#1207 the family reunion

Sorry I didn't write yesterday (an even day.) I was out of communication range in deep Southern Idaho attending the family reunion.

The family reunion is a matriarchal thing. It's called the Preston-Miller reunion, after MT's grandma Miller. Grandma had five daughters, and each year one of the sister's families hosted the reunion. We've been doing it for years. Grandma has passed away, as well as two of the sisters, so now the reunion hosting responsibilities fall between four families. This year was MT's family's turn to host. The hosts pick the location of the reunion, plan activities and two meals.

Planning the family reunion has taken several months of family meetings and disagreements and near disaster, but

MT's brothers and parents have a couple of cabins that sit side by side near the Blackfoot Reservoir just outside of Soda Springs, Idaho. I've only been there a couple of times, but T and MT go up there a few times a summer and have a lot of fun. The cabins were the location of the reunion this year. MT and I didn't think it was a good choice, but we were wrong. It was fun and worked out well.

The main meal was a roasted pig. MT's brother Kevin really wanted to roast the pig. He's done it a few times before, so he felt like he could do it. MT and his other brother Kelly had to make a big fire pit and build the pig-roasting "oven". I think it was kind of a hassle, but it worked out and everyone liked the pork.

Jake and T examine the pig that has been rubbed down with a Puerto Rican spice rub.

MT was in charge of procuring the pig. He contacted a local butcher shop, Stan's Market,  here in SLC a couple of weeks ago and ordered it, and was told it would not be a problem. The day before MT was scheduled to pick up the pig, Stan's Market called him and told him they would not be able to sell him a pig. Oh. My. God. The day before! MT was freaking out. He called several other butcher shops here in SLC and in Ogden, but couldn't get a pig. Finally he called Del Monte Meats in Pocatello and they were able to sell him a pig, but it was over 100 pounds. We were only planning on about 40 people to be at the reunion; that's way too much pork for that many people. We ended up buying the whole pig and having the butcher shop cut it in half . We roasted half the pig and divided up the other half of the pig between MT, Kevin and Linda. Now I have some nice pork in my freezer. I'm ok with that!

MT left here early Friday morning; T and I left later in the day. It rained quite a bit on our drive (it's about three and half hours away from SLC). When we got there, it was cool and rainy. I was kind of glad we weren't camping (we had a room in a motel in town, about 15 minutes or so from the cabins.) Since I hadn't been up there for awhile, I took a little walk up the road to check out the scenery. The cabins are across the road from a lake and there's a dam around there somewhere. I didn't have my beloved iPhone with me during the walk so I couldn't take any pics, but it was nice. Like I said, it was cool and sprinkly, so I didn't walk too long.

On Saturday, it was still cool, a little overcast and breezy. I found a spot between the cabins that blocked the wind and was safe from the smoke from the pig roasting pit. I took out my chair and sat in the sun and read a book. I would wander around and chat with people a bit, and people would wander over and sit with me and it was a pleasant afternoon.

MT made his now (in)famous rum punch and when that came out, people got jolly. My sister-in-law Denise and I got tipsy and we thought we were hilarious. After the rum punch was gone, we drank some beer and then we made lemonade and drank shandys with dinner.

After dinner, it is a tradition to hold an auction to raise money for next year's reunion. A lot of people bring stuff, some nice, some not so nice and people can bid on what they want. It's pretty fun. We also hold a raffle. Back when Grandma Miller was alive, she always made a quilt to raffle and it was a big money-maker. There's something awesome about having a quilt made by your grandma. Since she passed away, the daughters have tried to carry on the tradition. This year, MT's mom made the quilt and it was really pretty. We didn't win it, although we bought a bunch of raffle tickets. Actually, Denise won it and she was excited!

When I got to the cabin this morning, here's what I saw when I got out of the car:

A moose at the lake!

There was a moose having some breakfast at the lake! It was so quiet out there that I could hear it walking through the water.  Very cool.

For breakfast we made breakfast burritos and they were a hit. After the meal, which was very casual, we just hung around chatting until around 10 when everyone started to pack up and head out. Of course the weather today was clear and warm and gorgeous.

We helped clean up then T and I left around noon because we had to get back to SLC in time to pick Osi up from the doggie daycare. She hadn't been there for awhile and I think she had fun because since we've been home, she has been asleep.

Overall, it was a fun weekend and I think a successful family reunion!

I've got one more pic to share with you. Southern Idaho is farm country and there were fields all around. On the road to the cabin, there was a field with one random tree in the middle of it. I thought it looked cool. What do you think?

Talk to you tomorrow!