The...
Family Reunion!
In short, it was full of...
15 Days after Esther was born, we jumped on a plane to Utah. "But why would you meet there? No-one in your parent's family lives in you Utah," you may say. None of us live there, but lots of my cousins do. And since the first multi-generational Ellsworth Reunion was being held for a decade or two, we decided to piggy back our mini-union to the big one.
Anyway, here's how our time began.
Chillin' in Eden. That's the name of the actual town. Eden. It was pretty paradisaical.
Ant introduced Haunted House to the nephews
Catch Phrase
Paul and Esther
Joan and Esther
Andrew (just back from his mission) and Esther
The family gathering for Esther's blessing and Eamon's baptism!
Ira took this.
The whole family! Minus Ben and James who are on missions.
Plus Paul and Valine who came to Eden for the blessing.
Ant and Esther relaxing after her baby blessing.
She's wearing the dress I wore for my baby blessing.
I never thought I'd have a daughter to pass it down to.
The Grandpas
We went back to the church a different day to see my brother Kevin ordained to be a High Priest. So, here are the High Priest's of the fam.
And all the guys.
Back at the "cabin," duct take art. Zion and Eamon unifying their efforts. I feel like I learned more about Utah on this trip. Like for Instance, "cabin," isn't a one room, rustic, log cottage. It's someone's huge, second home.
Liam trying to look like a soldier.
Ira and Eliot were in social heaven, with lots of amazing older boys to wrestle with. Here they are with John. And I'll try to say this just once. But I'm pretty sure my nephews are going to be some of the most amazing fathers on the face of the planet someday.
Check out those guns! Brian became the cornhole champion of the reunion.
Spiral Jetty
It took a couple hours of driving to get there, but was well worth it. Spiral Jetty is possibly the most surreal place I've ever been. The pictures don't do it justice.
I drove with Lynne and Brian, which we realized was fitting, since the three of us tried to make the trip 13 years ago! That was when Lynne and Brian were dating, and before the days of GPS. We realized that we made a wrong turn when we starting seeing signs for Nevada. So, here we are celebrating closure after so many years.
They Might Be Giant's said it best.
"Everyone wants to see that groovy thing."
Jonah preaching a spiral sermon
After walking the jetty, the water was so low we could walk out for as far as we could see on white salt flats that are usually under water.
It felt like exploring another planet.
Ha! Lynne thought I was only taking a picture of her shadow.
When we reached the water's edge we found a barrier of bizarre salt foam, and then pink water! Apparently it's pink from tiny microscopic shrimp. Even knowing the explanation, it still felt magical, espeically since Ira kept calling this place "Pink Dragon Crystal Island."
The long walk back.
On the way back to Eden, we stopped to see the Golden Spike: the joining of the Union and Central Pacific Railways. They were united in 1869 completing the Transcontinental Railway. Yeah, it's kind of a big deal, except that there is no actual golden spike any more. I think it was stolen.
The Asa Ellsworth Reunion. Everyone that descended from my great-grandpa was invited, which is approximately 3 trillion people. :) Not nearly as many people as I imagined showed up, but it was just the right balance of cousins I did know, and cousins I hadn't met. We got to know family better without feeling overwhelmed.
My cousin Mike Francis headed up the reuinon.
My Dad telling family stories.
Aunt Janet Mayhew
Francis's
Diane, Paul, and Isabelle.
Aunt Monajo and Diane
Mary and Barney
Jason and Mary
Carolyn and Aunt Fae
Back in Eden, doing what we do best. Sitting around chatting.
The "Mother's lounge,"
My sisters and I have a minimalist sense of fashion resulting in wearing matching outfits without even trying. It's not hard when all of our closets are filled with black t-shirts.
I guess it's multi-generational.
Andrew teaching me some strumming techniques.
Singing around the campfire.
Zion, Steven, Isaac
Family Talent show
The Ellsworths
The Applebees
The Durants
The Romeros
The Larsens
The Quinns
This is the best we could do, seriously.
"One of these things is not like the other.."
Mom and Dad
What an amazing time. I'd like to thank everyone for entertaining my boys while Anthony and I adjusted to having a new baby, for not making fun of me for still looking like I was 5 months pregnant, and for the nephews for acting so comfortable around breastfeeding, since I was doing it constantly. This gene pool rocks my world.
