The Family Reunion

It has been a very long time between posts - it has just been more that a little crazy around here for the last two weeks. We started our "summer vacation" officially, with the arrival of Pat and Lorrie and their seven dogs. (only my sister in law would go camping with seven dogs!) They arrived on the Tuesday before the long weekend. We decided to camp at Cottonwood for a few days, before moving to the location where the family reunion/possible battlefield would be taking place. Those few days were quite peaceful. Then on Thursday, we moved to Hiawatha Campground (sounds like a good place for a battle, eh?) which is in the mountains, west of Burmis, Alberta. We had booked all eleven sites at the front of the campground, so that we were all together and could play games and visit.

I sometimes wonder what we spend so much time in planning everything, as it was quite obvious that no one can stick to a plan. Even though the sites were not supposed to be used until Friday, people started arriving early on the Thursday and we were almost half way full, a day ahead of reservations. The poor man running the campground was gracious and didn't seem to mind, even though we started moving fire pits and tables to suit ourselves. Then it rained and rained and rained.

Luckily for us, the worst thundershowers and rain happened late at night and not during the day, when we needed to be out and about and not trapped in RV's. The most "sparks" happened during the day, as people (who obviously second guessed the person put in charge of planning) changed those plans constantly, with regards to events and food. The day that we really needed it to be nice, mother nature did not disappoint us and we were able to meet at the grave site for the interment of Mike's sister, Mary's, ashes. Then it rained and rained

While at the service, I was able to snap a photo of Mike and his six remaining siblings. As you can see, Vivian was our one casualty at the reunion. She took a header out of a 5th wheel trailer and broke both bones in her wrist, and severely compacted all the bones in her hand. A night in the hospital, setting of the wrist early in the AM and without any pain meds, she made it the rest of the weekend (although she self medicated, liberally, with alcohol) and on to the interment. All done without any pain medication. She wouldn't even fill the prescription that the doctor gave her until she got back home to Red Deer. Man, she is one tough cookie! Then it rained and rained and rained.

We got home after the long weekend, just in time to start the push to get ready for the big 4 couple, 170 guest, 50th anniversary party for my parents and three of my Dad's first cousins (who were also married in the same year) Rather than hold four anniversary parties, we combined them for one giant party at my parent's farm. What an extreme amount of work!! These are the signs that led the guests down the road:

The signs said:

Did you remember...

Your supper meds...

your teeth...

your spouse?

There were also signs that directed the "old cronnies" were to park and then signs for the "really old cronnies" and then a sign for the "fat,lazy asses" to park, where they would have to walk quite a bit further. It was hilarious, as was the game of "Goldy Weds" that we had the four couples play, to see which couple had been listening to each other during the 50 years that they had spent together, and which couples had turned their ears off years ago. I had to watch every episode of the Newlywed game for months to come up with enough questions that would stump the four couples. It was a riot!!! Some feuds almost broke out between couples who thought that their spouse should know the answer to a particular question. It was pretty funny when my mom told the crowd that the first New Years Eve that my parents spent together as a couple was one year after I was born!!!! It was a calculating error that caused the answer, not a revelation to the family that I was illegitimate!! The best answer happened when my Dad had to run to the bathroom. His best man jumped up and declared that he would fill in for Dad because he "knew everything" about my Dad. The question was "How many natural teeth does your spouse have?" to which Eldon replied "1 -1/2 teeth" - my Mom could have killed him!!

This is a photo that I took of my Mom and Dad, in their yard on the farm - just as much in love as they were when they were wed 50 years ago. My Mom has never had a driver's license, my Dad patiently waits for her wherever they go. They are joined at the hip and always have been. I have never witnessed a fight between the two in all of the years that I have been alive. They bicker about how things should be done, but they NEVER fight. Both of them know the meaning of compromise and they are truly "soul mates".

They answered almost all of their Goldy Wed questions perfectly, but were beat out by Auntie Karen and Uncle Allan, due to the illegal question about the false teeth - way to go, Mom and Dad!!!!

So this was how my last two weeks of summer vacation played out -

- seven days of camping with my husband's family

- seven days of camping with 12 dogs

- cooking for between 25-45 people for all meals ( did I mention 7 days????)

- hosting Mike's 50th birthday supper

- guests from the reunion that did not go home and stayed for another week (at our house)

- clean up house for arrival of anniversary relatives

- set up for 50th anniversary party - two days

- prepare food for 50th party - 170 guests - cook everything but the beef, which was catered

- have house guests during the party

- be the MC of the party, don't eat anything because of nerves, have a few too many drinks. You guessed the rest!

- clean up after party, return borrowed chairs, tables, cooking stuff - one day ( while suffering from a hang over)

collapse.

End of summer vacation - THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!