Got Roots?

I absolutely love the family I married into. This month, we were able to celebrate that family and their wonderful heritage over a weekend reunion in St. Anthony at the Three Peaks Lodge. Rob and Alison (Richard's brother & his wife) headed the operation and made it happen, for which we are all so grateful. In fact, I believe this is the first official family reunion Richard's immediate family has ever pulled off! At least, since I have been apart of the family. 

With 14 children (13 living) we thought it would be impossible for ALL of them to attend, but much to our astonishment, they ALL came! The picture above shows all of the Ferguson's except for Mike who couldn't arrive until later, and McKay, who passed away. 

And, as you may have guessed, I took a few pictures that I would like to share. Okay, more than just a few...373 to be exact. I know, I have issues. I wondered how I would narrow it down and still have a blog post that wasn't too terribly long. I decided it might be impossible, so I crammed four at a time into several collages. Now, I have made a collage in photoshop before, but it was time consuming and tricky for someone who has never taken a photoshop class. So, I found a free collage action that I used for this post. It's the same template for every set of pictures, sorry. I'm sure you will be sick of it by the end, but that's about the extent of my creativity anyway. So, here you go: all 24 identical collages!

The lodge was fabulous for our large family. Included was a twisty slide that went from the top floor to the bottom floor, a gym, a play room with toys, and games galore! Rob and Alison also brought a big screen and projector so we could watch movies outside at night.

There were enough treats, snacks, and pop to feed an army. And, Alison collected everyone's family photo's (old and new) before the reunion and created a slide show that was running the entire time. You can see it in the background in the picture of Allyson and Millie playing the piano.

On Saturday morning, we were all able to partake of the famous Ferguson breakfast dishes: wheat mush and eggs goldenrod. I must admit, I really quite enjoyed the wheat mush. It was ALL delicious. Jeff was the head cook and did an excellent job! Oh, and speaking of Jeff (see picture below) the toys in the gym seemed to work great for adults too! Looks like Nichole might have won that race. :)

Barbara, Richard's very talented and creative sister, helped the girls make some fun cards. She makes the cutest cards - which are available at our music store if you'd ever like to buy some. Way cuter than Hallmark!

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones taken of Richard's older siblings with their grandchildren. You could see the love in their faces. So sweet.

The chalkboards that lined the walls of the gym proved to be great entertainment for my two kids who especially love to draw - William and Sarah.

The Hal-ympics!

Richard and I, along with Melissa and Kevin, were put in charge of the activity for the adults. It didn't take us long to figure out what kinds of games to incorporate - Games that you would probably never see at any other family reunion. Custom-designed for the Ferguson's!

We did include one team-building game that we often use at music camp. The "board" game. But, only because it fit well with the overflowing septic tank theme. See who's team can get across first without touching any "sewage".

Then there was the "Hauling Wood" game which was won by the team who could haul the most wood in the wheelbarrow successfully from point "A" to point "B". 

Many of the younger kids found entertainment "soaking" in the jacuzzi during the games.

Travis hauled quite a large load of wood and then fell to the ground from the over-exhaustion it caused him. Although he may have indeed been experiencing exhaustion and excruciating back pain, he put on quite a show that everyone else found very humorous, except for maybe Carma, who, judging from the picture below, thought we should call 9-1-1. 

Travis, by the way, had me laughing almost the entire weekend. 

There were two games that only Richard's Dad could judge. First, the "Hal-t" game. (Hal-t from combining the words "hat" and "Hal") In this game, everyone was provided with some duct tape, random empty snack bags, and twine. They had to use these items to come up with a sufficient device to cover the head and protect it from the glaring sun. With the hours spent outside cutting wood or working in the garden, Hal is known for his several "hat concoctions". I have actually seen an old picture of Hal wearing a potato chip bag on his head that he was, in all seriousness, using to protect his head from the suns rays. Trust me, this is only the beginning of the many famed and talked-about "Hal concoctions". The most well-conceived hat won. FYI, the hat that Hal is wearing in the picture above is actually one of his hats with duct tape that he applied himself...before the reunion. :)

The second game: See how many ancestral family names you can write in one minute. After playing this game, one son admitted it to be the most humiliating of all the games. Hal is quite the genealogist.

Some of the other games involved: Who could unscrew the most screws using vise grips; Who could pound in the most rusty, bent nails using pliers; Who could sort the most socks in the infamous "sock bag"; Who could match the most nuts and bolts from the original stash of random, well, nuts and bolts; And, who could snap the most beans. Kevin also took groups through a Frisbee golf course, which was strictly just for fun.

All of these games stem from a past that involved a hard-working, self-reliant family with fourteen children growing up in Hibbard, Idaho on a very strict budget.

Oh...the stories!

Thomas acquired several bruises as evidence of the much rough-housing that went on.

This weekend was wrapped up with an inspirational family meeting in which we  were privileged to hear Richard's parents talk about the blessings their posterity have brought to their lives. Family is truly EVERYTHING to them. We are very grateful to have such goodly parents. 

Saying goodbyes and driving home all tuckered out.

"While our individual salvation is based on our individual obedience, it is equally important that we understand that we are each an important and integral part of a family and the highest blessings can be received only within an eternal family. When families are functioning as designed by God, the relationships found therein are the most valued of mortality. The plan of the Father is that family love and companionship will continue into the eternities. Being one in a family carries a great responsibility of caring, loving, lifting, and strengthening each member of the family so that all can righteously endure to the end in mortality and dwell together throughout eternity. It is not enough just to save ourselves. It is equally important that parents, brothers, and sisters are saved in our families. If we return home alone to our Heavenly Father, we will be asked, “Where is the rest of the family?” This is why we teach that families are forever. The eternal nature of an individual becomes the eternal nature of the family."

-Robert D. Hales