Bylund Bash - Vermont 2017 Memories

- Luke: catching frogs in the pond with cousins; puppet activity; fishing pond ("when the fish talked to me and gave me stuff")

- Tori: Hugging Adelaide at the Talent Show; dancing with Courtney at the dance party; eating LOTS of Goldfish

-Emily: Coaster ride and ziplining at Killington

-Richard: Hiking with a gaggle of kids singing Sesame Street nursery rhymes and adult representative meetings.

 

Naomi: Catching frogs, "full speed ahead" on the Beast Coaster, and the squirrel song

Courtney: Speedminton, the Soaring Eagle at Killington, Ben & Jerry's, foosball, playing with all the younger cousins

Joshua: Catching frogs, ropes course at Killington

Spencer: Quiplash, hanging out with older cousins

Aaron:  Frisbee with Thurman, Nico and Greg on the front lawn.  Mountain biking with Dave

Jenny: Eavesdropping on Courtney and Caleb's wedding conversation during the hike!  Ziplines at Killington with Emily P (our first time on a zipline), watching the littlest cousins run in for watch-me time.

Michelle: hanging out with the adults at night, watching all the cousins have fun together

Dan: Playing quiplash, family feud and the talent show

Anna: Quiplash, talent show, hanging out with Grace

Rachel: Trivia night and catching frogs with cousins

Caleb: Frogs and hiking

Lucy: Nana's fishing pole, roller coaster and trampoline at Killington 

Maddie: The dance party, going to the "fun mountain" (aka Killington), 

Nico: Seeing everyone

Thurman: Staying up to play games, 

Greg: Staying up to play games, the t-shirts, helping the tweens play Quiplash, Bingo night

Carma: the campfire the first night, watching Kevin laugh about Kristen's quiplash answer about the pinata, Joseph Smith memorial, Matt's game, meals together, Bingo, Talent Show. 

Dave: Mountain biking with Aaron and having a delicious breakfast without having to do any dishes. 

Kristen: The Amazing Race, learning to play Quiplash and Codenames, and having an amazing sandwich at the General Store.

Noelle: Riding the roller coaster and jumping on the trampoline at Killington (and jumping on the Bylund's trampoline), and doing puzzles. 

Adelaide: Going to see the chickens, eating Tori's food, and having lots of people look at her during the talent show. 

Kevin:  watching everyone play outside—catching frogs, throwing frisbee, speedmitton, etc.  The hike to Chenoa’s cabin.  Playing games together.  Listening to Dave teach Luke about dental hygiene in the visitor nursery, Mountain biking.

Emily:  going to Ontario Beach—playing frisbee and building sandcastles and eating grapes with all the mini-streakers, watching Nathan stump everyone in the Amazing Race with his trains, Taco Tuesday! eating all together on the beautiful porch at the lodge, Family Feud, the amazing t-shirts, playing quiplash and code names, watching all the kids and adults play at Killington, riding the mountain coaster with Nathan and Maddie, watching the cousins play ga-ga ball at the park, hiking to Chenoa’s cabin, playing kickball in the rain, rocket balloons, the dance party, and playing Matt’s Game.  

Grace:  Killington, hanging out with cousins, BINGO night, the Amazing Race, quiplash and other games.

Anne:  EVERYTHING!!!

Nathan:  Killington mountain coaster at full speed with Dad, trampoline, moutain tubing, and the AWESOME lodge

Lincoln:  saying “Bylund, Bylund, Bash, Bash Bash!”  Seeing cousins all the time and doing bubbles and rocket balloons with them.  The trampoline and swings at Killington.  The GONDOLA RIDE!!!   

Nana:  Everyone playing, laughing, going on outings, dancing and making memories, the T-shirt throw (with the bonus announcement), all the fun activities (bingo, family feud, trivia, campfire and balloons), and the fabulous planning by Kevin and Emily.

