Morey Family Reunion

I returned from the education conference in St. Joseph, MN the evening of Wednesday, August 3. Our friends from Houston, TX arrived in time for supper, then spent the night with us on their way from Bemidji, MN to Lincoln, NE. They left the morning of Thursday, August 4, after which my family hit the road for Upper Eau Claire Lake outside Barnes, WI (about an hour southeast of Superior/Duluth).

Susan's aunt and uncle Patty and Frank have a couple lake homes there, and they invited the Morey family (Susan's mom and her sisters and brother and their offspring) to spend the weekend for an informal reunion. My mother-in-law is no longer living, but all her siblings were there, as were many of Susan's cousins and their families or dates. With all those people--each arriving and departing on different days--sleeping arrangements were far too complicated to figure out in advance, so people just fell asleep wherever there was open floor or couch space. Somehow meals just appeared at meal times (thanks to the aunts and some of the more industrious cousins, including Susan) and were delicious. Otherwise, people were on their own for socializing and entertainment.

There were many relatives whom I was able to visit with quite a bit more than I ever have. Usually, I see them when we pop in at a relative's home in Dickinson for the annual Christmas trip or the occasional 4th of July visit or a family wedding. This time, we had days to spend visiting, so we did. I also did some reading (I read Aunt Patty's copy of The Secret Life of Bees--read more about this wonderful book now!) and some kayaking and some swinging in the hammock and some eating of s'mores.

Our girls were non-stop dynamos in the water. All three went tubing one afternoon, and Suzanna and Abigail even tried water skiing Sunday morning (with some success)! Mostly, they swam with Hillary and their like-aged second-cousins from MT. The older cousins (late teens/early 20s) spent an afternoon playing with them in the water, too. They were in the water for hours and hours, and the girls' hair bleached even blonder while their skin got tanner and tanner (after repeated slatherings of sunscreen, too). Needless to say (yet I'm saying it), they were c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y wiped out every night and fell asleep within milliseconds of touching their pillows.

We left the afternoon of Sunday, August 7 to return to East Grand Forks (so I could leave at 6:30 A.M. the following day for Day One of a five-day education seminar in Thief River Falls, MN). It was a tiring weekend, but it was very much fun. Even with so many people in both their lake homes, Patty and Frank and their kids remained calm and welcoming hosts at all times, and there were always moments of "alone time" available to enjoy the lake, listen to the wild life, and just relax. We've never made a trip to Upper Eau Claire Lake that we didn't enjoy. This one was improved by getting to see so many relatives at the same time.