Family Reunion the Thirteenth

Since 1985, my extended family on my dad's side has had a family reunion every two years. Most of them have taken place in Utah (from Bountiful, where my grandparents have lived as long as I've been alive, to Bear Lake, to Park City, to Zion), but we've also been to Durango, CO, and to Newport Beach, CA, and to Yellowstone National Park.

This year, for Family Reunion XIII, we came full circle and held the reunion in the Rocky Mountains, which is where Family Reunion I was held twenty-four years ago. That first year we had ten adults and nine children, eight and under. Since then our family has grown. We've added four cousins, five spouses, and six mini-cousins (all little boys). In the intervening years, all of the cousins have grown up, graduated from high school, most from college, some with several degrees. We have also spread out across the west, and as far east as Ann Arbor and Rochester. So I think it's impressive that twenty-four years since Reunion the First, we still had an almost-complete turnout, minus only my Aunt Brenda's husband Gerry (because of work), my brother Sean (also because of work), and my cousin Mandy (because of being in Africa on a mission).

This year we stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies, which is a huge outdoor center in Estes Park, just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. They have cabins and lodges and conference centers, and it felt a little bit like being at a mountain resort, but a lot more like being at a summer camp. We ate our meals in a big cafeteria, played disc golf, went on a hike, roasted marshmallows, sang campfire songs, did arts and crafts,* rode a zip line, put together skits, said the Pledge of Allegiance a couple times, gave out awards.


Some highlights included getting caught in summer thunderstorms, a broken tooth and a tick (same child), a sketchy interpretation of "bird" by the all-male group in the photo scavenger hunt, Troy's shocking bathtub picture (also in the scavenger hunt), Eric's beneficent reign as The Great Dalmuti, my trigger-happy dad with his new Canon Rebel camera, an encore showing of the classic film The Remote Control Killer from Reunion VIII. The best part, of course, was just spending time with everyone. And the second best was coming face-to-face with stunningly beautiful mountain views every time we walked outside. That's something I miss as a temporary Michigan resident.

Overall, it was a fun weekend. Even though we only all get to see each other every two years, I feel like our family is well-connected, and for being as spread apart as we are, we all know each other well. This is mostly thanks to my amazing grandmother, who has always done an amazing job of holding the family together, and at, um...sixty-five...is as active as anyone I know of her age (she was even second in line to ride the zip line, which was pretty impressive given that even Garth couldn't get up the nerve to make the leap).

Now I'm ready to get back to normal life. I feel a bit like I've been on vacation all summer, and I've been away from Ann Arbor longer than I'm used to these days. But thanks to the entire Jeppsen clan for yet another great reunion, and I hope to see everyone again in two years, if not sooner.

And happy 4th of July!

* Look for my glazed ceramic pi plate next March 14...