Worldwide Indexing Event 2016

Did you participate in the FamilySearch indexing event this weekend? There's still a few hours left to participate!

Indexing is a great service project, and kids can do it! (But we keep mom close by for help reading tricky handwriting).

This weekend we helped to index Kentucky marriage records, World War II draft registration cards (these are fun because they give a detailed physical description of each person), and UK Probate abstracts (that's a good project if you don't want to read handwriting ... It's typed!)

A few tips for kid-indexers:

1. Index with a buddy that can help you read the records.

2. It's okay to index just a few names at a time (some batches are pretty big for kids, but your work will be saved even if you don't complete the whole page).

3. Have a bowl of candy close by.

4. Think about the people you're indexing and what life may have been like for them.

5. Enjoy the unusual names and information you discover.

Nathan just indexed a marriage record. The bride was 14 years old ... Nathan's age. Crazy!

Handwriting can be a challenge. Nathan just said "Why did people write so weird back then?" and "These people are so old they didn't know how to write." But if you've made it through 3rd grade cursive class, you've got some handy skills. Just do your best and ask your parents or a friend for their opinion on the tricky spots.

Even though indexing can be a challenge, it can also be fun, so give it a try! #TheWorldsRecords

Amazing Family Reunions

Warning: by the time you read this post you'll wish you were in our family. But then you'll realize that you can use these ideas in your own family, and everything will be okay. (Our family really is pretty cool, though.)

WHAT MAKES A FAMILY REUNION AMAZING? Well, it's got to be fun for everyone ... all ages. Our family just pulled it off in a big way, and we'd like to share some of the successful ideas with you:

LOCATION: We chose to book some vacation rental condos for a few nights in sunny St. George, Utah. This was a central meeting spot for our family since many live near Salt Lake and many live near Phoenix. By picking this location and putting it on the calendar a year in advance, we were able to get 90% of our family to attend!

It never hurts the kids' feelings if there are swimming pools involved.

ACTIVITIES: Reunions need just the right balance of fun, family time, nap time, and meal time. At our recent reunion we spent three days together, and most of the time was flexible, but some fun options were: dinners together as an entire extended family, swimming, games, swimming, crafts, swimming, movie watching, and swimming. 

T-SHIRTS: No, really. You have to get matching T-shirts. Nothing says family unity better. You'll get over the cheesiness. Our Hardman grandparents had six kids, so each of those six branches of the family got a different color, but we all had the same design on the front. 

Seriously, how adorable are these mini matching reunion shirts!!?

Stay tuned for more fun reunion-related posts!

Reunions done right ...

Our next few posts will revolve around family reunions, because it's that time of year!  We just got home from an AMAZING reunion.  Check out this fantastic video our aunt made at the "Minute-to-Win-it" activity:

Coming soon ...

We're getting ready to transition to www.thegenealogykids.com ... new design, same great genealogy-for-kids resources. Be excited!

FamilySearch's Block Party

Here's a quick video we put together to share our experience at this month's BLOCK PARTY at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  It was a very kid-friendly setting, and despite the rain, we had a great time.

Featured in a FamilySearch blog post today!

Check out this wonderful video that FamilySearch created to go along with these awesome blog posts! (We think Grandpa Losee must be smiling down from heaven to be highlighted in such a fantastic way.  His post is HERE.)

Multi-generational photos

If you are as lucky as we are, you still have grandparents alive and maybe even great-grandparents. Be sure to take the next opportunity (when you're all together) to snap a multi-generational photo! We're pretty sure this shot from this weekend's family gathering will become a family genealogy treasure: