The fourth of July weekend was a busy one for our family. It started on Thursday, when we made our way to Big Springs Campground near Bancroft, Idaho. Chris had worked all day, but I had the trailer packed and ready go, so all we had to do was hook up and go. We arrived, set up camp and started dinner. About that time some of our extended family arrived to join us in the camping fun. Chris' older sister, Veneta, along with her two boys, Rylan, 11 and Nathan, 6, and Chris' younger sister, Sarah, set up a tent next to our trailer and we had a blast camping together. The occasion was a family reunion for members of Chris' mother's side of the family (Hansen) and their extended relatives. Uncle Ron and Aunt Reta Hansen arranged the reunion and all the activities, which included mostly visiting and learning about the ancestry on that side of the family, and seeing the birthplace and homestead of their Grandpa Dean Hansen.
Day two, Friday: Chris had to leave camp and head home in the morning to get ready for work. He worked all day then returned in the evening. In the meantime, I was blessed to be able to hang out with my sisters-in-law. Sarah and I worked out together in the morning, doing a few reps of calisthenics and a few Yoga stretches, which was so fun. Then, while the cousins played and rode bikes in the campground, we had some "girl-chat" time! Around noon, Veneta and Sarah left camp to go join the rest of the extended family for some of the reunion activities: visiting family plots in the cemeteries in Hatch and Bancroft. I spent the afternoon with the kiddos, playing in the creek, going for walks, playing Uno, and just chilling! When the rest of the adults returned, including Chris, we had a fun campfire, dinner and dutch oven cobbler. We had a couple of deer pass through our campground a few times, which was delightful. When we arrived at the campground, the camp host informed us that a 500 pound black bear had been frequenting the area recently, so the deer were welcome guests in comparison!
Day 3, Saturday: After we had a yummy breakfast of Pigs in a Blanket and scrambled eggs, we all freshened up and then loaded up in the car to drive down to Hatch, Idaho to visit the old Hatch School, Rachel Higginson Home, and the land where Chris' grandfather grew up. It was so cold, especially for July, so at most of the stops the kids chose to stay in the car and play their DS's or watch a movie, while Chris and I took some photos and just soaked in the experience of being in the place where all these relatives had lived a humble and difficult life. It was something to see and feel of the connection that everyone had while we were there. After spending a few hours doing that, we took the kids and went back to the campground to feed them some dinner. After dinner, we drove back down to Lava Hot Springs, where we met up at a church with the family again and looked at old photos, journals and video footage that had been collected. It was especially meaningful for us to be able to see some of the old pictures of Chris' mother, Ellen, who passed away at the young age of 47. Even the kids enjoyed getting to see and feel the spirit of this beautiful woman, their grandmother whom they've never met.
Much to the kids' dismay, there were no fireworks on the agenda for our family this 4th of July, but they seemed content to have gotten to go camping and play with some of their cousins.
Of course, I have many, many photos from the weekend, so if you're interested in looking at all of them, I posted them in an album on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=72391&id=1215145985&l=5f0bcc676f
1 comment:
What a great way to spend time with lots of family members at once! I miss the family reunions we had in Pennsylvania when I was growing up...
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