In the months leading up to Chelsea's 40th birthday, I tried cooking up something that would make her feel special and loved that was different from what we did for Emily's 40th (because she did NOT want to have the same thing.) I pestered her and pestered her about it, trying to decide what would make her happiest. The only thing she really said was that she just wanted to get together and play games. So, we decided that we'd throw her a birthday party while we were camping and play games together. Everyone wanted to do a cousin gift exchange again, and Chelsea suggested throwing a big birthday party--the Birthdayest of Birthday parties, so that's what we did.
First, we had the cousin gift exchange. It was one of my favorite parts of camp.
I love watching the receiver,
And especially the giver. Here's Gabe rushing over to hug Abby after she opened his present. He was so excited to give it to her!
Here's the panoramic of the party.
I love the hugs after the presents are open. Here's Evie hugging Michael, who gave her the doll.
Gabe opening his present from Abby.
And the hug afterwards.
So many sweet hugs--here's Elijah hugging Sarah.
Aaron opening his gift.
Henry opening his gift.
Rachel opening her gift
while Amber looks on.
Hugs for Matthew
and Amber.
Here's the running hug of Amber and Henry.
Rachel had Sarah this year.
More hugs!
Look how excited Elijah is to see Michael open the present he gave him.
Seriously, this is the cutest thing. I love how all the cousins just love each other. I hope they'll always be in each other's corners over the years.
After presents, it was time for the traditional piñata. I got a flamingo this year because it seemed especially summery.
I know Gabe took a turn at swinging, but we don't have any pictures. We had tons of Rachel though. It may be because she kept missing. Not sure though.
Here's Gabe ready to bolt for the few pieces that broke free.
Here's Michael taking his shot
And Matthew finishing the poor bird off.
We topped a cupcake with 40 candles (read two number candles, a 4 and a 0 put together to make 40).
She felt a little silly, but she still blew out her candles.
We put together a Soda Bar especially for Chelsea. Rachel helped me come up with drink ideas. Here is her cute sign that she made.
Here is the menu I made. (I tried to name things after trips we made as a family either growing up or as adults, or things that are special to our family. See the end of this post if you want to learn more about each place).
Star Valley Soda Bar
The Chelsea
Coke + Pineapple + Coconut + Raspberry + Cream
The Kilgore
Coke + Pineapple + Coconut + Cream
The Kelly Canyon
Coke + huckleberry + Cream
The Bear Lake
Coke + Raspberry + Blackberry
The Riley
Root beer or Dr. Pepper + Butter Rum + Cream
The Montana
Dr. Pepper + Huckleberry + Raspberry + Cream
The Nephi
Dr. Pepper + Pineapple + Coconut + Cream
The Elgin
Dr. Pepper + Peach + Mango + Coconut + Cream
No Bears Are Out Tonight
Dr. Pepper + Pomegranate + Lime
The Heise
Mountain Dew + Guava + Passionfruit
The Rainey Creek
Mountain Dew + Peach + Pomegranate +Pineapple
The Yellowstone
Mountain Dew + Guava + Strawberry + Cream
The Green Canyon
Mountain Dew + Pineapple + Lime + Raspberry + Cream
The Paris Spring
Sprite + Peach + Raspberry + Cream
The Nauvoo
Sprite + Cherry + Pomegranate + Cream
The North Shore
Sprite + Peach + Mango + Coconut +Hint of Lime
The Star Valley
Sprite + Vanilla + Strawberry + Cream
The Island Park
Lemonade + Peach + Raspberry
The Butler Island
Lemonade + Peach + Pineapple + Passion Fruit
Summer Nights
Lemonade + Watermelon + cream
I wish I'd taken a better shot. Emily and Taryn made the balloon arch while Brian and I were dealing with sleeping bags. We had cute cups with lids and some fun straws. You can kind of see all the syrup bottles under the arch clear in the back.
The plan was to play games, drink soda, and eat popcorn, but Chelsea wanted to go hang out in her hammock. I got kind of upset (understatement), and the party fell apart. A month or so later, I talked to her about it, and she said she didn't know there was more to the party, and she felt bad that she walked away from her party--she legit thought the soda bar was the whole party because it was fancier and bigger than anything else she has ever had for her birthday, at least since she was a kid. At least on her end, the Birthdayest of Birthday parties was a success, which I suppose is what really matters.
