Family Reunion {Day 3-- The Grand Finale}

The third and last day of the reunion was held at the stake center. There is a nice pavilion there to provide some shade and a place to eat. Before all of the activities got started, we got a picture of our family in our matching shirts. Jonathon helped design the shirts, and I think they turned out great. The kids were antsy to get playing, so they weren't cooperating very well for pictures, but we had to document it anyway :)

All of my Dad's siblings and their spouses also got a picture together. I love these people!

The couples from Left to Right and Back to Front
Armond/Ann, Larry/Tawana, Grant/Sharon, Virgil/Lucy, Mike/Jill, Roger/Julianne, Darell/Gayle, Joe/Julie, Dixie/Todd

They rented a big, blow-up water slide for the kids and had 2 volleyball courts set up for the bigger "kids." Everyone had a blast! Christian and Andrew played on the water slide for at least 5 hours that day. Hyrum spent the whole time in the little kiddie pool. He and several of the other babies enjoyed splashing around.

Hyrum, Bridger, and Corbin

The volleyball tournament was pretty intense. Vaughn had everybody line up by age and then had them count off into 4 teams. The teams were actually very even, which helped it be more fun for everyone. I would usually be way into the volleyball, but I felt like I needed to be available to watch my kids if necessary. Jonathon was nice and watched Hyrum for most of the time, so I got to spend a little time taking pictures of the games. It was fun to try to get a good picture of a great block or the winning kill.

By early afternoon, Hyrum was completely exhausted, so I took him back to my parents' house for a nap. The other boys stayed with Jonathon for the Dodgeball Tournament. I didn't get to see the action in person, but the pictures that Jonathon took made it look pretty awesome!

Another C-- family tradition is a game called "Dibby Dibby Dip." It is simple in theory, but we take it to the next level. It is so fast and intense that it scares off a lot of newbies. You have to practice a lot before joining this crowd! The Grand Champions were Daniel, Corianne, and Gretchen.

Dinner that night was a full roasted pig. It was amazingly delicious. Then we all met in the gym for the Closing Ceremonies. First, Vaughn handed out the "gold medals" (i.e. boxes of candy) for various events and fun parts of the reunion. Some examples were: Uncle Darell's and Aunt Ann's families won best flag, Savannah won cutest baby, Darrell won for his trivia prowess, Keeper's family won for their amazing record of going nearly undefeated in the family game night, etc. They were very fun awards and everyone just shared the candy around. Then, Uncle Virgil gave a brief speech about how we can honor Grandpa and Grandma's legacy. He had all of his brothers and sisters stand up and sing some of their family's favorite songs and emphasized again the importance of being a covenant family.

Finally, the highlight of the reunion for me, was watching the Tribute Movie that Vaughn put together about Grandpa and Grandma. {I am linking to the video here for my own ease in finding it later.} For the last several months, Vaughn had been collecting brief video clips from all of the family that highlighted special memories they had of Grandpa and Grandma. He put all of the videos together and added music. It was so beautiful. Stefani's memory (about 9 minutes in) started the tears flowing, and I was emotional for the whole rest of the movie. There was also some video footage of Grandma and Grandpa that I had never seen before, and I couldn't help but wish my children had known them.

Grandma and Christian

I don't remember Grandpa very well because I was only 5 when he died, so it was neat to hear more about him. I knew Grandma very well and remember her fondly. We went to Notus often on Sunday evenings to eat toast and be with Grandma. She was a constant figure throughout my childhood and young adult years. I was so happy to get to introduce her to Christian shortly before she died. Toward the end of her life when she was quite weak, she moved between all of the homes of her children as they cared for her. I will never forget the pure love they showed her in her hour of need, and know that it was because she was a great woman and mom who had raised equally amazing children who I have the privilege of calling uncles, aunts, and dad.

It was such a touching tribute, and it reminded me how much I loved them and how blessed I am to be part of this family. By the end, there was hardly a dry eye in the house. As a last hurrah, Aunt Sharon made about 20 loaves of my Grandma's famous homemade bread and several people brought homemade jam, and together we got to relive those most precious memories of spending time at Grandma's house. Aunt Sharon made the bread exactly like Grandma used to. Everything about it was the same, and I found myself emotional again. I have eaten hundreds of slices of Grandma's toast and jam in my life, but I wish I could eat just one more with Grandpa and Grandma present. I am so thankful for forever families and for a legacy of faith and devotion to Jesus Christ.