My mom's crazy large family (somehow her mom raised 10 kids) started throwing family reunions in celebration of my grandparents' 50th anniversary, but that was 22 years ago. They made it a tradition to get together every 2 years (usually in Olean, NY) and it was always a good turnout and a fun time. Exactly 20 years ago we all met in Colorado Springs for a reunion. The tradition was lost when my grandparents became ill and eventually passed. One day, talking to my aunt, and mentioning how much I missed the reunions, she told me, "It's going to have to be your generation that takes over." With my personality that became my new mission - get as many family members together again!
It was a much larger undertaking than I anticipated, but after months of planning the weekend finally arrived. Of course I'm not sure how much sleep I had the week before, but nonetheless, I was excited to see everyone together again. Our destination - Silverthorne, CO!
We shared a few 5-bedroom condos, that had the most amazing view (which I had no idea they would)! The out-of-town relatives were blown away by the beauty of Colorado, and I proudly had to agree, but I also have to admit that sometimes I take the scenery for granted. Sometimes it takes someone in your ear reminding you how lucky to live in a place to truly appreciate it, and this weekend did exactly that!
*I have few pics of the rest of the family, so this is only a small snipit of the reunion!
The plan was dinner each evening together at the clubhouse and the days were free to choice. Our girls were content with swimming the entire day, so we had to literally drag them out to do other stuff. One day I came over to the pool to find Steve supervising all 5 girls....what a guy!
The first day we did an easy 3-mile hike that was literally in the backyard of the condos. About half of the family trekked along. We made it out of the hike with only a few cuts and bruises....success!
Lily Pad Lake
Riding the gondola in Breckenridge
Bubble pit at Kidtopia
Making crafts
Although the days were fun spending with the kids on our mini-vaca, my favorite part was getting together with everyone for dinner. The kids enjoyed learning new games from Uncle David and Aunt Ann and exploring the woods with their 2nd cousins, while we were able to catch up with everyone and even meet the newbies.
In celebration of my grandma, Uncle Greg gave a See's candy toast, which was a perfect way to honor the wonderful people who brought us all together. This was the first reunion without them, and of course it felt different and empty, but I know grandma was smiling down on us just ecstatic we were all together again. She always loved seeing everyone together having a good time!
On the last night we all braved the engineering of the staircase for a group shot. My cousin Matt is an excellent photographer and set this up just perfectly, making sure to snap the picture before we all tumbled.
Overall, it was a lot of work. A lot of planning. A lot of details. But at the end I could truly say it was all worth it, and I'd probably do it again (mostly because I'm crazy like that). We missed a few cousins and kids, so hopefully we can get them out next time.
"Like branches on a tree we grow in all directions, but our roots remain as one."
No comments:
Post a Comment