Monday, June 29th
Early morning stories upstairs and . . .
Pillow fight downstairs!
Monday was cloudy and sprinkly/rainy. It never poured. But we didn't let it bother us. We started the day, as we did every day, with breakfast, then a devotional. Brielle, our oldest granddaughter, had prepared to accompany our theme song for the week, "My Own Sacred Grove," which we sang each day as part of our devotional. But she was still getting ready that morning, so I filled in. Honestly, it was one of the highlights of the week for me to play that song with my grandchildren gathered around singing with all of their hearts. I'll post the video. The "real" video of our theme song with Brielle playing is better. I'll post it at the end of these reunion posts. But I wanted to share this one, too.
Devotional shots:
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Photo Bomber |
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Blake taught the Monday devotional, immersing us all in the Book of Mormon. |
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This captured tendered moment is one of my favorite pictures from the week. |
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This picture captures such a common sight- Brielle helping the adults figure stuff out on the computer. |
After devotional, we divided into teams/cars. Shonna had prepared a fun ancestor scavenger hunt. We had addresses with pictures and had to find and photgraph the houses from our history. Most of the stops were homes my Grandfather, Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, sr. had built. If you see a beautiful, old home in Logan, Utah- he probably built it. We also visited a church he helped build, the elementary school my dad attended and my Grandma Peterson's home, as well as the temple.
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All buckled and ready for the fun! |
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The Peterson home where my mother grew up. It is now divided into apartments and is in relatively good shape. |
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The Logan temple. My Grandpa Gabrielsen helped when it was remodeled, I think in 1949. Kristen had a cute team. |
Some of the Homes Grandpa Gabrielsen built:
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My dad attended the Whittier School. It is still standing and now Lily and Hannah go to ballet lessons there. |
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The Whittier School is a Utah Historic Sight. |
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This house was called the glass house. |
Our final destination was the cemetery at my parents' grave. (It was cold!) I forgot to snap a picture, but when we arrived, there was a man and his wife and father-in-law there. As we visited, we found they were from Texas. He was there to visit Aunt Minnie's grave. Aunt Minnie was his grandmother. My parents often spoke of Aunt Minnie (Aunt Minnie was my grandpa Peterson's younger sister) and what a fine cook she was. She married Parley P Pratt's son. Anyway, it was fun to meet a distant cousin.
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As we stood there, I told stories about each of my parents. I told how Grandpa Gabe loved children and how he would love to have them there visiting. I told how he played games with children and that he could get a child to do anything. He didn't threaten or cajole, he just teased them into it. He was so good with kids. I read them the words to "O Ye Mountains High" and that it was his favorite hymn. The words tell how he longed to come home to his mountain home- and that's where he is. I told how my mom was a people magnet. She was an army wife and learned to make friends wherever she lived. In Caldwell, she had many friends that were not members of our faith- and they all loved her. She was a great missionary. |
Both Kristen and Shonna said their favorite part of the reunion was the ancestor scavenger hunt and hearing stories about Grandpa and Grandma at the cemetery.
We did the talent show a little different this year. Mackrorys did theirs on Monday, Camerons on Wednesday, and Princes on Friday. Here are a few pictures from the Mackrorys that evening:
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Sam wrote his name for his talent. So very proud. |
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Nathan read an essay he wrote- what a fine writer. |
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Each of the Mackrorys performed a COVID spoof. They were hilarious! Kristen. |
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Jared |
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Brielle |
The Camerons have the perfect yard for kids: trampoline, play set, sand box, and lots of grass on which to play.
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Hot dogs for dinner |
That evening, we roasted marshmallows for smores around the firepit.
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That one may have got a little overdone. |
2 comments:
What a wonderful reunion, Kay! I'm so glad you guys decided to go and everyone is fine and wellm right? So fun to see the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa interacting with each other! Loved seeing Grandpa's houses again and I love that you told stories about Mom and Dad. Those cute kids will remember these reunions for the rest of their lives and they are so worth the effort! I love your family!
What a sweet video of everyone singing around you at the piano! I had not seen that previously.
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