Opa:  Everyone playing, laughing, going on outings (Joseph Smith birth place, Killington, hikes), dancing and making memories, the T-shirt throw (with the bonus announcement), all the fun activities (bingo, family feud, trivia, campfire, Nana's fishing pond and balloons), the Green Mountains and the fabulous planning by Kevin and Emily. 

Bylund Bash - Aspen Grove 2015 memories!

 Kevin:
Eric’s adoption party and impromptu story sharing
Dad teaching us all to shoot bows and arrows and guns
Watching the kids playing in the sand playground for hours

Anna: Playing with Grace!

Rachel: Spending time with Anne on the way to meals

Caleb: I liked spending time with Josh, Spencer and Grace.

Dan: Volleyball game and Aspen follies

Michelle: Our family talent show

Lucy: When mom and dad finally picked me up from Rompers each day!

Richard: Laser tag and the impromptu adult volleyball game

Emily: Having someone else cook the whole week! Also doing the pottery & watercoloring classes.

Luke: "Luke like (sic) going to special class with Cousin Nathan. And being with all my cousins.
Luke's cousins are Luke's friends. Luke also like when Batman gave Luke a high five and said
to Luke: 'stay in school!' Batman just a little bit scary."

Tori: When my Papa blessed me!

Aaron: Celebrating Eric's "Gotcha Day" and hearing stories about him

Jenny: I enjoyed the hike to Stewart Falls with Dad, Eric and Dave.  Fun even in the rain and mud,
plus Dad rescued his Mac-in-a-Sac bag :)

Spencer: (Two) Doing Perler beads with the Wildcats.  Also, setting a personal record of seven bowls
of cereal at breakfast.

Joshua: Going to the swimming pool with the Bobcats and swimming in the rain

Courtney: Our first game of Aspen Follies -- using beach towels on the sand volleyball court to toss
over and catch the huge exercise ball

Naomi: Playing in the sand!

Nana: It's always hard to have a "favorite" memory, since there were so many possibilities. 
But, certainly for me a favorite memory was sitting with all of our children and their spouses,
and feeling an overwhelming love for each of you.  You are wonderful, but of course not perfect,
parents, and show such respect,love and kindness to your children and your spouses, I am very grateful. 

Opa: Baby blessings, celebration of Eric’s “birth” into our family, talent shows, making pens,
Stewart Falls hike.

Carma - family talent show

Greg - getting his thobe picture taken with Elder Dube

Thurman - laser tag with the family members at Aspen Grove

Nico - running through the rain with Spencer

Maddie - dancing with Jake

Noelle- eating watermelon and watching Daniel Tiger with cousins

David F.- watching the lightening storm and making pens

Kristen- doing "snaps" at our nightly meeting, watercoloring, and talking with family

Nathan:  trampoline!

Anne:  "pool and pool (get it?)". Winning family trivia and the candy bar game.  AND the dance party

Grace: chatting with Anna

Emily:  Lincoln's baby blessing and playing sand volleyball.

 

Reunion Memories

Here are everyone's favorite reunion memories!

Emily: Gondola rides

Richie: Winning the foosball tournament

Kristen: Making paper airplanes with the kids during stations and flying them off the balcony

Dave: Foosball tournament, specifically winning doubles with Greg AND looking at the stars

Jenny: Kid's Olympics in the rain, looking at the stars from the deck, and "Matt's game" (please stand for the national anthem with your dog)

Aaron: Hiking with all the kids and realizing we were not actually lost

Spencer: Playing toss the ring onto Uncle Kevin's head; making monsters; Greg & Ducky at the talent show

Joshua:  Riding the gondola with Nana, Opa, Carma & Eric

Courtney: Throwing rocks in the creek; jumping off the carpeted stairs one thousand times

Kevin: Hiking, Kid Olympics.
Emily:  Gondola ride, playing group games (Matt's Game)
Grace: Playing in the yard with cousins (the "club"), Talent Show
Anne: Gondola ride, Talent show (especially Kristen and Dave's synchronized swimming)

Michelle: Watching the fun talent show and the Alpine Slide!

