Great Great Aunt

There were over 150 people at the Garrison reunion this last weekend. I knew a very small handful of them. Ammon is very certain that there were people there that no one actually knew. They just saw that there was a party going on and parked their RV right next to the others. Free food!

What was special about this reunion was that my Grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (which won't actually happen until December 26th, but we celebrated early). What was even more special was that we were able to get together the whole family. All of my dad's siblings were there, all the first cousins and spouses were there, and all of the great grandkids were there. We haven't all been together in over 7 years. My aunt Jen and boys had to drive all the way from Kansas City to be there for this event. It was so wonderful to see so many loved faces and to be with my family again. It was wonderful to meet knew faces and find out how they were connected to the rest of us. A lot of family friends. A lot of my dad's cousins and their families, and a lot of aunts and uncles of my grandparents and parents. Oh the fun memories and stories.

While there are many things I could tell you about our time this last weekend, there is one story that made more of an impression on me than the others. I think I'll share it. The last night of the party was a busy one. Lots of conversations going on all over the place. Still a lot of people I had never met and didn't know. I was about to go get seconds on my dinner when I was stopped by a women whom I had never seen before. She seemed to be my grandmother's age. There had been plenty of belly rubbing and oohings and aahing over my growing belly the whole weekend. Everyone wanted to know when the baby was due. This woman simply grabbed me around the shoulders and said, "Honey, I don't know who you are, but I certainly hope you are pregnant." That got me laughing so hard. I told her I was pregnant and so she took the liberty of rubbing my belly and then asked who I belonged to. I said that I was Tom's oldest. And pointed to my dad. She said she felt for me. Then when I told her I was having a boy she felt even more sorry. "You need to have a girl first so you can make sure you have one. If the boys come after that than whatever, but you want the girls first...but I guess there's nothing you can do about it at this point." No not a whole lot. This woman was nuts.

Turns out this woman is my grandpa's aunt. Aunt Carol. Officially making her my great great aunt. Every family has a crazy aunt in the family. I'm happy that I've finally met ours. If you are going to come at me with an intro like "I don't know you, but I certainly hope" than you can be a friend and I'll be a fan. Ah those Garrisons. They are all insane.

More crazy stories from the weekend to come, and hopefully pictures soon.