When It's Reunion Time... Part 1

We had a Bergeson family reunion last month! About 10 months ago, we reserved a house up at Bear Lake with quite a few bedrooms and bathrooms. I was nervous that we would have enough room but it worked out.

On a Wednesday afternoon we headed up to Garden City, Utah, which is right next to Bear Lake. We had dinner--taco soup courtesy of Garrett. Then we handed out our Bergeson Reunion t-shirts and took a group picture before any got dirty. We didn't have anyone to take the picture or a tripod so this is what we got:

Then we had FHE with songs, lesson, games and treats.

I told some stories about Grandma Emma who was my grandpa's grandma. She was the 5th wife of Jesse N. Smith and a very admirable person.

The next morning after breakfast burritos cooked by Everett and Caroline some of us participated in a yoga class, led by Susanna:

That was followed by an Undokai with the theme of candy, led by MiCayla and Lincoln:

Probably the winning team could tell you who won but I have forgotten!

Everett had a little computer class homework to finish, helped out by his brothers.

After lunch of sandwiches and chips, etc. put on by Jan and Sallie, we headed to Bear Lake where we rented a couple of jet skis and enjoyed playing in the plentiful sand, as well as using David and Stephanie's kayaks. Some people came a little later after their children took naps. The weather was perfect--sunny and not too hot or cold.

The jet skis were definitely a highlight of the reunion for a lot of people.

For dinner we enjoyed fajitas cooked by David and Stephanie followed by buttermilk brownies. We played games that evening. We were supposed to do skits that night but everyone was too tired so we did that the next morning.

It was a fun day!

Comments

Visiting Susquehanna: The Priesthood Restoration Site

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to go a couple of hours out of our way to visit the recently opened Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna River. This is where we believe that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist which gave them the authority to baptize. This site also has the restored Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home where Joseph and Emma lived for a year as well as the home where Joseph and Emma lived on their own. We spent a couple of hours there and I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes but we had a long way to go that night. It's a beautiful setting, very much in rural Pennsylvania. However, on the day we were there, cars at a racetrack nearby were detracting from the peace and quiet. I'm guessing that's not as big of a problem on weekdays. The Hale Family was quite well-off for their day so their home was probably nicely decorated with wallpaper and carpet. ...

Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

This is a juvenile fiction book about a young girl named Melody with severe cerebral palsy. Her body doesn't allow her to feed herself, speak, or do much at all. She's very intelligent with a photographic memory but she can't really communicate. Finally, in 5th grade, she gets a "Medi-Talker" which is a computer that speaks what she types in. Finally she has a voice. This book explores what it is like to be severely physically disabled but not mentally disabled. It seems like one of the most frustrating of all scenarios. She is completely aware of all the cruelty (subtle and otherwise) that her classmates inflict on her because they don't really want to include her in their activities. One of the saddest moments in the book comes when she realizes that every one of her special ed classmates is kind, where the "normal" ones are not. Who really has the worse disability? The book was a quick read and fairly enjoyable. Wha...

Hansen Family Plot in the Provo Cemetery

On Memorial Day this year, our family went to the Provo Cemetery, as we do almost every year. We spent some time at the Hansen Family plot which contains the grave of my 2nd great-grandparents, Peter and Mary Hansen. They both emigrated from Denmark with their spouses to Utah. My grandfather lost his first wife Ane to cholera on the plains outside of St. Joseph, Missouri, along with three of his little boys within a very short time--about one month. It's a sad story but it's also one of admirable resilience. He brought his one surviving son, Jorgen, to Utah. He married his second wife Maren (Anglicized to Mary) some 9 years later in Utah She had been married before but lost her first husband at an unknown date. I wish I knew more about her but she left very few records, although I could do more research! Peter and Maren had 6 more children together. The youngest two were twins, Enoch and Ephraim. Ephraim is my great-grandfather and is buried in California. He is the father of ...

Search This Blog