Reunion

It was so much fun to see all my sisters and their families. We're up to at least 30 people in the family now, including brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews. People straggled in on Wednesday night and we were on hand to greet them all.

Thursday morning we went to a lake and had a picnic. None of us were used to the heat (it was over 100 degrees every day), so the water was a welcome treat.

That afternoon we hung out at the hotel and the girls all made flower barrettes. They turned out really cute.

My cousin's wife, a professional photographer, was kind enough to take pictures of us all together and each family group separately. Many of the girls wore the flower barrettes and they looked great.

My dad is very much into Western attire, so as a surprise, my mom made each niece and nephew a vest, and they got pictures taken with Grandpa.

That afternoon we walked around Eastern Arizona College and met up with my cousin who goes there, who gave us a tour.

We had a birthday party that evening. Three kids had birthdays during the reunion, so we celebrated those, but all the kids got a little something. And I got an award for traveling the furthest.

Friday morning we went to the Discovery Park. It's one of those wonderful places that very few people know about, and it's all free. You can ride a space shuttle simulator on a tour of the galaxy and learn all about gravity and space through their interactive displays. The kids had a blast.

After that everyone made their way down to Virden where we had a BBQ dinner that night and lots of visiting. Breakfast, games and a birthday party and dinner, with lots more visiting, was held on Saturday and most people headed home either Saturday or Sunday. I flew back into Boston very late Tuesday night.

It was such a fun trip. Sometimes I wonder why I'm living out in Boston when my home is really the intermountain west, but Boston is where I belong for now.