Dan:  playing lots of games
Anna:  The big hike with Opa and the Kid Olympics
Rachel:  Playing with cousins
Caleb:  The fishing pond and playing with Uncle Richie

Eric: Riding the gondola with Carma, Mom, Dad and Joshua; hiking.

Carma: Matt's game, charades, talent show

Greg: The cool weather

Thurman: Kid Olympics, foosball tournament, playing games

Nicholas: Kid Olympics

Maddie:  Being held by Anna and Grace

Mom/Nana: The times when we were all together sitting on the couches, having FHE or talent show or whatever.It was just great to be all together.  It was fun to see the grand-kids having fun with each other---sailing airplanes, doing Olympics, or just free playing together.  And the adults enjoying time together, playing games, talking and laughing.

Dad/Opa:  Friday morning many of us took a hike. We had been told that the
Burrow Trail would take us into downtown Breckenridge. But we didn’t
quite find that trail, but we did manage to get there on some little
used trails, which turned out to be much more interesting than the
Burrow Trail. Anna said it was the best hike ever

Here are the "mission calls" 

Thurman - China

Anna- India

Nico- Siberia

Grace- New Zealand

Spencer- Mexico

Rachel- Uruguay

Joshua- Russia

Maddie- Australia

Anne- Australia

Courtney -Tonga

Caleb- West Virginia 

Opa and Nana- South Africa

I hereby turn all future Bylund Bash correspondence over to Kristen Bylund Franckum! 

Final Schedule and Reminders

Reminders

1.  Bring your t-shirts!
2.  Make sure you are prepared for all your assignments (see schedule below)
3.  Email Mom and Dad to let them know what kinds of food you and your family would like for breakfast or lunch (cereal or other easy breakfast foods, sandwich meat, bread, chips, other snacks).  If you are choosing to not be part of the communal breakfasts and lunches, please let them know that as well so they know how many to buy for.
4.  Email Mom and Dad to let them know what ingredients you need for the dinner that you are in charge of.  (Alternatively, you can buy food when you get there --  there is a grocery store.)
5.  If you have kids, help them memorize the general authorities.
6.  Come prepared with a joke for joke night! (Each family member can tell a joke)
7.  Let Emily and Richie know what you/your family member's entries will be for the talent show.
8.  It will likely be cool (especially at night) up in the mountains.  Pack appropriately!!

Final Schedule and Assignments

Room Assignments
Downstairs bedrooms (2) - Jenny's family (will bring own pack-n-play); Kevin's family
Bunk room - 8 oldest cousins; alternatively kids may move mattresses into parents' rooms
Study with queen sleeper sofa - Kristen's family
Loft with queen aero bed - Eric
Top level bedrooms (4) - Michelle's family in King Bed with twin chaise; Mom and Dad in Queen Master Bedroom; Emily's family and Carma's family in the other two King Bedrooms.  (Mom to bring pack-n-play for Maddie)

Dinner Night Assignments (5:30-6:30 p.m)

Friday - Jenny's family/Mom and Dad:  taco salad
*Dinner bell:  Spencer and Joshua

Saturday -Kevin's family/ Kristen's family: Pulled pork, hot dogs, baked beans, corn muffins, watermelon, and lemon freeze
*Dinner bell: Grace and Anne

Sunday - Michelle's family/Emily's family: Spaghetti and meatballs, green salad, breadsticks, peach cobbler
*Dinner bell: Anna and Rachel

Monday - Carma's family/Eric: Beef enchiladas, fruit salad, will also make a special treat for FHE
*Dinner bell: Nico and Thurman

Tentative Schedule with Assignments

Thursday afternoon/ night: arrivals, begin working on t-shirts

Friday morning
9:30 a.m. Morning Devotional - Mom and Dad

10:00 a.m. Kid Olympics - Jenny's family

More t-shirt work (for those getting in too late Thursday) 

Foosball tournament (Thurman)

Friday afternoon
Free time - Kristen's family to provide a brochure of local activities in Breckenridge
Late afternoon - Walk (Kristen and Dave)

Friday night
Celebrate Emily's birthday
7:00 p.m. Joke night - Carma's family
Dance party - Mom and Dad and Nico

Saturday morning
7:30 a.m. 5K race - Emily's family
French Toast Breakfast - Thurman and Carma 
9:30 a.m.  Morning Devotional - Eric
10:00-11:00 a.m.  Stations for Kids* - Kevin's family/ Michelle's family/Kristen's family
Foosball tournament

*Each station will be 20 minutes.  Kids will be divided into three groups and rotate through the stations.  (Group 1: Nico, Anna, Grace; Group 2: Spencer, Anne, Rachel; Group 3: Thurman, Joshua, Caleb, Courtney)

Saturday afternoon
1:00-2:00  Emily-squared baby shower for all women and girls who want to attend
Early afternoon:  Men and boys activity -  water balloons:  Aaron & Greg

2:00-4:30  Free time

Saturday evening
4:30-5:00 Family Pictures
7:00 Talent show - Emily's family


Sunday morning
Sacrament meeting 10 am
Primary to follow back at lodge after lunch - Emily P and Jenny in charge; Carma and Mom singing time

Sunday afternoon
General authorities recitation by children - Michelle
Free time
Foosball tournament

Sunday evening
7:00 Family Time - "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bylund Style."- Emily's family
7:30 "Watch Me Time"

8:00 Popcorn and watch the stars come out

Book Club --Happiness Project (Carma)

Monday morning
8:00 a.m. Morning Walk - Kristen and Dave
9:30 a.m. Morning Devotional - Kristen's family
10:00 a.m. Stations for kids* -  Carma's family  /Mom and Dad /Emily's family
11:00 a.m. Face painting - Kristen
Foosball tournament

* Each station will be 20 minutes.  Kids will be divided into three groups and rotate through the stations.  (Group 1: Nico, Caleb, Rachel;  Group 2: Grace, Spencer, Thurman;  Group 3: Anne, Anna, Courtney, Joshua )

Monday afternoon
Free time
Hike (Kevin's family)

Monday evening
Presentation of Foosball Awards (Thurman)
7:00 p.m. Family Home Evening - Mom and Dad

Tuesday morning
Pack up and leave.... so sad. 
 

Other non-scheduled, ongoing activities could include...
Wii, darts, kuub
Movies in theater room
Games
Amazing Race activities -?

Answers from Property Owners

Here are answers to our questions:

Yes towels are included

Not a back yard to play in, there is a patio & large deck

Most appliances are there unless someone snatched some without us knowing. Pots, pans, griddle, blender, toaster, mixers, baking sheets etc.

There is the Burro Trail that you can walk to, its not a park but it has a stream and it beautiful. Kids love it. The elementary school  is close and downtown has a play area for kids. You may walk to these.

Yes there is an iron & ironing board

The main freezer is a bottom freezer. There is another freezer (side by side fridge) in the laundry room. Plenty of room

UPDATED: Next Iteration and some other things

Updates in red below.

Well, now that it's July, we can say, "The family reunion is next month!"  I think everything is coming together well.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts about T-shirts.   Emily Bylund has come up with a great idea.  Every family can bring their own T-shirts (and choose their own colors) and then as part of the reunion she will organize "freezer stenciling" for a logo for the shirts.  This will allow us to have different colors per family and also to be able to have the right size shirts for younger kids.  Thanks Emily for being willing to do this!

Colors taken:

Mom & Dad - 

Carma's fam - navy

Eric -

Michelle's fam - light green

Kevin's fam - light aquamarine

Jenny's fam - white

Kristen's fam - tangerine

Emily's fam -Dark red

I have a couple assignments that I still need people to take on:

1.  Contact the property owner with the questions listed in the previous blog and the comment. (I have sent these to dad).
2.  Still need a volunteer/volunteers to be in charge of the "Men and Boys activity" during the Emily-squared baby shower Saturday afternoon.
3.  Be in charge of the morning walks on Friday and Monday.  

