Family Reunion & Flaming Gorge

(I'm way behind again! I have quite a lot to catch up on. Sorry my posts are always super-long...I realize I tend to write in uber-detail about things. Don't feel bad if you can't make it through all my long schpeels!)

The weekend of June 20th - 22nd was the annual Briggs Family Reunion. Briggs is my mom's maiden name, and the reunion is put on each year by my Grandpa or one of his siblings...they all take turns. They've been doing it for as long as I can remember and I've always enjoyed going! I have a huge extended family, so I feel a little embarrassed at the reunions because I have a hard time remembering everybody's names! There are so many of my mom's cousins and their kids, and those people's kids, that it sometimes seems that I know hardly anyone there! But they're all friendly folks and we have a good time eating, talking, watching the kids play and just hanging out and getting to know each other.

Thomas and his...2nd cousin? 3rd? Once-removed? I dunno...

I tried to get photos of Thomas sitting up in this cute tractor,

but he wasn't very cooperative, so...I just took photos of the

cute tractor! I love anything John Deere!

My mom was raised on a ranch and my Grandpa is still a rancher to this day. Many of my extended family are ranchers as well. This year the reunion was held at my Mom's cousin Floyd's ranch in Manila, Utah. This is a beautiful little town close to Vernal and Flaming Gorge. I had been there before, but it had been many, many years, so when Ryan and I arrived that Friday evening I was amazed at just how lovely it was! I made Ryan stop outside the entry to the ranch to take photos...Floyd's home and barn were set in a large grove of trees in the middle of a green pastured valley nestled in the hills. It was nearing sunset when we arrived and it was such a beautiful scene!

That first night they were doing Karaoke, and I was so excited! I've only done it once or twice before, but I really love it, so I was planning on doing a song or two. It took me quite awhile to work up the courage to actually get up and sing, but after a lot of nudging from my parents and grandparents and anyone else who knew I was a decent singer, I finally did it. The karaoke lasted almost til midnight, and by the end of the night I had done 3 solos and 2 duets, one with my mom and one with my little brother Jared. It was a lot of fun and now I want to have a karaoke party at my house sometime! I even got a compliment on my singing from the sweet old cowboy who had been hired to bring in the karaoke equipment and was the MC. He did quite a bit of singing himself while people tried to work up their courage, and he was pretty good! Thinking about it now, he reminds me a little bit of Willy Nelson, but without the braids. =)

The next day, Saturday, lots of people were going over to Flaming Gorge with their tubes or boats or waverunners. It was very closeby, only 20 minutes or so away. A couple of my 2nd cousins that had boats offered to take a bunch of us on a ride to the Flaming Gorge dam and back. I was so happy we were able to hitch a ride, because I love boats! We didn't do any skiing or anything because the water was quite choppy that day, but the ride was very enjoyable...I love cruising over the water with the wind in my hair. It was Tommy's very first time on a boat and I was very interested to see how he'd do. He didn't love having to wear the life jacket because it kept riding up on him, but he seemed like he was having an okay time watching the scenery and sitting with Ryan...until he fell asleep! I couldn't believe it! Ryan held him for awhile, then eventually we made enough room on a bench to lie him down and we made a little tent out of a beach towel to shelter him from the sun and wind. He ended up sleeping through quite a bit of the ride, which amazed me because it was pretty bumpy!

Ahhhh....

At one point during the ride my 2nd cousin showed us a spot on the rocks where someone had affixed a rope, so you could climb up the rocks and swing off! I wasn't wearing swimwear and I wasn't about to try it anyway, but my little brother and a couple of my cousins did. I think they realized afterward that the drop was a lot farther than it looks!

After getting back from the Gorge we had lunch and just hung out awhile, and eventually we decided to drive to the dam for a closer look and to go to the visitors center there. Then, we got back, we ate again...that's what we do the best at my family's reunions...eat! =)

Thomas loooooves watermelon!

After dinner that night was one of my favorite parts of the reunion each year...the auction. Every year people bring anything old or new they want to donate, or things they made, and everything is auctioned off to raise money for the next year's reunion. I think its such a great idea! And its a lot of fun to see all the things that people bring. Some of the most popular items are quilts. Many of my family members are quilters, so they sew quilts to bring to the auction, and these often go for a seriously high dollar! This year I was scanning the auction table and one of the quilts caught my eye. It was folded up, so I couldn't see it very well, but I could tell it was gorgeous! I kept waiting and waiting for them to auction it, but they saved it for the absolute last! When they finally held it up to show it I knew I had to have it! But, I knew that quilt would get really high bids. I had a good time getting into the bidding, but I was outbid over and over and almost gave up...there were quite a few other people who were obviously taken with the quilt as well! I almost let someone else win it, then shouted out another bid at the last minute...and I finally won it! I was so excited! I did feel a little guilty about how much money I ended up spending on it, but I decided it was a great way to contribute to the reunion and would be a lovely family keepsake. The quilt isn't full-size...its more of a throw-size or twin-size quilt...but I absolutely love it! It will make a perfect blanket for a little girl someday, and I love it so much that I'm thinking of calling up Peggy, the talented lady who made it, to see if she can make me a matching bumper and bedskirt! She is the wife of my Mom's cousin, and is an incredibly avid quilter. She has a huge quilting machine and a room in her house devoted entirely to quilting, and she even went on a quilting cruise recently...I didn't even know there was such a thing as a quilting cruise!

So here are the photos of my lovely quilt...I seriously drool over it! The fabrics Peggy chose are to die for, and I love the flower appliques!

After the auction everyone started winding down and saying goodnight...lots of people brought their campers and camped right there at the ranch, but Ryan and I had a room in a little motel in Manila, about 3 miles away. It was a cute mom-and-pop run place and we really liked having our own space to go home to each night (and a bathroom all to ourselves!). Here's a seriously tired (and seriously dirty!) Tommy winding down and watching cartoons before his bedtime bath:

Sunday morning we drove to the ranch for breakfast and said goodbye to everyone. One thing I'm upset with myself about is that I didn't take any pictures of my grandparents the whole weekend! My camera is practically attached to me and I carry it everywhere, but the thought didn't occur to me once! So, I'm sad I don't have a photo to post of my cute Grandma and Grandpa. They are such wonderful people and I love them so much!

So, it was a fun trip and I'm looking forward to going again next year! =)