When we were first married, Pepper’s family would have reunions every year. Her parents, siblings, and all their kids would get together in mid-July… often somewhere in Idaho or Utah, which was close to most of them. I remember it being sort of overwhelming at first, when there were sixty or more people who I didn’t really know. Learning names was a challenge, as was figuring out who belonged to who. Of course as the years passed I figured out the names and relationships.
The family has grown a lot, and now our nieces and nephews have their own adult kids, so it’s hard to get everyone together for a reunion. It’s shifted to every other year, and we meet up with whoever can make it. It’s still great fun to see the crowd and catch up a bit.
Two years ago, we all agreed to have the reunion in Arizona instead of Idaho, and in February instead of July. It would make for an interesting change. And through sheer coincidence (or was it providence?) we ended up serving a mission in California, a short four-hour drive away. So we were able to attend.
Most of the siblings were there, as well as a few of their kids. Since February in Arizona has great weather, we were able to do all sorts of things outdoors. We had a desert hike…
Pepper had a really cute hiking companion: our grand-niece Eve.
A few of “the guys” snuck out one night for some burgers.
I also managed to pop over to Potbelly, one of my top three favorite sandwich shops.
With around fifty people, there was always something going on. At times that meant fitting a nap in between activities.
I really enjoyed spending time with a gaggle of my grand-nieces:
We were so grateful that the reunion happened when we could attend, and it was awesome to see everyone for a weekend.