Memorial Day Breakfast 2011

Every Memorial Day, my grandparents host a Rich family reunion out in Vernal. Family comes from all over Utah (and sometimes even farther) to get together for breakfast. There's tons of fun, family, and food--one of the best combinations for a good time.

Since we could, Tyler and I decided (almost last minute) to make the drive out to Vernal for the breakfast/reunion. (And I'm so glad we did!)

We got to Vernal around 8:30 last night and found out that my Aunt Margaret and her family were staying the night with my grandparents, too! I wondered if they might be there, but I didn't know for sure when they would come or if they would stay with my grandparents. So we got to spend a little extra time with them (and their dog, Simon). Bonus!!

Anyway, when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, Grandma re-heated some food for everyone, and we all sat down to a late-night dinner. I ate, and (really) enjoyed, some of Grandma's chili--which included fresh-off-the-farm hamburger meat.

Then we all chatted and went to bed.

Tyler and I got up around seven to get ready for and get to the breakfast which started around eight. We made it early and helped do a little bit of the set-up.

But the real props go to my Aunt Margaret and her husband, Uncle Craig, for getting all the (delicious) food, and to my Uncle Steve who was key in setting the grills up for the bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs, pancakes, etc.

Take a look:

Do you see how everyone is all bundled up? It was freezing cold!! 

Grandpa was wearing his coveralls that he uses for shoveling snow, and Grandma bundled up as much as she could.

Tyler said he finally warmed up when he went out to play kickball with the kids in the field. 

The turn-out this year was a little smaller than usual, but plenty of people still came.

Uncle Burt opening syrup(?) for his pancakes. In the tan jacket is my Dad's cousin Teresa (who also helped a ton with the food).

Great-Aunt Pearl (!!) is the main person I was trying to get a picture of--if only to document that she was there. She's the one in the dark jacket, sitting down. We can only see her back in this picture. Sorry about that. (Secretly, Pearl is one of my very favorites. She used to tell my dad when he would misbehave that if he didn't start behaving, she'd rip his arm off and beat him with the bloody end of it. As terrible as that sounds, I think it is awesome. And it makes me like Pearl a little extra. After the breakfast, we got to sit down together in the nearby church building and chat just a little bit. I really enjoyed getting to talk to her.)

Next to Pearl is my dad's cousin Davin (he's wearing the hat). I always love when Davin shows up. He is quite an unforgettable character. Not long into the breakfast, he broke out his guitar and serenaded everyone with some of his own music. Davin is also always so cheerful. You can't help but enjoy his company.

Here we have my great-uncle Clarence unloading the cookies he brought to the breakfast. I really respect Clarence a lot as well. And he has a great sense of humor--I always enjoy talking with him.

Margaret's girls Alyssa (in the brown coat) and Andrea (in the dark plaid coat) and Steve's girls Aliya (dark sweater) and Briana (pink sweater) hung out together almost the whole time--except when they came to talk to me, of course.

Clarence again with his wife Kara Lee (Karalee?).

Grandpa's brother (whose name I have temporarily forgotten--is this Darryl? (And how do you spell Darryl?)) also came. I don't think I got a chance to talk to him, but it was still good to see him there. 

Other cousins of my Dad's came as well, along with their families. There were so many people there I did not know.

And of course, Tyler was there, too:

Tyler has asked me to note that even though he does not look very happy, he actually was very happy and had a great time. (He loved playing with all the kids, and he really enjoyed getting to know some of my family better. I blame the cold for his looking so down.)

The food was plentiful and delicious.

Besides all the normal breakfast fare (bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, etc.) we had muffins, cereal, juice, hot chocolate, milk--both chocolate and regular, and lots of toppings for everything. It was beautiful.

We didn't stay very long after the breakfast (and clean-up) were over. (I would like to note that Tyler and I were both pretty tired, and we thought it would be better to drive home while we had lots of daylight and at least sufficient energy to make the drive.

It was a good thing we left when we did. Look at what we hit as we were going over the mountain:

Tons of snow! Visibility was terrible--the snow was blowing against us, and we could only see about a car's length in front of us. I know we were going over a mountain, and I know we usually hit snow flurries in about the same place every time we make the drive to/from Vernal, but this was crazy!

Normally, the drive to Vernal (even from Spanish Fork) is only about 2 1/2 hours, which really isn't too bad. But the snow caused us to slow way down, and added a good half hour to our drive. Which again, isn't too bad, except that I was exhausted and getting carsick. 

When we finally got home, I just crashed. I changed into pajamas, climbed under the blankets, and slept for 3 hours. 

Despite the drive home, I still had a great (if exhausting) weekend. I'm so so glad I got to spend time with my grandparents. I know it meant a lot to them that we could be there. And it meant a lot to me too! I especially enjoyed getting to see my uncle Steve (and his family) and my Aunt Margaret (and her family). 

I wish I had taken more pictures, and been braver about getting pictures of the people I recognized. And even of the people I didn't. But no one was taking pictures. I felt like I had to be sneaky--almost like taking pictures was wrong. I'll definitely do better next time. (Plus it was so cold. I was more concerned with staying warm than getting pictures.)

Again, it was awesome. I'm so very glad we went!