Reunion Recap 2012

Just a few snippets to share some of our family reunion last weekend...

We had a record turn-out for this year's D family reunion. Thanks to Facebook, I knew nearly everyone's names, but I was amused by the creative cousin's shirt, worn on the first day:

On Saturday, when the skies decided to rudely interrupt our games on the lawn (in this case, a twist on Twister)....

we all retreated to a nearby shelter, where many D descendants did what D's do--sing! In the video below, some of my cousins are learning the round, "Black Socks", the lyrics for which are:

Black Socks--They never get dirty--The longer you wear them--The stronger they get!
Some times, I think I should wash them, but something inside me says "No, no; not yet! Not yet! Not yet!"

In this clip, they're just starting to learn it:

Others (a daring few, including Kyle) decided to play in the rain, which incidentally fell for more than an hour and left close to two inches worth of puddles (which quickly soaked into the sandy soil, thank goodness).

Another highlight of the rain was 3-year-old Brennan being allowed to (shock and horror!) pee in the woods, rather than run all the way to the bathroom in the main building. (He really had to go!) Now personally, I would have had him just go from the edge of the shelter, but his grandma Mary Sue clearly has better manners than I; she took him right out there, monsoon or no monsoon, she was going to help her grandson take care of business with at least a little decorum! :)

The look on that little guy's face when he returned is unforgettable; "I went potty in the woods!!" he chirped, filled with enthusiasm and pride. (I suspect that his mom's going to have a heck of a time getting him to use the bathroom in the house from now on!)

Milo was a big hit, of course, right along with the many other dogs at the reunion, including Oliver (Oliver Bacon, actually), his new cousin!



This year's talent show was a big hit, as usual (I counted 80+ in our audience.)

This being an election year, Mom did her famous "Vote for Elsie" shtick (which is kind of a talent show classic). Part of it goes like this,

"Now, I'm not going to promise you a chicken in every pot. I'm not even gonna go as far as promise a car in every garage, but I will promise you this! Everyone who votes for Elsie....Gets a free roll of Delsey!"

Then she tosses a couple of rolls of Delsey toilet paper into the audience. (Yes, I'm serious; she's a hoot, that mom of mine.)

We also heard a cute story about how, during a previous presidential "election," in young cousin Nadine's classroom, the poor girl was very upset to not see Great Aunt Elsie on the ballot!

Bear in mind that the talent show includes many serious displays of D-family talent, as well. We were treated to harmony after harmony, including group performances by three out of five of our families. This number (Sorry--no stage lights--We're not at Carnegie Hall, remember) was such a perfect song-selection for this and every reunion. This is my Aunt Charlotte (mom's sister), one of her daughters, some grandchildren, and a couple of great grandchildren.

I slept at home on Saturday night (to return early the next morning), but when I left (at midnight), the guitars were still strumming and the sweet melodies with my cousins' voices floated across the camp. The next day, the singing, eating, story-telling and visiting continued. Contrary to what one might think, three days isn't enough to do all the catching up we needed to do.

Good thing we'll do it again in two years :)