Family Get-Togethers

Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The sun is still shining brightly and it is 7:32 PM.
We just got back yesterday from a BIG family reunion in Ogden, Utah, on the Fourth of July. Being the patriotic family that we are we had a posting of the flag by three of the Scouts in our group. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem. I am so glad to have been born in America. This reunion was for the descendants of Glen's grandfather who came to America when he was 11 years old. He came with his mother and an older sister from Sweden.
He and his wife had 4 boys and 2 girls. One of the girls died shortly after her birth. The other sister never married. The four sons now have quite a posterity. People came from all over the US who were related. It was fun to rub shoulders with them, to meet some new people, and renew acquaintances. We never seem to have enough time to get all the visiting done we want to.
At these reunions there is always plenty of food, fun games for the little children and visiting for everyone else. I love to visit with people. I love to make new friends. I love to figure out just where they fit in the family tree. As you've already heard, we have 9 wonderful children. These 9 are a part of 41 grandchildren. At this family reunion there were 12 - only 4 of our children were there. Those 12 had a great time getting reacquainted. They used to sleep out on Grandpa and Grandma's lawn in Touqerville. Even the parents slept outside on the lawn many times. It was so beautiful to look up at the stars and feel the wonderful breezes. There wasn't room for all of us in the house. Only a few times were we all there at the same time. But we all have wonderful memories of those days.
Mother and Dad had lots of apricot trees and canning and drying apricots was a part of the family get togethers. We had a great assembly line and could bottle hundreds of quarts in an afternoon. With so many cousins and aunts and uncles it was almost like play. Of course, you could get pretty sticky if the juice ran down your arms.
After work was done, we could walk down into the canyon and if there was water running it made a great swimming hole. Catching lizards was a favorite pass time. Grandma would pay you 5c for every lizard you put into her garden.
And grandpa made the best rubber band guns to sting those lizards with. You weren't supposed to shoot anyone with the rubber bands (but sometimes the boys forgot - never the girls, surely).
Summer time visiting was always special.
Now in our family most of our get togethers have been at Christmas time. And that's wonderful. One of the things we all like to do is to make "gingerbread" houses (we use graham crackers) covered with candy. It is quite a production - to cut the gables - gently, gently. And to cut doors or windows. Most of us build a simple little house but one year one of our boys created quite a castle.
Another favorite thing is Christmas Eve. We have a special dinner. Then Glen reads the story of Jesus' birth and the younger grandchildren - all dressed in costume - reenact the scenes. All of us sing Christmas carols in the right places. We have great pictures of years past.
Family get togethers are wonderful. I wish there could be more. I wish we didn't live so far apart.
Speaking of get togethers, two of our daughters just stopped in. I will go and visit with them. That's all for now.