Family Reunion Continued

Ok, so here is my second post about our family reunion. Guess what the kid's favorite thing to do when we get to the hotel is. You guessed it, swimming. Dawson and Hannah started talking abut swimming at the hotel pool a couple of weeks before we left, and they started begging as soon as we got there. So, after a little nap, it was off to the pool. We were lucky on Friday night because we had the entire pool just to ourselves. Saturday night was a completely different story. There was a family of 4 who were staying in the hotel, and apparently had come from their own reunion because they were wearing family reunion t-shirts. Anyway, they, along with about 15 other members of their family, were monopolizing the shallow end of the pool all night Saturday night. At about 5 minutes until 10 (keep in mind that the pool closes at 10) they finally left, and all you see is car after car pulling out of the parking lot. Only 4 of the 20 so people were registered guests of the hotel. So, we were able to enjoy the pool for 5 minutes before they locked it. I guess 5 minutes is better than no time at all. :)

While I was talking to family at the reunion, Dave decided to use my camera to get a couple of shots of myself, and a couple of my father and my grandfather. What he captured in the first photo is enough to make any true camera professional proud. I think this photo was supposed to be of me, since I was standing on the other side of the food counter, but I'm not sure. In any case, the photo will be a constant reminder of why I should be the one behind the camera, and he should continue to be one of my favorite models. In his defense, he has always had a problem with taking photos, no matter the camera. It seems he is always cutting someones head off in the shot, or forgetting to set the flash, as I think was also the case in this shot. But, at least he tries. :)

He did manage to take a decent photo of my father, and my grandfather though, so I can't fault him too much. I did forgot to ask them if he captured their good sides in the photo. I do like this photo, and plan on having it framed. It's nice to have a photo of at least two of the generations together. My brother, and his sons, couldn't make it this year, and when we took the generational family photo at my grandfather's 90th birthday party last year, my brother and his sons were also mysteriously missing from that one as well.

I hope that we are able to get a photo of everyone together in the very near future. A photo with my grandfather, his kids, and all of the grand kids, and great-grand kids (congratulations Shannon) is one photo we are all going to wish we had. With our family spread out all over the map, it is difficult to get everyone together at the same time, but it will be well worth it. The photo taken last year had everyone in it, except my brother and his kids, so it was close. But, the grand kids keep having kids, so we are going to need a new photo before long.

Ok, I'm losing track of my post here. This is a family reunion post, so I need to talk about the family reunion. We left at 7am on Friday morning, July 18th, and arrived in Conway, Arkansas at around 1:30 Friday afternoon. We checked into the hotel, and promptly took a nap. We then readied ourselves for dinner, and met the rest of the family at Ryan's Steakhouse for dinner. After dinner, it was off to the hotel to swim.

Saturday morning, we left for our Saturday morning trek to Wal-mart at around 8:30 am. We did our shopping, my dad bought his normal 50 pieces of chicken, and we were off the 20 or so miles to the 1st Baptist church in Damascus. We arrived at a little before 10 (the reunion is scheduled to be from 11 - 2), and the men put the tables and chairs up for the event, while the women began cooking. At a little after 11, my grandfather grabbed his gavel, and began tapping the podium to get every one's attention. It always takes him several minutes to gain control of the unruly crowd of people who seem to think that we are there to talk to one another and catch up on old times. After a few unsuccessful minutes of tapping the podium, someone stands up and let's out a loud whistle, and at last, it's quiet. So, my grandfather begins one of his speeches that we have all come to know and love. This one was about the most painful experience a person could suffer through, the pain of undelivered speech. After the speech comes the prayer, and then the mad dash to stuff ourselves. We sit around for an hour or so talking and eating (an my dad and Rose bought me a birthday cake since it was also my birthday), we pass the hat to collect money to "rent" the hall next year and pay the postage necessary to mail out the reminder postcards throughout the year (we raised over $200 this year) and then a little after noon, it's time to take the annual family photo, outside in the dripping hot. And I do mean dripping hot. It was 96 degrees and HUMID! It takes about 20 minutes to round everyone up and get them outside, and then another 15 minutes or so to get everyone situated so we can take the photo. Then another 5 minutes (every one's hustling to get inside) for everyone to get back inside. So, that puts us at almost 1, and people start to leave. Oh, I forgot to mention the 4 huge pieces of paper that adorn the walls of the hall. You know what I'm talking about. The family tree.

Anyway, we are all out of there by 1:30. We make a stop at the statuary place, that last about 5 minutes since they don't have what I'm looking for, and then we stop at Pickles Gap, a very small town along the highway. We buy useless stuff in the gift shop, walk through the pouring rain to the fudge shop, have a cold drink, and then head for the antiques shop. I spot a sign the owners of the shop have posted about children (very rude and unnecessary) so I take my children and make my exit. We then head back to the hotel for more swimming, and relaxing. The older generations head to the fish fry, and Dave and I, having pawned or kids off on my dad for the evening, head to the Chinese restaurant to celebrate my birthday, and then head to Wal-Mart for a little "I want that"-less shopping. Then it's back to the hotel for more swimming.

That's the reunion in a nutshell, and I'm sure next year will be the same, as it's pretty predictable.

Sunday morning, we were on the road at 8am. I snapped this photo of Dave while he was driving, before he had any caffeine. He does this cute squinting thing when he is trying to stay awake, and I'm constantly yelling to wake him up. He went off the road and onto the rumble strips several times, so many times in fact, that Dawson can make the rumble sound himself. It's so cute. After the 15th time or so, he asked his daddy why the car was going "HMMMMMM". It was hilarious!

The trip home is always the longest. We are tired from the long weekend, but don't want to go home as that means back to work the next day. That and the fact that Kansas doesn't offer the most scenic of views, so the last few hours of the road home are boring. But, we can always count on Dave to provide some much needed comic relief along the way. He got mad at me for grabbing the wheel when he drifted off the road for the gazillionth time, and threw his sunglasses on the dashboard. The resulting photo is one that is sure to haunt Dave for the rest of his life.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. While we wish more than anything that we could go to Maine this summer, we are fortunate to have been able to afford the trip to Arkansas. Gas prices are astronomical, so we weren't sure we were going to make it. But, we managed to save a little for the trip, and made the best of it, since it is the only vacation we will have this year. Dave started working at his old job early in the year, so he had to start over with his vacation days. But next year, we will be taking a lengthy family vacation, and I plan to start saving now. :)