First of all, thanks so much to Ben and Katie and Travis and Lindsay for a great family reunion! No matter how simple we try to keep it, it is always a lot of work for the people in charge. Thank you Fryars, for opening up your home, yard and hearts to 64 of us!
We started arriving Thurs. night, with others coming Friday morning. The day began with a fun breakfast of "omelets in a baggie." They were so good and so fun! We each cracked however many eggs we wanted into the plastic baggies, added ham, red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese, squished it all together and dropped our bags into a pot of boiling water, cooked for 10 minutes or so and "wahlaa"- we had a delicious omelet, served with various muffins and milk - great fun!
The highlight of the morning was "Red Rover" with Grandma. I have threatened everyone that I better not hear of those pictures and videos being on Youtube or Facebook! I kind of did a "stop, drop and roll," (without the stop), but much to my physical therapist son's surprise, I did not break anything, but he would not let me ride horses the next day. (killjoy) I think my kids all think I'm getting old or something?
Then the treasure hunt began, with a trip to Porter Park, where each family spent some time making family pyramids (see the pics), then over to the old carousel, where the grandkids had two glorious rides, with some cotton candy to boot! Next came a picnic lunch and a little rest under the pavilion before getting our next "clue." We headed for the stadium and track at BYU-I, ran a few races and found some shade by the Hart building, where the six couples who met at BYU-I shared their memories of meeting there, including Mat and Shawn, via the phone. I think the grandkids really enjoyed hearing those memories. I can't exactly remember where Kris told the stories of our little Shetland Cindy and the family's adventures on that fat little Shetland pony, but her memories sure brought back mine as well.
The last clue took us up to the Rexburg Temple, and Katie had the Primary age kids all come forward and sing "The Family is of God." What a sight and sound - angels in our midst. Grandma talked briefly about "following the sun - and the Son," and bore testimony that the Temple, the Savior and Families are what it's all about. Grandpa Clair got us all rounded up for pictures with the Temple as the backdrop. Then we were free to go back to Katie's or wander, or nap or whatever until dinner, with barbequed chicken sandwiches, salads, chips and desserts and "skit charades," where each family acted out a memory and then the dad or mom told the story afterwards. What a hit! I think we were all tired and ready for bed that night, but you know how kids are, and after they were all tucked in their tents, the giggling began! Travis and Lindsay were the brave parents that slept out with all the kids (bless them). The rest of us had comfortable beds, thanks to Ben and Katie and their dear neighbors across the street. The next morning at 6:30, I heard the giggling again and then a man's voice yelling at them, and I thought, "oh no- the neighbors are mad!" I was glad to learn later that it was just Travis. They sure have great and patient neighbors!
After a quick and simple breakfast of cold cereal, everyone headed to Mandy and Shane's for a morning of Horseback riding. Thank you Shane and Dustin Nelson (Karley's neat husband) for helping the kids to "live the dream!" I think those three horses finally rebelled after a couple of hours of walking, trotting, loping and running around the rodeo arena. Check out our 3 Rodeo Queens giving their Queen salute.
Then it was on to Katie's church for an afternoon of Pizza, candy, games and dancing. It was so fun to see all those kids bonding with each other! We also had a little "side reunion" with Karen Smedley and Kari and Lindi and Kari's 4 little ones who joined us there. Sari, Shad, Maggie and Ellie were a little shy at first, but it didn't take them long to join in the fun. At Grandma's request, Quincy did her cheerleading gymnastics, and at Josie's request, Grandma and her 5 daughters sang "Green Door." Some of the teens did their lip syncing act to Michael's music. Thank you Michael for bringing your music. Katie and I went to pick up the hoagies from BYU-I catering, and we all congregated back at Ben and Katie's for visiting and playing and eating - again! Folks started pulling out around 7:00 or so, and we finally got the house kind of put back together, kids bathed and tucked in, the church was all clean and we got some sleep. Poor little orphan, Walker, got left behind, as he had taken a nap down in Katie's basement, so he ended up having to get up the next morning at 5:30 to head for Preston with G&G at 6:00. I meant to tell the Fryars and Dallings that if Mitt Romney's wife could put her kids to bed in their Sunday clothes, so could they, but I forgot. Somehow, we all made it to Kaden's "non-farewell" at 9:00 yesterday morning. Kaden was a very humble young man, and gave a fine talk and is going to be a great missionary. He leaves for the MTC on Sep. 10. Jen and Troy fed quite the crowd, but they're getting really good at it!
I had prayed for good weather, for happy times, for the spirit to be there with us, and I so appreciate the Lord answering my prayers. We missed the Mat Palmers and the Shawn Palmers, but Kris and Mat are in charge of our next big reunion in 2016, so we'll look forward to them being there then. We had a little meeting and decided that whoever wants to come each July to the Palmer Reunion over at Grandma Palmer's house is welcome to do so. I will provide the Rodeo tickets and a place to stay, so make sure to make your reservations for "Hotel Davis" in advance! I am shooting for an adult reunion each year as well. I will let you know about that later. That may be during the winter months when we are having "the blahs."
I love you all, and once again ask you to love and pray for and stay in touch with each other. Mom/Grandma