Regarding meals, sometime in the next few weeks, talk to whoever you are paired with and figure out what you would like to make.  We will need to give ingredients to be purchased to Mom and Dad who are planning to do a big Costco trip (unless it's too much to do all of that at once).  Let me know also and I will post it to the blog so we don't have people making the same thing multiple times (ok, I know that is not likely, but still).   We will also need to give requests for breakfast and lunch food to Mom and Dad (types of cereal, etc.)  We have decided to keep the breakfast/lunch food bill separate from the dinner bill for people who want to buy their own breakfast/lunch food.

Here's the latest, revised schedule/assignments per everyone's earlier input.

Room Assignments
Downstairs bedrooms (2) - Jenny's family (will bring own pack-n-play); Kevin's family
Bunk room - 8 oldest cousins; alternatively kids may move mattresses into parents' rooms
Study with queen sleeper sofa - Kristen's family
Loft with queen aero bed - Eric
Top level bedrooms (4) - Michelle's family in King Bed with twin chaise; Mom and Dad in Queen Master Bedroom; Emily's family and Carma's family in the other two King Bedrooms.  (Mom to bring pack-n-play for Maddie)

Dinner Night Assignments
Friday - Jenny's family/Mom and Dad: taco salad
Saturday -Kevin's family/ Kristen's family: Homemade pizza
Sunday - Michelle's family/Emily's family:
Monday - Carma's family/Eric: Chicken and beef enchiladas, will also make a special treat for FHE

Tentative Schedule with Assignments

Thursday afternoon/ night: arrivals, begin working on t-shirts

Friday morning
Morning Walk - Kristen and Dave
Morning Devotional - Mom and Dad (I thought we could do these gathered together after breakfast before the morning kids' activities start).
Kid Olympics - Jenny's family
More t-shirt work (for those getting in too late Thursday)

Friday afternoon
Free time - Kristen's family to provide a brochure of local activities in Breckenridge

Friday night
Celebrate Emily's birthday
Joke night - Carma's family
Dance party - Mom and Dad

Saturday morning
5K race - Emily's family
French Toast Breakfast - Thurman & Carma 
Morning Devotional - Eric
Stations for Kids - Kevin's family/ Michelle's family/Emily's family (one idea is to a little craft or art project)

Saturday afternoon
Early afternoon:  Emily-squared baby shower for all women and girls who want to attend - Carma, Mom, Kristen
Early afternoon:  Men and boys activity -  Aaron?  Greg?

Late afternoon:  Free time

Saturday evening
Family Pictures (if Leslie's family joins us) 
Talent show - Emily's family


Sunday morning
Sacrament meeting 10 am
Primary to follow back at lodge after lunch - Emily P and Jenny in charge; Carma & mom singing time

Sunday afternoon
General authorities recitation by children - Michelle
Free time

Sunday evening
Family Time - "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bylund Style."- Emily's family
"Watch Me Time"
Popcorn and watch the stars come out
Book Club --Happiness Project (Carma) *unless there are objections


Monday morning
Morning Walk- Kristen and Dave
Morning Devotional - Kristen's family
Stations for kids -  Carma's family (improv games) /Mom and Dad (fishing pond, parachute games, treasure hunt?)/Kristen's family

Monday afternoon
Free time
Hike (Kevin's family)

Monday evening
Family pictures (if it works better for Leslie's family to come this night)
Family Home Evening - Mom and Dad (Bingo for activity?)

Tuesday morning
Pack up and leave.... so sad. 
 

Other non-scheduled, ongoing activities could include...
Wii, darts, foosball tournaments (Thurman might like organizing one of these)
Movies in theater room
Games
Amazing Race activities (Kevin's family -- or we could do this at a scheduled time if you'd like)

Good omen