Utah Family Reunion

Note: This is one of those posts most non-family will probably read and think, "Uh, that was boring..." It's mostly for journal purposes. But there are some old photos at the end that you can laugh at if you want!

My dad is one of 10 children, and eight of them stayed in Arizona to raise their own families. Two ended up in Utah. Now that all their children are grown and moving around the country, lots of my extended family has ended up in Utah. Crazy mormons. Now we have enough relatives living in Utah to get together for a reunion. So this last weekend they finally did get together. I was glad, since I'm so far away from the rest of my family, and my cousins and I were pretty close growing up. Even my aunts and uncles that were there are as fun-loving as kids! I mentioned to my mom once that my aunt Linda liked to do tricks on her husband for April Fool's day, and she told me that it didn't surprise her, because my dad's 5 youngest sisters were always doing things like that when they were growing up. I laughed, because I could picture them as teenagers doing tricks on Grandpa. I was excited to go and see everyone. We got a late start from home on Saturday morning, though. The whole thing started at 10:00, but we didn't make it there until 11:30 or 12:00. My cousin Denise, who told me about it on facebook, told everyone else that we were coming, so they held off with the fun magician until we got there. The magician was a guy in my uncle's BYU ward, and he did a great job. All the kids loved his whole show, and they each got an animal balloon at the end. Then we had lunch and I tried to visit with most of my cousins, aunts and uncles, but couldn't. Something about four hungry and excited kids messed up that plan. We let the kids ride in my other uncle's barrel car train behind a 4-wheeler in the church parking lot, and then it was time to clean up and go home. I wish it would've gone longer, but that was all that was planned, and we had been late. So, in all, I think there were 60-65 people there. Thanks, Denise, for letting me know about it! And it was so good to see you, Denise, Emily and Rachael! I'm so glad I made it! And I'm so sad I didn't take any pictures! But here are a few from years past, just for kicks...

Besides the reunion, Neil's sister was blessing their little boy on Sunday, the 16th, in Salt Lake, so we went to her house from there, stopping at Cabella's on the way. The girls loved that place! So much to see! Most of Neil's siblings were there for little Lucas' blessing, and we hung out together that night, and the next day after church. It was great to be with family.

Grandpa - totally looks like my little brother, Trent!

Grandma - I lived with her after Grandpa died, while I attended ASU,

before I got married.

Singing "Surfin' USA together with little faces painted on our chins, at a reunion at the family cabin in Greer, AZ when we were about 12 years old.


Wendy, Edith, Denise, me, and Karen after a family meeting (12 years old)

Edith, Emily and me in a skit for Halloween, I think (13 years old?)

Edith, me, Karen, and Denise in '98

me, Emily, Edith, Denise, and Rachael after church in Utah in '94


me, Karen, Emily, Denise, and Edith in the summer of '93, I think.

The Lord's Hand In My Life:

I must say this almost every time, but it's true. I've been blessed with great family. It's so good to have my extended family close by (well, kind of close by). It's hard to explain how close my cousins and I were growing up, but we were like best friends, and I was lucky to be one of seven girls who were the same age. We got together once a month for "family meetings" at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and had lots of family outings and reunions through the years. I'm grateful for an awesome family.