Every third year, all of Kevin’s siblings, their kids, and his folks get together for a reunion. This summer was the third of these reunions and it was held in St. George, Utah.
So far, we’ve stayed in a different big vacation house each time. The boys fondly remember “our” vacation homes. The Sunday before we left, Ricky told his Primary class,
“We are going on vacation. We are going to stay in our THIRD vacation house.”
His teachers laughed because he said it in a way that made the other kids think we own three vacation homes. They knew the truth and let Ricky talk his way out of that one.
So, St. George …
The vacation house this time was called “The River Home at Green Valley.” It had lots of bedrooms, lots of bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a sand volleyball pit, a basketball pad, water features in the yard, a couple of fire pits, and many other comforts of home. There were 29 of us for part of the week and then 30 once Grandpa Dick flew in from Washington.
We left early on Monday morning and drove down to Southern Utah. The boys are such good travelers that it was a pleasant drive.
We did break it up a little by stopping at the cemetery in Beaver to find the headstone of my Dad’s “Uncle Floyd.”
We split up to look for it and Billy and I took the lower route. It was the old, old part of the cemetery with huge old trees and old crumbling headstones. Billy and I decided it was really creepy and he ran ahead to a sunny spot to look for the marker.
We got to the vacation house and got settled in. Our family of 7 shared one big room with 7 beds in it. It was a good fit for us and the boys did a great job all sleeping together.
There were lots of fun things on the agenda for the week … including a few grocery shopping trips (4 to be exact) for me. I volunteered to do the menu and shopping. I thought the food situation worked out great and it didn’t feel overwhelming or burdensome. Most everyone was nice about it, too.
Monday night started off with a Family Home Evening lesson by Grandpa Brent about the Pendleton family and the family history line. It is always fun to hear those stories and think about the people who made us who we are.
He especially focused on Benjamin Franklin Pendleton who helped settle the St. George area. Later in the week, Kevin and I checked out the marker at the Benjamin F. Pendleton home …
It is now a hair salon.
We wondered if they would give us a discount on a hair cut if we told them Kevin’s great-great-great-great grandpa built the house …
We didn’t get an opportunity to attend the St. George Temple but we stopped by for a pose…
It was a good week and it was just beginning …