Fox Flash: Reunion Week!

Last Sunday, one of my ministering families invited me for dinner. Callie and Rylee had a good time visiting with their four children after eating a wonderful meal. Then we hit the road to drive to the Roger's area to spend the night at Miranda's; they weren't home since they had previously driven west to visit family on the way to the family reunion, so we had the house to ourselves.

We were up early and on the road by 610 am; as we were driving off, Callie spotted a coyote in their yard. It was a long day with over 11 hours of driving; the two girls kept busy with their own devices and occasionally feeding me snacks. We stopped in Salina, KS at a favorite Mexican Restaurant that serves my favorite nachos. They had distance dining-in which was nice. Then we continued onto Sue and Steve's house in Parker, arriving about 7 pm. Sue had dinner waiting for us. The girls were intrigued with the clocks downstairs and the two small bunnies in the backyard.

Tuesday we didn't leave until just after 7 am. We had a shorter drive of only about 8 hours to Logan, UT where we met Rebecca and the other two girls at the Best Western. We visited a Seagull Bookstore to catch up on some shopping. And then we looked for a place to eat dinner. Denny's was open and since breakfast is my favorite meal... Then back to the motel for the night.

Wednesday was a slower day. Check in at the resort was 4 pm so there was no hurry. I did go for a morning run;our motel was only a couple of blocks from the Logan Temple, so I ran around the grounds. The 6,000 foot elevation had me gasping within minutes, so I took it a little easier. And the temple is exquisite to see.

The plan was to shop visit the local DI which opened at 10 am, then eat lunch, and purchase food for the reunion. However, I received a text that we could actually check in to the resort by 1 pm, so we altered our plans. We did spend an hour at DI and then went to Sam's. Rebecca opened a membership while I started the shopping. The four girls were helpful, but soon became bored. Shopping for six different families and trying to identify just how much they might eat is challenging, but we persevered. 90 minutes later, with food stashed between two vans, Rebecca headed to Chick filet to grab lunch while I went to Walmart for the last few items. We connected 30 minutes later and headed to Garden City and our reunion home. We arrived about 230 pm and found Deborah and Adam's families already there. We got the food offloaded and Deborah found homes for it in the kitchen. Savannah made room assignments and the children ran amok. This is where we stayed.

The Arkansas Fox family had a total of 38 in attendance; Andy's family opted not to attend, but Nathan was able to join us for two nights. Josh brought his girl friend. I understand that between the three attending Swarthout families, there was a total of 116. Each had their own accommodations; our house was the furthest south and 20 minutes away from the northern most family. The house had a room with bunk beds and it was designated the 'girl's room'. The boys were jealous and wanted their own room as well; so they got portable mattresses on the floor in the downstairs family room. The house had a spacious kitchen with everything we needed to prepare meals. And there was room for people to eat. The house came with a pass to a beach 2 miles away and family members took advantage of that several times. Many of them have the sunburns to show.

Thursday evening there was a career fair and a game night and dessert. And the grandchildren had time visit and play.

Kenra offered to do family photos for us on the beach Friday morning. With 38 of us, herding cats may have been easier. But she did a great job. Here are a couple of my shots:

Friday night we had the traditional 'wurst' night at the English house. Afterwords there was a variety of relay activities that kept us laughing for a long time. A good time was had by all.

Saturday morning the family hosted a 5K race along the walk/run/bike path in town. There were 36 participants; we had 10 of those. The altitude did take its toll on me again, but I did finish in just over 33 minutes; not bad for a guy who just had another birthday on Wednesday. Family members found some yellow caution tape and strung it across the finish line so everyone could cross the tape. Evidently lots of other runners ran the tape as well. We did have a short awards ceremony afterwords. Ethan got the one for youngest runner; I got the one for most mature runner. I suggested they call it the over 49 category since I was the only one over that age. Note the uniqueness of the award.

I was a little stiff and sore and took advantage of the hot tub. 60 minutes later, I felt like a jellyfish for awhile. But I was revived. That evening we held a Q&A for my brother Steve and myself. Some of his children had questions about his childhood and set up this opportunity to get the story from both us, at least as far as we could remember. It was fun to reminisce. The two Fox families teamed up to provide a taco salad dinner for the evening; then the English family joined us for the 'Family Feud' game. It was patterned after the TV show and was a good representation. Tim had sent out questions to family members and used those responses for the game. We all had plenty of good laughs.

Sunday we held church at our house. We had about 35 in attendance. Jonathan gave us a lesson and Miranda did a great Primary lesson. In the afternoon we hosted the English family for games. It was suggested to do dinner at their place, so we took our potato bar to their house and shared with them and also enjoy their home made enchiladas.

Monday morning was a little hectic; getting 5 families out the door by 10 am after breakfasting, packing, clearing out the fridge, etc. But we managed to be on our ways by 940 am. We had family members heading back to Oregon, Yellowstone, Salt Lake area, and me with Sarah, to Colorado. Sarah was my designated copilot for the return trip since Rebecca and family are traveling to their new home in SoCal. Sarah was intrigued with the variety and quantity of clocks their house has. She counted over 80 just downstairs that were visible. Here is a shot of some that are hanging on the wall downstairs: