ANOTHER Family Reunion!

Can you believe it? Chris and I both come from very large families (that actually like each other a lot) so we end up having a lot of reunions. This summer has been particularly packed, however, and we couldn't be happier about it! Every summer there is a reunion for my grandpas family (through my mom). He is almost 86, is one of 11 children and grew up on a farm in Spanish Fork. The reunion consists of all of his living siblings and their descendants. I thought this years reunion was especially fun... here's why: 
#1 Our particular branch of the family tree had quite a few people in attendance. It was great to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I'm pretty sure we had the biggest group there. As always, my kids had a great time playing with cousins and we barely saw them the whole time.
#2 The reunion was held at the actual house my grandpa grew up in! Yep, it's still in the family. While I had been there before, it was really fun to show my kids the house and tell them some of the stories I knew.
#3 It's always a pleasure to spend time with my grandparents... they truly mean the world to me! I love that I have such a great relationship with them and that my children are able to know their great grandparents so well. During the picnic they had people get up and tell old stories about the house. I loved listening to my grandpa share his memories and the fact that he kept referring to the house as a "house of love". I hope that is how my children look back on their childhood homes. They also had some old footage of the house, and of course the people who lived there. I've seen photos of my grandpa, but it was cool to see him in action. He was so cute!!

Every other month we have a Sunday dinner with all the "locals" from the Swenson family. There aren't a whole lot of us in Utah so it's fun to get together so often. Because Grammy and Grandpa were here we decided to change the date and do it this weekend. We had so much fun, the dinner was awesome, and we ended the night with a water balloon fight. It was a beautiful evening and the perfect way to extend our reunion! We are grateful to Uncle Joel and Aunt Melanie for letting us invade their space last minute!

To wrap up Grammy Grandpa's visit we all met at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens for a morning stroll and then had lunch at the deli. Although it was way more crowded than usual and it started to sprinkle a little bit, the flowers were beautiful and we had a lovely time!

We can't wait until Grammy and Grandpa come to visit again! (No, seriously, come back really soon!)