By popular request, we held our 2017 Ireland Family Reunion back at the farm in South Dakota. It was a big success with 59 of our family attending. We were missing seven due to work (Judd and Amy; Todd, Taylor) and graduate school (Trevor, Megan, and Sadie). A big THANK YOU goes to Brent and Tauna for all their preparations and for welcoming our group back to the farm. Another big THANK YOU to Marla and Curtis for the planning and work done before, during, and after the goodbyes were said.
I always appreciate Beth being our official family photographer, but I did take some photos with my iPhone. Beth and her family arrived Saturday evening, July 1st; so the photos I am sharing on this blog entry are ones I took before she got there.
Friday, June 30th
Welcome to the farm!
(Marla's photo)
The reunion officially was to begin Sunday evening with a
Family Home Evening;
but Sam and I drove to South Dakota on Friday,
so we could have a visit with
Randy (Sam's nephew) and Ashley (Randy's daughter), Philip, and Dakota.
Craig came with Bill and Karen (Sam's sister) from Scottsbluff on Saturday,
so they also could be there before Randy returned to California.
so they also could be there before Randy returned to California.
Saturday, July 1
Craig, Marla, Randy, and Scott
Randy, Ashley, and Dakota
Karen, Randy, and Bill
Ashley, Dakota, Philip, and Karen
Craig, Bill, Sam (grandson), and Weston
Sam and Randy
Craig and Tauna
[left] Brittney, Joe, Monty, and Trent;
[right] Rachel and Jenna
Bill, Sam, and Scott
Marla, Barbie, and Karen
Scott, Brittney, Trent, Monty, Joe, Shannon, and Jenna
Matt, Karen, Grampa Sam, Scott, Bill, and Craig
Sam (our grandson) giving a tractor ride to
Brittney and Matt's little boys, Monty and Joe.
Philip, Brent, Matt, and Sam playing Slammo in the shade
with others watching from the comfort of the shady porch.
Ryan, Grampa Sam, Craig, Karen, Bill, Scott,
Brittney, Joe, Robert, Kristine, Monty, Tani, Tauna, and Marisa
Volleyball
Randy, Scott, Ryan, Monty, Philip, Brent, Trent, Sam, and Matt
Grampa Sam, Jenna, Shannon, Kristine, Marla, and Jessica
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We were fortunate to have sleeping places for all 59 of our family
with Brent and Tauna's home, Roy and Barbie's home,
Grampa Harold and Gramma Mabel's house,
and renting the hunting lodge nearby.
Grampa Harold and Gramma Mabel's house
provided a good place for sleeping even though
the new carpets had not yet been installed.
The walls were freshly painted and floors were done
except for those waiting carpets.
There was no furniture except for a couple of beds and air mattresses
in the bedrooms, but the bathrooms were remodeled.
It did bring back a memory to see Gramma Mabel's
rural pictures still on the walls in Grampa's bathroom.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Brittney and Matt arrived at the farm Friday night.
They drove from San Antonio, Texas, with their
cute boys: Monty, Joe, and Robert.
Scott and Kristine with Jenna and Shannon also came Friday evening
having driven from Colorado in time to have a visit
with Scott's cousin, Randy, and Uncle Bill and Aunt Karen
who were there to visit on Saturday.
(Brent, Brittney, Joe, Matt, Bill, Karen, Grampa Sam, Scott, and Kristine)
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Saturday and Sunday more of our family arrived,
and Sunday evening our reunion officially began with a Family Home Evening.
Blog entries will follow with photos and memories from those days.
