Weekend

We had a great weekend.

Friday morning after a walk, I cleaned our entire house.  Since it is so small and since we don't have much stuff, it is really fast to clean.  Every time I am here, I think I want to go home to Pleasant Grove and get rid of everything.  It is restful to not have stuff, yet, Amazon Prime Day....

In the afternoon, my mom and I helped Olivia a little with her quilt (she is very nearly done) and then we went to my parents' house and made potato salad (Marianne joined for that--she doesn't like to quilt).  Ammon's family arrived and Marianne and Olivia had brought their swimsuits and wanted to go to Boulder.  I maintained it wasn't quite hot enough for that.  I went too, but I rolled up my jeans (they got wet anyway).  

We had a delicious and abundant 4th of July dinner and the teenagers went to town for fireworks.  (Emma and Mark were at our house in Pleasant Grove with some of their friends to watch the fireworks there.)  I guess I'm neutral about fireworks.  If they're there for the watching, great, but I'm not going to travel.

We enjoyed visiting with everyone and then coming home to our clean little house.  We opened the windows and it cooled right off and we love the not needing AC life.

Saturday I hiked Johnson Hill with Marianne and Robert and Olivia.  It's a good little hike with a lovely vista.  

Adam was home mowing and doing all the things around here.  It's a huge project and he gets an amazing amount accomplished when he is here.  He enjoys it, so that helps.  

We went to Wells for the reunion and met Emma and Mark there.

I think the older we get, the more I enjoy our family reunions.  It is fun to wander between knots of people and just visit briefly with whoever.  My cousins are interesting and varied and I like their wives too.  (I don't really talk to my cousins' husbands, but I'm sure they're great....)

After eating and having all the cousins report on where they lived and a bit about their families, we took the requisite pictures.

The magnificent seven:

Demar, Mark (my dad), Drew, Joe, Olivia, Claudia and Jennifer

Someone (who must not know them very well) said the men should take off their hats.  We all said they were in the shadow and we wouldn't be able to see their faces.  None of the magnificent seven cared.  Just take the picture, they said, (kind of gruffly). 

So we did.

I asked Adam to take pictures of cousins with my phone.  He understood the assignment and was telling people where to stand.    

My cousin Rachel said, "The guy in the green shirt is in charge and he knows what he's doing, so listen to him."

I said, "That's Adam, my husband.  He's an oldest child."

Rachel (also an oldest) said, "Good, that's what we need."

The girl cousins (there were a lot of people taking pictures so it's hard to get one with everyone looking at the same place):

I would like the record to state that I am not actually short for a woman.

Pictured from left are: Jessica, Olivia, Rachel, Britta, Margaret, me, Josiann, Molly, Catherine, Dixie, Sarah, Marianne, Elizabeth, Gretchen and Hannah.

I love those ladies!

The boy cousins (not being as professional as they could for the picture):

Micah, Ira, Zachary, Tabor, Cedric, Alexander, Jordan and Ammon.  I love them too.  I sat by Micah at lunch and he cracks me up.

Here's the group, missing 16 cousins.

Those of us kneeling said that if you have pictures of grandkids to show, you may need help getting up. 

Then we kind of got it together.

When we were posing for these cousin pictures, I had the feeling that Grandma and Grandpa would be happy to see us.  Maybe they paused whatever they are doing in heaven and looked down on us for a minute.  Later, sitting around the fire pit at Hannah's house, my cousin Molly said she felt the same way.

We took a great-grandchild picture and I would surely name everyone, but I don't know all the names:

I know who everyone belongs to, but that's as far as I get. (Also shadows.  The struggle was real.)

We came home and I troubleshooted sprinklers with Adam.  (I did little more than say hmmm and make mildly helpful suggestions.)

Later we went to Hannah's for hot dogs and s'mores and more visiting.  It felt like such a well spent day.  Margaret asked me if it was OK if she walked on our road while she is here.  I said, "Of course!"  Hannah said that Marianne said it was OK if she walked up through the orchard when she takes her walk.  She said, "Is that OK?"

Of course!  She told me that she goes up by the Big Tree House and then we had to have a conversation about how the Big Tree House used to be SO big and now it just isn't.

Part of the charm of us owning this house is that I want my cousins to feel like they are still welcome to come here.  It is still in the family.

I feel grateful for families.  I love that we can enjoy the legacy Grandma and Grandpa established.  They worked hard and had great faith and goodness and love for their family.  It still blesses all of us.

This is a picture from their 50th wedding anniversary party.  Cousin paradise.  

These people, this place.  This is a big part of who I am and where I am from.  And I feel grateful.

Adam and Emma drove back to Utah Saturday night and Mark and I stayed on.

Church was good on Sunday.  Lots of visitors and they were all my kinsmen.  Mark and I spent a mostly restful quiet day.  We visited a little with Olivia and Marianne and some of their families.  I read a story to QE and she showed me her new leotard because she is starting ballet.  

Margaret, Aunt Jennifer and Aunt Olivia came over to see changes we've made to the house and we visited my parents.

I feel like a lucky duck with all this family time.