Family Reunions in a Cabin and at a Campground

The thing we learned from our family reunion this year is that no matter how much you plan, you cannot control the weather. Starting last year, our grown children took upon themselves the responsibility of planning and organizing the upcoming family reunion.

Each month they had a meeting to decide the venue, activities and food preparation. There was a family reunion newsletter than was sent out a few months before the event. It informed all the family members in various parts of the USA about the plans and costs, so everyone could make work and travel arrangements to the campground that had been chosen.

We were to have two reunions in two weekends: one with just our children and grandchildren, and the other with the extended family on one side of the family.

June is usually pretty warm in Utah, even up in the canyons. However, Spring had come late this year, and there was still plenty of snow up on the mountains. The cabin we met at the first weekend was up the canyon from Salt Lake City. It is actually near a ski resort which is frequented during the winter.

The cabin we stayed in is right next to a river. This year because of the heavy winter snow and sudden late spring, the run off had turned into a raging river. We have twelve grandchildren, so I spent much of my time counting kids or getting after their parents to look for them.

We were very fortunate to stay in a deluxe cabin. It has five bedrooms (with three bunk beds in one large room), three bathrooms, living room, dining room, large kitchen, and a full basement with pool table, ping pong table and entertainment system. It even has a sauna room and jacuzzi. Now that is the way I like to camp! It was the perfect place for a family reunion. There is also a large swing in a very tall tree out in the front yard which the children love.

The weather cooperated quite well - just a few sprinkles here and there, but it was amazingly warm. I had expected to need a coat, but we rarely even needed a sweater. For four nights we enjoyed the reunion of our family after quite a long time of separation.

We ate, played games, watched movies, went for walks, and got reacquainted by sharing stories and experiences. It was a grand time at our intimate family reunion, and we did not lose anyone despite the nearby raging river and flooding in the canyon.

Our next weekend, the extended family was to meet at a girl's camp for one night and a day. This was up a different canyon near Park City, Utah. About 150 family members traveled to the location where we found ourselves literally in the clouds. It rained most of the time we were up there and it was frigid (you could actually see your own breath from the cold). The day we left it even hailed.

For our second family reunion, we stayed in cabins that were quite a bit different from our cabin the weekend before. There were eight bunk beds in each cabin and we had 12 cabins. Every four cabins had an eating facility and a restroom that was shared. We supplied our own blankets, futons, and pillows. One cabin was used to print family t-shirts, and each adult had a chance to put the family logo on a shirt.

Different families had been assigned to prepare the meals. The favorite food of the family reunion was hot chocolate and soup to warm them up and for the kids, donuts.

We had a talent night, story time, played the limbo with the kids and sang together. Despite the cold (or because of it) we got very close to each other during our family reunion. Everyone tried hard to make it a success, despite the less than perfect circumstances.

For sure, it will be a family reunion that is not soon forgotten. Thanks to all who helped make it memorable.