Explanation of Soda Bar Names
We used to go camping at Kilgore, Idaho when we were kids. All our Linville aunts, uncles, and cousins would come. It was our favorite spot. There was no running water in camp, so we had to bring tanks of water with us, but we ran amok in the creek, catching frogs, fishing, and building dams. It was magical to us as kids.
Kelly Canyon is near my parents' house on the other side of the Snake River, and we camped up there, picked huckleberries up there, and cut Christmas Trees from there. We’d also drive up there all summer, shuttling boats for the anglers who fished the South Fork of the Snake River.
We had a few Camp Chadwicks near Bear Lake at Paris Springs Campground. This was the last place I talked to my dad in person.
The Riley Ditch flows next to my mom's property, and we spent lots of time floating it as kids. It’s waters are fed from the Snake River, and it serviced water for our lawn, my grandparents’ lawn, and many nearby neighbors and farmers.
We took a family trip to Glacier National Park in Montana the weekend I turned 9. We rented a 15 passenger van with Dad’s Navy buddy, Don Ewing, his wife Laura, and their two sons Donavan and Seth. My uncle Rick also lived in Missoula, and we visited him and his family a handful of times.
We had a Camp Chadwick in Nephi one year. This was the year Chelsea and Thomas planned.
We used to go to the Linville Family Reunion in Elgin, Oregon every August, and we'd pick up lots of peaches on our way home. We stayed in these rustic cabins, played with cousins, swam in the “Ool” (notice there is no “P” in it), and usually had a car break down en route.
"No Bears Out Tonight" was one of our favorite night games to play during the summer. Grandma Linville’s house was the perfect place to play it.
The Heise area was part of our ward boundaries when we were growing up. There's swimming pools, a zip line, a pizza parlor, as well as a golf course (which none of us have gone to). Near there is Seven N Ranch, which has a mini golf course. My parents are friends with the owners, George and Tennessee Newby, and I worked for them once a week during the summers in high school.
Rainey Creek is in Swan Valley, and the store with the same name sells square ice cream cones. We broke down there one Thanksgiving weekend on our way to hunt Christmas Trees which led to all of my cousins and me kneeling in the snow next to the creek, each taking a turn praying that the cars would start.
We went on a trip to Yellowstone with Dad's sister Rachelle. We also went there on school field trips and various trips as adults with our kids.
We all learned to swim at Green Canyon. We would go stay a week and camp and swim. This is where we had swim camp a few summers ago as well. Green Canyon always brings to mine the strong smell of hot springs, playing mermaids with my friend Melissa, and singing loudly by the camp fire at night.
I mentioned that Paris Springs was the name of the campground where we had Camp Chadwick three different times. There’s an ice cave near there that we explored as part of one trip.
Our trip to Nauvoo during the summer of 2001 is the thing that comes to everyone of my siblings’ minds when we talk about family vacations. 2001 was actually our second attempt—we broke down in Wyoming in 2000 and had to have our van towed back to Idaho, thus eliminating all our vacation funds. Grandma and Grandpa Linville were gardening missionaries those two summers, and it was so fun to take that long road trip out to see them and watch them dance during the Sunset on the Mississippi. It was also the first time most of us ventured further west than Eastern Wyoming. We saved and saved to make this trip happen.
The North Shore is our favorite place to play at Bear Lake since the beach is so nice and soft, and the water so shallow and safe for kids.
Star Valley was the first place that we rented a cabin for our reunions, and it is the place we’ve been going for Camp Chadwick since Dad passed away. We love this hybrid camping place (5 cabins, running water, showers, flushing toilets, and totally secluded from everyone else).
Island Park was the second place we rented a big cabin for our reunion back in 2013.
Butler Island is the Island created by the Snake River and the Dry Bed Canal just northwest of where we grew up. When there is a bad winter storm and we had to get home from Ririe, we always went “around the Island” since visibility and road conditions were generally better. We also went this route to get to Rexburg, and many of our friends and youth leaders lived on Butler Island.
Summer Nights was inspired by our 2023 theme for Camp Chadwick.
No comments:
Post a Comment