Reunion Weekend

I haven't been to a High School reunion since 1996. It was fun enough. Our 30 year reunion really didn't materialize until late and then was scheduled in the fall. So, they probably didn't have that many out of staters like me.

This last weekend Friday night was Homecoming weekend at BYU. A couple of years ago the social club CDU (of which I was a charter member) had a get-together and even though I don't live very far, I didn't go. So, I decided this time around to go and take the whole family.

It was fun enough. They had a band and the young kids were dancing and it was loud. The band (the Spazmatics) was very entertaining to watch. But, in my opinion the whole idea of a reunion is to visit with one another. It might have been better served to start the band later in the evening.

It was fun to see some people. I visited with Orell Anderson, his wife and a friend and briefly with Doug Futtrell and Steve Kovalenko, Matt Balkman (Steve wasn't there,) Mark Van Bloem and a couple of other people I just met there. Also ran into Karen Marriot from way back in my WADC days. There were a couple others who were there that I would have liked to chat with but missed them somehow. Laney ate herself sick on the soft serve ice cream and topping goodies.

Overall it was fun-ish and maybe good for the family to attend. Might wait awhile before doing another one of these. But, I realize now that I really am fairly shy and introverted. My family is very much the same way. Ailsa and Jensen felt no inclination at all to try to join in the dancing with the young kids. I've either ruined them or given them a great gift. Time will tell.

Then Saturday I got a bike ride in kinda early and then Lenore and I drove down to Saint George so that all the kids and their spouses (sans Aron and Cheryl who couldn't make it) could surprise Mom for her 80th birthday. It should no longer be a revelation how much Lenore and I can enjoy one another's company when the kids aren't around sucking up the bandwidth. We had a very enjoyable chat on the drive to SG. Made the drive go by faster. We averaged 80 MPH and scored just under 30 MPG. That's kinda nice.

We wanted to surprise mom so we staged at the Fairfield Inn. Then we learned that Sean and Jenny hadn't accounted for the time zone difference and were going to delay us some. So, we went over to see mom and dad. Mom was surprised and that was fun. Kim had compiled a really nice scrapbook with pictures and remembrances for mom. We chatted until our dinner date at Buca. Meanwhile Sean and Jenny and Clayton did arrive.

Buca was very nice. I didn't feel anxious for the situation at all. Dad seemed to be able to hear well enough and all seemed to have a very nice time. We had some dishes that I haven't had before, Pollo Glorioso, Pollo Carbonara (completely different than my dish, but very tasty just the same,) and Penne San Remo were the ones I enjoyed. I sat next to Ed and he showed me pictures from their trip to Italy in August.

We all went to mom and dad's ward for Sacrament meeting in the morning and then took some pictures to document the occasion.