August 3rd we had our annual Romrell Family Reunion. This year I decided to move the venue from Heise Hot Springs, to my parent's back yard. Heise gets so crowded, and I felt like the kids didn't really get a chance to know their cousins. I think it also prevented the parents from visiting as much because they had to be in the pool watching their kids.
So I decided to rent some inflatables and let the party happen here. It also made it easier since I didn't have to load everything in the car and transfer it to Heise. And we didn't have to try and get my parents up their either. I didn't know if anyone would show up. We always paid their way into Heise and I was afraid that was the only reason they were showing up. But I was very pleasantly surprised when we had 125 people in attendance. Which is comparable if not more than we have had attend past reunions. We have a total of 215 in the family now, with a lot of them living out of state. So as long as they keep coming, I will keep planning it.
Overall I thought it was a great success. We had and inflatable water slide. The water at my dad's house is actually really warm. It comes out of the well at 82 degrees. So they kids loved that. I also bought a trampoline and an air plane teeter totter that didn't get as much attention. But they will be around for the long haul. And when the kids come to visit they will have something to play on. I was quite proud of myself for putting both of them together by myself. The trampoline was a piece of cake compared to the air plane. I spent an entire week, around an hour or two each day putting it together. I swear I put ever bolt in and out at least twice for one reason or another.
I ordered the food from BYU-I. We had barbecue pulled pork with potato salad, green salad and fruit salad and LOTS of desserts. I had everyone bring a dessert. I think this was a little much. Next year I will go back to having half bring desserts and half bring salads. We had way too much potato salad left over.
I think everyone enjoyed themselves just visiting. We were going to have a bonfire after dark. But the party started breaking up and honestly I was exhausted. So I didn't push it.
I had asked my brother-in-law, Dan Knight, to say a few words just to give the event some meaning besides entertainment. But it was just too crazy and the right time never presented itself. So I e-mailed his comments to everyone. I think he nailed the point of family, and why we work so hard to maintain relationships. Pulling this off every year is a lot of work, but it is very worth it in the end.
When all the planning for this event was beginning, Val asked me to say a few words at the reunion. The venue didn't lend a good forum for such a declamation, so Val asked me to forward my thoughts:
I've been thinking a lot lately about Family Heritage. This is the legacy we leave for our children and generations to follow those children. The Romrell's Otteson's, and Taylor's, etc., left us a heritage that has rubbed off - purposefully or by accident - on each of us. We live up to our name as best we can in this life; we learn the stories of our predecessors, add our own stories to them, and tell them to our sometimes bored children. (at least they may look bored; I believe they still receive the message at some level)
To pass on a legacy a family has to work at it. It can be positive or negative. It took only a few generations for the sons of Lehi and Sariah to go from jealousy to frank tribal hatred. They chose to pass on a legacy of hatred to their grandchildren and great grandchildren. By contrast, the legacy of a family should be positive: a legacy of faith, honor, and strength in a unity of purpose. It's all a matter of expectations, isn't it. We do our best to expect the very best, but are still forgiving when someone stumbles. It is never about the reversals on the path to the summit, only the eventual arrival. As the Prophet said, "You have a spotless future."
To pass these legacies on we must treasure the stories of the past; Dad and LarRene have done a magnificent job of doing this with their published journals each sibling family unit possesses as a reference. They are fascinating stories of people working through adversity and struggle to arrive at a common goal. RTR and Joy have always encouraged the family to meet often and keep those lines of communication open and active; from the "unbirthday parties" of yesteryear to today's family reunion. We now, all of us, measure our decisions against the yardstick provided by Roland and Joy. We've taught the lessons they taught us; we hold on to the examples they've provided. What I've learned from the Romrell family is acceptance, honor, steadfastness, the value of gathering together, and the pioneer spirit of relying on self and family. Along with this we've seen the patience of RTR and Joy in suffering adversity and all of us have received a measure of the blessings of service.
Let us all ponder on the legacy we have received and the legacy we will pass on . . .
Dan Knight
P.S. Six months after I lost my camera, Garth borrowed the castle jump house for his ward party and they found it inside. I had been helping put it away and it must have fallen inside. So I can now add all the pictures that I thought were lost forever! Yeah!
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