sunday's thwacks and shout-outs.

Thwack (verb) : to strike with, or as if with, something flat or heavy.

Shout-out (noun) : a public expression of gratitude or recognition.

Actually friends, all I have for you today is a single shout-out, and taking over this entire post is well-deserved.

The husband and I had a family reunion in Wisconsin at his family's lake cabin.  As previously mentioned, we honeymooned there, so it carried a very special meaning for the two of us.

We also celebrated grandpa Thies' 80th birthday, and my in-laws' 30th anniversary.

The main celebration, however, was just that all the family could be in the same place at the same time.

We had folks from Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Hong Kong, and Kentucky.  You can imagine it would be hard to get all of those people together - but this family is actually very good at it... they make it a priority!

Look at how much fun we had.

The husband and his little bro sailing.

 Getting my kayak on.

Cousins sharing floating devices.

Drew looking really tough holding his really scary alligator floaty.

The boys of course had to compete at something.  Why not see who could jump off the dock the furthest?

Bailey's signature "hello" was "sup" all weekend.  I will forever remember this.

Grandpa's surprise 80th birthday bash.  We set up an entire birthday party for 27 people all while he sat in the room right next to the kitchen... he had no idea.  haha - hilar.

Family piiiiiiccccc.

 We swam to "the point" a lot.  This was my justification for running only once while we were there.  "Hey, I'm swimming to the point and back, that counts."

We laid out on the dock.

And witnessed Cait's Jakie O's moment with her cute big hat and sunglasses.

Can't skip Scooper's ice cream!!  Who cares if I'm lactose intolerant... just look at my bowl - could you pass that up?  mmmmyeah didn't think so.

 MIL/Grandmpa

Indoor chicken fights?  No clue what is happening here - the husband must have taken this one.  I love.  And yes, those are identical twins on the right.

Party on the dock with glow sticks.

Dance party in the living room with glow sticks.

Grandpa gettin' down at the dance party.  SO GOOD.

We antiqued.

Sisters.  Love her.

Celebrating in-laws' 30th anniversary.  We made them a picture book with notes from many family members included.  They had no idea we were doing this for them... they loved it!

Our last night there we took a boat ride, just the Marshall family, and witnessed beautiful skies.

For the husband and I, this was a cherished and blessed time with our family.

 I hope you all have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with your loved ones this summer, too.

Cheers.