Just the Four of Us?

For the Memorial Weekend, our family took its bi-annual trip to Northern Utah to attend the Roberts Family Reunion and visit our ancestors in their final resting place.  Although in regards to this trip, I use the term family generously since the only children making the trip with Rick and I were the girls.  How empty our van seemed to us as parents.  Yet to our daughters, who each had their own seat, it was perfect.  There was no fighting, no cries of "Stop touching me!", no "There's no room for me to sleep."  It seemed surreal, almost like stepping into an alternate universe.  The girls commented more than once how much they enjoyed having control over the MP3 player, control over the DS games, their own drink holders for both soda and water bottles.  They saw their goal of a brother-free road trip to the exotic location of Disneyland one step closer.

Hunter did meet up with us in Ogden and went with us to visit the cemeteries.  It was nice to hear him share his memories of similar past visits and his memories of times with his grandparents and the stories they have shared with him.

Memorial Day was also spent celebrating our family that is here with us while remembering the great heritage that is ours.  Our niece Janny participated in Memorial Day Program at the Morgan County Veteran's Memorial.  This is one of the most moving programs I have ever been to.  The presenters mainly were volunteers from the schools in Morgan County.  The Story of the Star Spangled Banner read by Commander Jim Nickerson brought tears to my eyes and was followed by a rendition of our National Anthem by Sean Workman that was better than any I have heard at the start of professional sports.  It was a good start to the day to help us remember how blessed we are to live in a land where we can be free and the closing of the program with an Honor Guard Salute and the playing of Taps was a fitting tribute to those who have sacrificed so much to keep this nation free.

Our afternoon was spent with the Roberts family.  How fun it was to spend time with so many of my cousins, second cousins, first cousins once removed, etc!!!  It was so great to see people I normally only get to communicate with through Facebook.  This is my Grandma Cook's family; the descendants of Walton Anthony and Olive Corbridge Roberts.  Of the original family, only my Aunt Imogene remains, but each year the descendants of these great people gather together to reconnect and celebrate the legacy of faith, sacrifice and service that we are heirs to.  As I have grown older, my favorite part of the reunion is the family update - a chronicle by those in attendance of introductions and updates.  Many times I have been touched by the stories of God's tender mercy to those that I love and I also know that I come from a long line of good storytellers and practical jokers.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I believe that the bonds of family extend through the eternities. Families are forever and how blessed I have been to have that connection to such an amazing group of people and how fortunate I am that the tradition of reuniting and renewing our family bonds has extended to another generation - my children.  And I am so grateful that my children have embraced their heritage, even as they leave our home to establish homes of their own.