It was the last weekend in May and time for our annual trek north for family, fun, flags and a little tweaking of tradition. As we dodged traffic and down-pours heading north, our cousin Michelle Bakke-Purnell and her mother Dearla (That is not a typo.) had flown in from Alberta, Canada, while Michelle’s husband Jim came riding in on his motorcycle.
Michelle arrived early to get final stories from our family for a genealogy book deadline. By the time I arrived the rest of the family had been searching through photos, newspapers and documents for hours. (I’m kind of glad I missed this part.) I would have been no help anyway.
I didn’t get away with keeping my secrets hidden with two brothers sitting at the table during my interview. How come they remember all the stupid things I’d done when I had successfully forgotten them? One even called me a pain in the behinder. Brothers….. sheesh.
Saturday brought more talking and laughing, along with taking flowers to the cemetery. By evening everyone’s brains were on information-overload and it was time for a break. Tradition says we invade Todd and Dawn’s house for dinner. Nineteen of us were treated to a delicious pulled pork taco/burrito buffet. The kiddo-cousins got re-acquainted with each other before being lined up for the yearly look how fast they grow photo.
After two nights of being up extra late my age was showing but…. it was now Sunday and we had a picnic at the lake to go to and…. Some traditions must be kept if for no other reason then they are FUN!
It was a beautiful day for a picnic…
And then it wasn’t…
Some of us waited out the rain under the gazebo…
Where’s the fishing pole? It’s not a day at the lake unless someone is on the dock fishing.
Jim wanted to see the lake but there wasn’t enough room in the boat.
There was also kids tubing, eating, visiting, smoke inhalation around the fire pit, eating, fishing, more rain drop dodging, eating, photos taken, card games, s’more making, draining rain out of salads, dogs learning to swim and eating. It’s impossible to put a full day of partying into so few pictures.
Monday, May 27th… Memorial Day
Working hard to be on time for the Memorial Day Service at the cemetery we gathered with umbrellas at my brother’s house. It’s a one block walk to the cemetery. What could go wrong?
Although we were a tad early, the service had started much earlier than scheduled.
As we walked in the color guard was walking out.
My buddy Logan says the weekend was a success. But then he had lots of umbrella protection.
(photo used with Logan’s permission. Thanks Logie.)
I’d like to thank my family… Eric, Carol, Brady, Todd, Kailey, Noah, Dawn, Dearla, Logan, Linda, Rick, Anita, Jim, Tim, Jessica, Julia, Butch, Barbara, Michelle, Jeff and Hub for their love and laughter that made what could have been an ordinary weekend into a spectacular one.
And a huge THANK YOU to those who served our country to preserve this freedom for us.
When all is said and done 