion, and she was a total trooper. I found out what a go-getter she is while we shopped for cake in a grocery store. The family all congratulated my sister on her latest pregnancy. I found out a couple of my siblings are now lactose intolerant. My brother likes to burn things inadvertently while cooking, and very spicy salsa. We got to tour my Dad and Mom’s gorgeous house that they plan to retire at and are slowly moving into. My SIL showed me some of her lofi music that it turns out I like while we put together a puzzle. I made the most of my time even though I was immobilized for a bit of the reunion.

Family Reunion Food

Food is still our love language! My parents made some very special dishes and it was all amazing! My brother bought one of those spits to grill his meat at home, froze that, and brought it all the way from Arizona so we could enjoy his delicious Al Pastor with all the toppings. He made pickled red onions and a spicy tomatillo salsa from scratch. Jer made beans that my brother cooked with bacon grease into delicious refried beans. My other brothers cooked up breakfast sandwiches, croissants, and hash browns in the mornings.

We cut up fresh fruit for all the meals, and Mom even brought fresh plums from their tree in California. My kids got to try dragonfruit for the first time. Dad made some requested favorites that he precooked without the liquid and froze until time to serve: Swedish meatballs, stroganoff, beef bourguignon, bison picadillo, chicken adobo, lumpia, shepherd’s pie topped with cheese, and more. My sister the macaron artist spent a whole day baking up some special flavors—ube (a purple yam) with a coconut filling, and cinnamon roll.

St George Family Reunion Activities

My sisters brought stickers and supplies for the kids to make journals, and the kids all loved that! One of my nieces was very carefully working on pages about narwhals in hers for days afterwards. Mom also put together a “minute to win it” type game with money and prizes in layers of saranwrap that the kids had to unwrap to claim. There were a lot of things on the schedule, but below are some of the things we ended up doing as a family.

Tuacahn Amphitheatre

We watched 3 broadway shows at the Tuacahn outdoor theatre. Dad and Mom are season ticket holders and encouraged all of the family not to miss out! This was something we were able to do together, and I’m so grateful for the Dads who helped babysit so we could go out. Since we ordered tickets a year early, we were able to get some of the best seats in the house! Spitting distance from the actors; we could see the sweat on their faces.

The red rock atmosphere was amazing, and the production was top notch with talented actors/dancers/singers and effects (minus a glitchy screen). Mom had a spotlight moment when Frankie Valli sang to her. We were right there when Elsa was singing Let It Go and building an ice castle. We cried through Anastasia and the romantic storyline they developed. The songs were in our minds for days thanks to L singing them all the time. She was so glad to be able to come and enjoy it with her cousin. She got souvenirs from the gift shop, including a tiara.

E-biking in Snow Canyon

It was seriously so beautiful riding in this scenic park. My brother Wade joined Jer and I. Unfortunately I crashed my e-bike on the way back going way too fast downhill and not able to brake. I panicked and hit the ebrake on a sharp turn, flew over the handlebars, and rolled a few times with the bike on top of me. Skinned my knees and arms, rubbed off my shoulder, bruised my hips/palms/fingers. I tried not to cry, and to be tough but man it hurt! Jeremy tried to convince me to get back on and ride back, but my knees hurt too much so he stayed with me the entire time I walked the bike back at least 2 miles before my brother met me at the parking lot.

I actually didn’t know that my brother was a medic in the navy. He cleaned and bandaged me up after putting the heavy e-bike in the trunk of his truck, and I got to tell the story of crashing to each family member (so a total of like 20 times). I’d still recommend this ride! Maybe don’t be a clutz like me and ride a better designed bike…

Lava Trail at Snow Canyon

Jenny’s Slot Canyon

Sand Hollow Reservoir

We brought sandwiches, drinks, and chips to this lake in the middle of the afternoon. We’ve been here together previously renting equipment and spending the whole day here, but today we spent only a couple of hours. It was too hot and getting super windy to stay longer, and we had dinner to make and a show at Tuacahn to catch. The kids had a great time playing in the water. There was a warning about Swimmer’s Itch being Active, but the sign didn’t appear until after we had paid the entrance fee and parked. Jer asked the people working and swimming there all the time about it, and they said it hasn’t been a problem. Fortunately no one ended up with any symptoms. I didn’t get in the water with my injuries, and got to hang out with my siblings enjoying the shade.