A Tale of Two...Family Reunions

It was the best of times, it was the best of times. 

The first reunion was back in May, when Great Grace turned 85.  The family turned out in droves. Of family members. Droves of family. Technically an Al and Grace Gabrielsen family reunion. 

And lunch was served to us, and someone else did the dishes.

This picture of the gathering is an enigma.  Who is photo-bombing whom?

Lots of familytogetherness in this room.  Uncle Al did the MC duties. I'm pretty sure it was profound, but I couldn't hear much.  Something else I inherited from the Gabrielsen side, and will soon have to deal with.  I could have used one of those ear trumpet things...

 The smiles were not artificial.  These people liked getting together with these people. Lanae and her crowd came from Boise.  Ben and Julia live in Ogden.

 Dan and Lonna's came up from Provo.

Not all of the younger generation appreciated family gatherings.  His mood changed when the fries arrived.

Christie and Martin drove from Seattle. Bearing vats of homemade Kimchi.  Amongst the hottest I  have tried. It must be stored in glass, since anything else will melt.

But one picture is enough! There will be no second warnings.

Alicia, Robert and Emily came from Texas.

Emily dressed for a fancy party.  Emily always dresses for a fancy party.

Rebecca and Ryan and Andrew are in South Jordan. Britt was here, too. Also, Nan and Nick, but I don't have pictures of them.

A few new friendships sprang up.  Also, this is evidently the only picture I got of Carol, in the orange shirt and sling. She and John came in from Pittsburgh.

And this was the only shot of  Sara and Matias, both looking away.  Up from southern Cali.

More organizing duties for Uncle Al. In this case, he was organizing a group shot by a real photographer.  When we get proofs, I'll send them out.

The seond family reunion was held yesterday by the Lyman C. Gabrielsen family.

The venue was David Gabrielsen's home in Draper Heights.  Nice house and yard for 100 people to eat, swim and visit. There was a lot of all three.

David had the families introduce, and then had Nedra, Gary and Grace give their family-monies.

One of David's sons-in-law brought his backwards bike (geared so that when you turn left you go right, and vice versa.) Evidently, he takes it to the state fair and charges people a dollar for a chance to ride it ten feet and earn $100.  No one can.  Here is James gamely trying.

My cousin Todd, up from New Harmony, UT. He told a funny story about his wife going into a gas station and having a long discussion with someone she thought was me.  He tells lots of funny stories.

Karleen, Grace and Gary catch up.  They wisely stayed in the deep shade of the 100-degree day.

David and Loriann hosted.  David looks a lot like his father, sometimes.

Eric Bedke's oldest son, Ryan and his baby.

Scott's wife, Sarah and one of her half dozen grandkids.

My cousin, Kay, who is trying to get things ready so she and Ken can go on a mission. Up from Hurricane.

Timeless as ever, Patty had a big smile for everyone.  She and Hal have returned from their third mission.

From the left, Aunt Nedra, my cousin Leslie, and my twin brother, Al.  Gary photobombs on the left.

Karleen catches up with Eric and Marci who never change and who hugged everyone.

Leslie's daughter and her son's fiance, who gamely braved the reunion without her affianced, who was home filling out med school applications.

Hal showing off a relaxation form obviously unaffected by three missions, and Scott Bedke.  Of all my cousins, he looks the most like Grandpa Gabrielsen must have looked when he was young. He is Speaker of the House in Idaho.

John and Cindy, from Caldwell, with a couple of their grandkids.

The next generation down from me. Scott, on the right, is a doctor in Boston. The ladies to his right are his wife and sister-in-law.

A group of David's kids, in-laws, grandkids. The thumbs-up guy is the bike owner.  Both he and his wife can ride the thing. It's a brain-training thing.

Todd, his oldest, Reed, and Gary rest their legs at the end of the afternoon.

In general, members of the family didn't really need name tags.  There were a lot of blonde, blue-eyed kids, and most of the family resemblances are pretty strong. This little guy, for example,  didn't need a name tag: when you saw him smile--which he did a lot in this airplane teeter-totter--you could tell he was a Bedke. 

All in all, it was a fun afternoon.  There were no drunken brawls, no shots fired.  Hey, it happens in some families. I didn't even hear much in the way of crying kids.  The food was good (potluck, mostly), and the company was better.  We liked it so much that the cousins--my generation--are hatching a plan to do a Norway fjords cruise in a couple of years.

Terisa said more than once, "you have a nice family."  Isn't it the truth?