We went to the Head family reunion this weekend Thurs. through Sat. It took place in the Bear River area near Preston, ID, which is beautiful. We were a few miles up a canyon.
I felt stressed from getting ready on Thursday without James being home, but I somehow got it all done with time to spare. The stress continued when Joseph screamed for half of the ride there and took a nap 2 hours late, and I didn't get a good night's sleep that night, thanks to the 3 year old who had a nightmare and the stuffy temperature in the room. Dinner was the highlight of the day, because I got to meet lots of new family members, including siblings of Grandpa Head and their families. And luckily, the next day got a lot better, despite my mental fog.
Friday was a tiring day, party due to lack of sleep and the fact that Joseph loves climbing staircases...and there were 2 of them! He was constantly finding new things to get into, and I didn't feel that I had the energy to run after him. Somehow, I did. I had a great time with the family touring a museum in Franklin, ID, that tells the history of the place. Some of the Head ancestors settled there in 1860. Cool, huh? We had a nice picnic lunch in the park. I went home a little early to put Joseph down for his afternoon nap and attempted to take one myself. No luck.
We had a family meeting about genealogy and memories of Nephi Head (Grandpa Head's dad). It was a great! James and Sam and Jesse got there in time for dinner, thank goodness, so I stopped feeling like a single mom. It was tough to spend the day without him, I'll admit. I'm really glad that he will have a profession that does not require travel. I depend on him a lot!
In the evenings, the cousins hung out and played games like Mafia and Smooching (so funny!). Those are some of my favorite times, even though I stayed up a little too late. James and I decided to sleep in the back of the van on a mattress, and it was perfect. We had a nice, cool breeze from outside...and peace and quiet! I slept in Sat. morning until 7, because Jojo has ruined my ability to sleep in at all. He was an angel and slept his normal hours during the whole reunion. It was great. He had his own little closet, just like home. :)
Saturday was my favorite day. Even with the sleep, I was still tired, but I managed. We went to the historical site of the Bear River Massacre. It was really sad to read about, but it sounded like one of those typical Indian-settlers confrontations (though it wasn't the settlers, it was part of the army). We had another picnic, and it was blazing hot. I went home a little early to put Joseph down for his nap and finally used the computer. Amazing, technology is.
We went to church in Preston today. It was super fun to see things like the D.I., the Cuttin' Corral, and the chicken farm that are in Napoleon Dynamite. It's too bad that my iPhone died, so I have no pics. However, I know that my mother-in-law took lots, so I promise to get them from her.
Needless to say, I am SO glad to be home! The lack of privacy at the reunion was driving me bonkers. Maybe it's a selfish thing, but I absolutely have to have my own space to recharge away from people. It was in extremely short supply the last few days. When we got home today, I crashed for 2 hours. According to my calculations, that still leaves me about 2 hours short on sleep, but oh well.
My lingering impressions from the reunion are these:
I eat way too many chips when they're so readily available.
Cousins make some of the best friends in the world.
Joseph needs a haircut, because the number of times he's been called a girl now = 5.
I love family history! (Just ordered some 15-generation pedigrees that I'm going to fill out for James and me!)
I need solitude for at least at hour a day.
I need James.
I need sleep in order to be a successful mom. (Or at least a happy one!)
I'm go glad that families are eternal! James always says that heaven will be like one big family reunion. I like that. I have no worries either, because with glorified bodies, I won't need to worry about things like eating too many chips or getting enough sleep. :)
As a side note...I did not eat any treats! That took saying no to chocolate, brownies (2X) and cookies (2X), as well as the candy from the candy toss. Boo yeah! I think I'm going to do it till September and then take a little break to see how things go.
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