It is a wonderful thing when a large family can congregate for nearly a week and no major conflicts occur. There were a few burrs, but nothing major. A family reunion had been planned to take place on 8-8-08, but there were conflicts for this date so we settled on 7-6-08 which can be written in the military fashion as 6-7-08.
Family members gathered from five different states, four on the east coast, and Utah, where more than half of the participants now live. We started our activities with a trip to Starvation Reservoir where we boated and camped overnight on the fourth of July. One of the families had a conflict with another family reunion and didn't join us until the sixth.
The family reunion was followed by a wedding of my oldest granddaughter in the Timpanogos Temple with a reception in my backyard afterward. Preparing for the reception took nearly two months since sod was required to repair a sadly depleted lawn. I bought sod, a chipper, a new chain saw, and my sons went to work to make the backyard nice. In the final weeks of preparation I repaired and painted a set of lawn furniture. A granddaughter helped me prime and paint.
The reception was nice. I made a four tiered wedding cake, prepared shrimp wontons, Swedish meatballs, chicken teriyaki, assorted open face sandwiches on specially baked formed bread, strawberries with chocolate dip and lemonade that cascaded from a fun plastic fountain that changed colors and made bubbles in the punch. Rented tables and chairs augmented the furniture I already had. Lace tablecloths, purchased more than twenty years ago and used in at least four weddings since, were overlayed on green cloth rounds I purchased new for this event.
Almost as soon as the reception ended the family began to disperse but I am left with three grandchildren to entertain and provide for in the next few weeks. So far we have dealt well together.
