Family...It's about time!

We spent an amazing day at This is the Place Heritage Park for the John Pack Family Reunion. His descendants must be in the thousands and we met just over 100 Saturday. This is the Place is turning into an incredible pioneer, early settler, and even Native American experience. Our kids thought boredom would overtake them at first, but once they saw the fun they could have, they soon forgot their woes.

Panning for gold (you can even trade in your "dust" for a sweet treat)

Horsey ride

Mini-train ride around the mini-reservoir

Oh, and by the way, Ben was named as the newest President to the John Pack Family Association.

Family History is Alive

For Memorial Day weekend we went to St. George for a family reunion. I was in charge of the day's activities. We played giant Twister (26X26 spots), guess-how-many-candies-are-in-the-jar, and whodunit (to find out unique things about everyone). The kids even had kid-time away from the adults. It's definitely not fun to be around when "boring, but necessary" business is being discussed. Aside from the "candy-thief", everything came off without a hitch.


They say there is a first for everything and this reunion was it. Lessons I learned?


1--The location should be close to home for ease in transporting materials and grabbing last minute, forgotten item(s). It's inevitable that you forget something.


2--Designate someone to be photographer. Even though I sometimes think I can do it all...hmmm...impossibility? Yes.


3--To keep everyone's attention I rotated the games (announced jar winners, then read some whodunits, announced some more jars, sang a song, etc.).





4--The guessing jars were a hit AND they served two purposes--decoration and game. With the newsprint paper covering the tables and crayons close by, it was easy to write the guesses around each jar.


5--There could have been a little more history of our ancestors included, in the trivia quips perhaps.


6--We served ice cream bars to end the event--another favorite of the family. (Thanks to my brother!)


If you are planning reunions in the future remember:

It's all for FAMILY (you may not always know all the people who attend but they are very forgiving)! AND Regardless of the outcome of activities or entertainment or the food, the important thing is that you are together.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR LIVE FAMILY HISTORY!!!!

P.S. I must say that the trip down there convinced me that I really do NOT like sleeping in a tent. However, I realized how such a small sacrifice of comfort can turn into a huge reward of family fun!