REUNION FUN!

The McCallister Clan!

We just got home from an amazing weekend.  The McCallister Family Reunion was a huge success this year.  And it was wonderful to reconnect with my nieces and nephews, etc.  Kotten Kandy said it best when she said, "It was over too soon!"

Here's the breakdown of our three days together:

Day 1 (Saturday):

We started with pictures!  Mil and Grandpa Mac got us all matching shirts and we took lots of pictures.  

Top Left to Right:  Scott, Sundy, Tara, Zane,

Ben, Kristi, G.J., and Ken

Bottom:  Dad and Mom

ALL the grandkids minus Elder Honda and Sister Honda

who are serving missions in Florida and Maryland....

Then Uncle Zane took us on a tour of the new Mosquito Control building.  It is truly amazing.  Our family has been a part of this for over 30 years.  The Mosquito Control started as a shelf in our garage growing up.  It has grown like crazy!  

All of my family (G.J., Dad, Zane, Ben and I) have made

money from the Mosquito Control at one point in our lives.

Zane with his favorite nieces.

I wish we live in Grand Junction, this would be 

a WONDERFUL field trip for homeschoolers....

We picnicked at the new building and celebrated everyone's birthday with Grandma Mil.

We also heard "Last Lectures" from Mil, Grandpa Mac, Zane and Tara.  Mil talked about God's creations and especially focused on fractals.  Dad gave a parable about the lamp post and creation and determination and knowing what you want.  Zane read letters to his children.  And Tara talked about how Zane and she fell in love - with the Lord's help.  Zane's kids also gave short "MormonAd" talks.

My crazy brother also gave us each a necklace of his wisdom teeth.  How gross!  But funny, if you know my brother.

My tooth even has a cavity....

At the end of the day, Zane and Tara took the adults to eat "Super Fries."  Yummy!!!!  But not terribly healthy.  :-) 

Sunday was Church.  

Then we feasted on lasagna and heard "Last Lectures" from Ken, G.J., Scott and I.  Ken talked about Grandma T.  It was neat to hear her voice again (on a video of course) and be reminded of what an amazing woman she was.  G.J. talked about the virtues all of the 17 grand kids had.  She gave them necklaces as she honored them.  Scott spoke about spiritual moments and faith promoting stories in his own life and how we can learn and grow our own testimonies through these stories.  I talked about the lessons learned from each member of my family growing up and how grateful I am that I have such "side kicks" to share my journey hear on earth with.  (I'll recap my lessons learned at the end of the post....)  Our daughters also shared some spiritual thoughts and we all enjoyed each others company all day long.

Monday began with a "meeting" of sorts with the adults.   My parents gave us copies of their wills and we discussed funerals.  It sounds kinda morbid but it wasn't.  The kids spent 3 hours at a place called Bananas where they played miniature gold, laser tag and bumper cars.  It was really fun, according to them.

Ben and Kristi finished up the afternoon with their "Last Lectures."  Kristi spoke about Light!  And bore a beautiful testimony about Christ.  Ben spoke about power, honor, creation and priesthood.  Again, it was uplifting and we learned a lot.  The Ben McCallister kids also shared their "MormonAds."

Crazy Shoes for the grandkids - from Mil and Grandpa

Key Lime Pie, Mil, Kotten Kandy, 

Shaved Ice and Shortbread

Escargot, Kidney Bean, Mil and Cheese

Me with L

We ended the evening with a BBQ and goodbyes.  I already miss my family!  I'm grateful for them and their examples in my life!

Here are the lessons I learned from each of my family members:

Dad taught me creativity and a love of music!

Mil shared with me a love of children and teaching!

I learned loyalty from my sister!

Zane taught me to be well rounded and try new things!

Ben continue to teaches me to think and 

find meaning in unusual (or not so unusual) ways!