Family Reunion June 2008

June 27th-29th, 2008 found members of the Rex and Thelma Stirling family at our biennial reunion. We were fortunate to have many that came from other states; Cindy and family came from Texas and Colorado. The Pulsiphers came from California. LaMar came from California, too. Several families came from Nevada. Brant came from Virginia. Of course, the majority were from our home state of Utah. We missed those that could not make it but hope they will be with us at the next reunion. By the way, the host and location are yet to be determined.

We have tried to hold our reunions in several locations. This has allowed us a variety of activities and places to stay. Hurricane, our home town, has been our center of activity and planning on many occasions. St. George has been another favorite. Kolob Mountain was a great location. This reunion site was at Duck Creek Village, at a family cabin. Tom and Fawn were great sports in letting us come and camp in their yard for a few days.

The weather was pleasant and the food was magnificent, as usual. Aunt Sue outdid herself with the delicious scones. Mom (Fawn) surprised us with afternoon cinnamon rolls-warm out of the oven. And Uncle Clayton's family was awesome at the Dutch oven cooking. Thoughts of the chicken, potatoes and cobbler makes a mouth water.

Friday evening we had chalupas, rice and beans. For a surprise activity under the stars, we played Stirling family trivia. The first generation were up on their facts and answered all but one question correctly. The unanswered question was regarding Aunt Jackie's blessing date (perhaps a little unfair!). Of course, we had to have food with the activity. We ate s'mores and roasted marshmallows. We discovered hidden talent in Steven, who makes a mean campfire. Bed time found only one single person in a tent...Cheri Von. Ron was in a tent trailer and everyone else took off for beds somewhere inside. (The bear was captured the week before so it really was safe to sleep outside!)

Saturday morning we woke up to a breakfast of ham, eggs, scones, tomatoes (from Aunt Cherrie's garden) and juice. After breakfast, we had a 'treasure' hunt for the kids. They successfully found the treasure chest filled with prizes for everyone. That activity lasted all of 15 minutes! And Mabel (Gary) was a great sport!

As customary, Denise had our family genealogy on display. We marked our names with colored markers, if we were in attendance. It was fun to see how many of us had made it! Denise shared that our numbers at the last three reunions have been almost identical. Next time we are hoping to have even more there. We had five babies in attendance; Abigail, Ava, Brooklyn, Ian and Tori. Two were true Stirlings--complete with red hair! It brought back memories of a reunion about 30 years ago in Hurricane. Dennis, Cindy and I walked in with red headed babies in our arms. All had been born within a month time. And, none of us knew the others had a red head.

Lunch was our main meal---the Dutch oven cooking team took over. Uncle Clayton and Aunt Sue worked hard to prepare a luscious meal. Green salad and rolls completed the meal.

Several members found making walking sticks was great fun while sitting around and chatting. Even some of the young ones got involved in the activity. Ron presented Steven a hand made walking stick for being a soon-to-be 'eagle scout'.

Somewhere in the middle we had a horseshoe area to try your hand at. A few did that. The volleyball net didn't receive too much attention....the young ones made forts, told secrets and laughed. It was reminiscent of early reunions when the 'cousins' did the same thing! That would be the circle of life.

After everyone revived themselves from all the food, we had a pinata filled with candy for the kids. Then the sugar rush took over the camp.

Saturday evening we all swore we could not eat another bite. After saying that, we proceeded to the kitchen and whipped up hoagie sandwiches and chips. Dinner took place somewhere around 8 pm! We Stirlings sure do know how to eat.

That evening Gary treated us to a slide show of all the pictures he took all weekend. He put it to music (that took a while to find something we all agreed would work...). After we watched it twice, we agreed it was fun to relive the memories of the last day and half.

When dark fell, the kids insisted on another bonfire so they could roast marshmallows and hotdogs.

Sunday morning the few left came back for one last meal and to share last minute hugs. Over pancakes, we laughed and confided how tired everyone was. It was a lot of work but so worth every minute of it!! I am sure those driving long distances really felt tired at the thought of their long journey ahead.

As our families grow, these reunions keep us linked. G'pa and G'ma would want that. We appreciate all your dedication in preparations and driving to share the time together! We want the newest generation (5th) to know each other and be able to call each a cousin.