Family, family, and more family . . . .

After just a week of actually living in our house, we were on the road again for a family reunion with Dan's dad's family--well, actually Robert's sister, brother, and assorted children. All told, I think we had 30+ people living for three days in this nice ranch house just south of Birdseye, Utah (off Highway 89 on the way to Manti). Apparently, the ranch regularly rents out for family reunions, etc., (see link if you're interested). It actually worked out quite well--it was a beautiful setting, and the house was big enough that each family had their own large room, with some of the older kids sleeping on mattresses downstairs, and no one felt too cramped. Our room actually had a bathroom in the room, a huge closet, and a cubby behind the closet (where we put Andrew). Plus, there were some nice spacious living areas where we could gather to talk and play games. I think everyone enjoyed the time together.



And of course, this particular family gathering was enlivened with a family talent show. Here, you see Vince (Tony's son) modelling his skills at do-as-I'm-doing--although that wasn't actually his talent. He, along with some cousins on his mom's side of the family, sang some Korean songs.
I had no idea Dan's family was so musical--his oldest cousin's family sang a beautiful rendition of John McRae's poem "Flanders Field" ("In Flanders field the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row . . .") that literally brought tears to my eyes. And I wasn't the only one.

Andrew and Dan performed a little number on their ukuleles ("Twinkle, twinkle, little star" in case you can't quite understand Andrew), which you can see (and hear, if so desired, below). What they lacked in finesse Andrew more than made up for with enthusiasm. Evelyn was asleep for the talent show--which is ironic, since sleeping does not, apparently, appear to be a talent of hers generally speaking.




And of course, like all family gatherings, there had to be food. (So much food, in fact, that people were asked to take some of the leftovers home). But my favorite food part was the Hamburger Throwdown, where different family members prepared their best hamburger recipe for the judges (Trisha and Jason). All of the hamburgers were outstanding--they were cut up into quarters so everyone could try them. Robert made a chicken burger with a yummy mango salsa; Dan also did chicken--a panko-fried chicken breast with ham and swiss cheese (we were thinking of a chicken cordon bleu), a little mayo and bulldog sauce, and fresh tomatoes and lettuce. Other entries included a guacamole bacon burger (Tony and Karen), "Peace, Love and Hominy" (oaxaca cheese, corn relish, burger--Matt's entree), and Aaron's hamburger, with a bleu-cheese sauce and carmelized onions. Dan won for the alternative burger category, and Aaron won the straight up burger category. But I think everyone had fun--and they polished off most of the burgers. Here's what the kitchen and tables looked like in the aftermath of the dinner.


And here are the proud winners and judges (who, reportedly, both confessed that they ate too much--they were given half samples of each burger, which added up to a mean two and a half burgers apiece.)
As if this weren't enough family fun, when the reunion was over, we headed back up to my parents' place for a couple of days because of another family gathering on Saturday--this one was just my immediate family, in celebration of two of my nephews' birthdays. Andrew had fun seeing almost all of his cousins in one week, and we managed to sneak in one more trip to our favorite pool before heading back south.

We got back home Saturday afternoon, just before they closed off our street for a neighborhood block party. The party was fun--some good food (Dan ate only reluctantly, since we hadn't had time to prepare anything to contribute. But I figure that we'll more than make up for that in the future, since we're generally pretty good about bringing food to functions) and a great opportunity to meet many of our neighbors.

All told, a busy week. And this next week promises to be even busier, as the last week before the semester starts. Dan will be in meetings all week, and I even have one or two of my own, as I'm joining the English department as an adjunct (just one class, but that's enough to win me a meeting or two.)