It's a Holland Thing

We just got back from the Holland (my mother-in-laws side of the family) family reunion. We left on Thursday to go down to Hurley, NM. We were all going to stay at grandpa Cook's house. The house has 2 1/2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. Chuck brought our tent and sleeping bags knowing there was not going to be a lot of room. There were 12 people staying at the house the first night, which was manageable. We invited the other parts of the family over for a fish fry that night. It was fun. We set up tables and chairs outside and just made a night of it. It was nice to get to meet parts of the family that Chuck tells all these stories about. Then it was time to find a bed for everyone.

On Friday more family was expected in town that afternoon. We got everyone up and showered and Chuck, the boys and I went to the Silver City museum. That was fun. We bought the kids these cute hats that were animal heads. They were a big hit. Then we went and bought flowers and put flowers on all our grandparents graves. I have one grandma that is buried there and he has all four of his grandparents buried there. That is always emotional for me. So then we got back out to the house and the rest of the family had arrived. It was good to see Chuck's sister Desiree from Phoenix and her kids. I miss them and my boys miss them dearly! We got to cooking and had a big BBQ with the whole family again. Meeting more family. Video taping Brian playing the guitar. Watching the kids get to know the other kids. Eating some great food! It was a nice night. Then it was time to find a bed for the now 19 people staying at the house.

On Saturday the plan was to have a picnic with everyone out at Little Walnut. I remember going there as a child and it hasn't changed a bit! It was fun. Again, had great food and sat around talked to everyone. Listening to stories from way back when. They got some teams together and played some horse shoes. Then the wind started kicking up and a big storm rolled in. It rained for over 3 hours which crashed our plans and almost the tent. So we took our fun to the bowling alley. That was a blast for everyone! The kids loved it, the adults had a great time. It was a wonderful way to end the reunion. We shared addresses and said our good byes. And hit the road to home on Sunday morning. It was overall a great trip. It was fun to get to meet everyone and hear some funny stories, but like the end of every trip it is always good to be home!