Family Reunion

Summer seems to be the time for family reunions. I hear about friends going up to the mountains or traveling across the country for the annual reunion, and I always think it sounds like fun. My family, on the other hand, rarely gets everyone together (either side)! I think the last time my dad's side of the family was all together was the early 90's. I am pretty sure it was to celebrate my Grandma and Grandpa Rich's anniversary, and my Grandpa Rich died in 1994, so it was sometime before then.

Anyway, last summer, my cousin Dani and I decided we should get everyone together. Most of us live here in the Boise area, so it shouldn't be too hard, right? We started by emailing everyone a couple of dates to see what would work, and June 20th seemed to work for everyone. Perfect! The most stressful part was actually finding a shelter. I thought three months in advance would be plenty of time, but the first half dozen parks I checked already had their shelters reserved. I finally found Guerber Park - it is a new park in Eagle, and it worked out perfectly! Guerber Park has a big beautiful shelter, a nice play place, and a small water park area for the kids. They also let us set up a bounce house (we rented an Incredibles bounce house that was a real hit with the kids!)

Dani and I decided we should have the main dish catered - we had both Blimpie sandwiches and pulled pork sandwiches (the pork was catered by East Meets West Catering and was absolutely delish!) and then everyone brought sides. It was pretty casual, the only organized activity was a trivia game, but it was perfect. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was supposed to thunderstorm (60% chance!) but we ended up with blue skies, sunshine, 75 degrees, and a slight breeze.

The best part about the day was the turnout! We had almost all the family there - my grandma and two of her three siblings were there, along with almost all of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. All in all, there were 60 of us! Thanks everyone for coming and making this a successful event. We'll definitely have to do it again - and this time, let's not wait 15 years! So, who wants to organize it next time? :-)