The 2009 Reunion is August 2nd to Aug 7th. Please Plan to attend. Check the link on the main page for more information.
Most of us arrived Sunday the 15th to cloudy skies and cool
temperatures at
Loon Lake 4 H camp. We picked out our cabins, unloaded our stuff and
said
Hi to everyone there. Dinner was at 6:00, Larry and Elna arrived
shortly after
bringing with them a surprise -- an exchange student from Finland
named Anni.
We all got reacquainted and hoped that the weather would improve.
Monday the clouds did break and we started to get some sun. It
warmed up a little, but
some of us used space heaters in the cabins for the first two
nights.
The kids (Angel, Andrea, Brandon, Kyle, Jennifer, Crystal, John, and
Jeffrey)
found the canoes to be a fun activity the first day. Some brought
fishing
gear and did quite a bit of fishing. We got out the Holeyboard and
spent most of
Monday socializing. That night after dinner Larry welcomed us all
and gave
some announcements. Jeff then gave a report on the Web Site and gave
some brief family
history. He also told us about Derek Duffield from Ireland, and all
the
help he has given in the way of information on our Duffield family
Line.
That night we had a bonfire and did the smore's thing. Anni had her
first smore.
Tuesday the sun was out and the heat was on. Swimming and rope
swinging
was the order of the afternoon. The dock was full as we sunbathed
and
occasionally all hopped in the water for a cool down. The water was
great,
and a nice refreshing OOHHH after baking in the sun. Little Sammy
and
Jeffrey seamed to be the favorites. They loved to hug each other,
and everyone
got a big kick out of watching them play. In the evening, many of
the adults went
into Big Fork to see "Singin' in the Rain at the little Theatre in
town. The play was
great, and everyone enjoyed it immensely.
Wednesday was another hot one. the good thing was that the mesquitos
did
not come out in force. Kyle (Alex's half brother) got brave on the
rope swing and launched from the
top hand rail. He was the rope swing distance champ. We all got a
little baked
in the sun, some got red and others a little browner. We started
some of the
tournament play in Holeyboard and horseshoes. The volleyball did not
see
any action this time.
Thursday, our last full day at the reunion, saw the completion of
our tournaments
in Holeyboard, Horseshoes, and ping pong. The sun was out and warm
again. We
attempted to play a little baseball. All the kids (under 18) and
Jeff hit
the ball around, caught a few, and attempted a game of Pitchers
poison.
Most of the other adults went to Big Sky Mountain to ride the chair
lift to the
top and see the mountain. It was a great trip, and highly
recommended for next
time. We got in our last of the swimming and rope swinging, some of
the girls
did some more fishing, Jennifer catching 6 fish with only a line and
hook. The
night ended with a final bonfire and exchanging favorite movie
stories.
Friday was clean up and move out day. With participation from all we
were all
cleaned and packed up to go by our 10:00AM check out time. We said
our
good-byes, got hugs, and wiped away a few tears as we all headed
back to our
homes. We look forward to seeing you there again in 2001, and hope
many more
of the family members can attend then. We all enjoy these special
reunions and
are so glad that we can establish and maintain relationships with
family near and far.
Highlights of the '99 reunion:
The tournement results
