Family Reuion on the 4th!

Hey, hey, the gang's all here! Or they were here anyway. This year for the 4th of July, 23 people came in from 4 different states and met up at our house, and for just a snatch of time my whole family was together in the same place. We took a picture just to prove it. Reunions such as this happen about once every 5 years for us. In fact, the last time we did this at least four of the kids pictured above weren't even born yet!

Though we weren't together long we packed in a lot of fun. Eating, talking, teasing, playing, staying up late... and there were some organized events of the weeked as well. Whenever the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints builds a new temple, upon completion there is an "Open House," meaning that the temple is open to the public for tours. We're fortunate to live near to the newest temple and the open house there is currently underway. So, the out-of-towners took advantage of the opportunity and spent the morning together there. Then we met at our house for lunch, which was lucky for me since I needed a way to make good use of a 10 lb. slab of corned beef Luke received as a gift from a meat company. We took our family pictures (thanks again to my sister-in-law Amy for snapping the shots for us), and then headed for the lake!

The finicky weather still lingering from June had me crossing my fingers and holding my breath, but we lucked out with a warm, sunny day and good water. I was too busy enjoying myself to remember my camera, but I have pictures in my mind of my mom and dad relaxing on the boat, my brother falling off the boat (in a funny way - he wasn't hurt or anything), and wake-boarding with my sister and sister-in-law. My favorite part of the day was when the whole lot of us piled on the boat for a "sunset tour" all together before we pulled out of the water.

On the day of the 4th, the group disbanded for a bit but reconvened in the evening at my brother's house for BBQ and fireworks. Cousins frolicked all over the lawn and monster pops and sparklers and fireworks were going off everywhere. Then after we caravanned to a secret spot to watch the fireworks from the BYU stadium, cousins bedecked with glow-bracelets and necklaces romped in the dark. We bailed a little early, but caught a spectacular display at Thanksgiving Point as we drove home on I-15.

Over the next two days our crowd dwindled down as family by family, people said good-bye and returned home. I was sad to see them go, but I suppose it's missing them when they leave that helps keep me grateful for the freedom and privileges that enable us to be together, even it's only for a couple days.