Manti Family Reunion

Saturday we (except Camille, who had to work at both of her jobs that day) made a quick trip to Manti for a family reunion. It was for all of Grandpa L's grandpa's decendents, so a lot of people. It was held at the Manti house, which was appropriate, because Great, Great Grandpa Peter was the one who built the original adobe portion of the house after he immigrated here from Denmark. Grandpa has been planning this event for months and a lot of people showed up. It was very successful, I think, and very hot.

Uncle Steve taking kids on a buggy ride on the 4-wheeler

All of John's siblings, except Rob, posing for a picture. The gap is so Rob can be photoshopped in. (He was on a cruise or he would have been there)

Grandpa explaining some OLD handmade tools to Dave and Kathy. The quilt was his mother's. The tools were his grandfather's and from the initials we think some might have been his great grandfather's.

Michelle J. and Matt S. feeding Rowe his first popsicle. Yum!!

Matt and Brad and Zack L. getting reacquainted. It didn't take too long.

Eric S, Scott and Kevin keeping cool in the shade. If they don't look too happy, it's because the USA vs. Guana World Cup game just ended. About 20 people were crowded into the bedroom of the granary watching it on the new TV John installed last time we were in Manti. (A bunch of people watched it in the house, too.) They had hope for a little while, but it didn't work out in the end. Oh, well, we'll get them in 4 years, right?
All in all, a successful reunion. We saw people we hadn't seen for years and met people we hadn't ever met before. I was particularly happy to meet Karen, John's "Indian Sister" who lived with them for years and years while he was growing up. I had never met her, but she and her new husband and three of their kids were there. Already plans are in the works for another reunion next year. Good job, Dad!

Easter Weekend in Manti

Easter Eggs

Following strings to find their Easter baskets

The new stake center being built on the land Grandpa donated to the church just up the road from the Manti house.

Manti temple at night

This is the old granary next to the Manti house that was about to fall down. Grandpa has just finished renovating it into a cute little guest house. The kids loved sleeping in it -they were the first ones ever!

Camille and Scott slept in the beds downstairs and Matt and Kevin slept in sleeping bags in the loft upstairs. They were all very cozy, even when it snowed!

The RC car was a hit.

All in all, a fun weekend. We enjoyed watching conference, playing games, and being together. The only downside...we were afraid to leave the pets home alone so we brought them with us. Spunky was fine -he never wanders and he stayed right by the house when he was outside. We kept the cat inside until he was crying to go out at 6:00am the first morning. He has stopped using a litter box and likes to go outside to use the bathroom, maybe from watching Spunky, I don't know. Well, I let him out and he promptly disappeared. We looked for him all that day and the next until we left. The kids made "lost cat" signs and placed them around Manti and we left word with the neighbors, but there was no sign of him when it was time to come home. Such a good cat -everyone's pretty sad about it.