Family Reunion 2010

WOW! We've had quite the fun the past ten days. It was the Miller/Ohlson Family Reunion and so we loaded up the Suburban and drove to South Dakota to visit with our family there. We had a great time. It took us an entire day of driving to get there. We spend four busy days and five nights visiting, playing games and eating lots of food. We had a total of 57 family members attend the reunion. I really enjoyed seeing my Grams, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings and their children!


I loved visiting with my sisters as we ran up the hills and walked on the sandy dirt roads that separated the fields of growing crops. How great to be able to visit together and reminisce, face to face, in a place where we each have fond childhood memories.
During the reunion activities we played some really fun games. I was Sadie's partner in the Cheeto toss game. We also played a toothpick/mint relay, Grab Bag (using various sized paper bags that you had to try to grab without using your hands, standing), Suck it Up (relay game using a straw and Skittles), Balloon Games, a Pudding Drop game, and more. We discussed how our families have grown, changes that have occurred and what we have in common. Then, we took the kids down town to the carnival on Main Street. They enjoyed playing on the rides there.



On Sunday morning we drove about a half hour to reach the small branch building for church. It was good to see members of the Eliason family again. When I was a child, we would meet in their home for our church meetings in SD. There are a few more members of the church there now, and it was great to meet in a building, even a small one. Still, the Spirit was felt and we were thankful to be able to meet as Saints and share our testimonies.

After church, we gathered with all of our family again for lunch. We attended the patriotic parade together in our reunion attire. My favorite part of the parade was watching over fifty horses pass by, each rider holding a flag of one of our country's states. It was a visual reminder to me of what the United States are and made me reflect on the blessing it is to be a part of such diversity and freedom.

After the parade, I drove to a couple of cemeteries with my sister Dene'. We were able to find some of our buried relatives. I reflected on visits made long ago, when these special people were yet alive. We enjoyed looking for their names and finding others too.

We met together again as a BIG family and shared memories and pictures of Uncle Tom, who passed away when I was just a little girl. Then, we sang Happy Birthday to Grams who will be turning 80 years old next month.


Every night was filled with firecrackers. I thought it was miraculous that no one was seriously injured. My aunt had a whole bunch of fireworks, she added to everyone else's, and the family met together for quite a BLAST to end the reunion. We (the Beutler's, Maier's and Ferrin's) stayed an extra day at my aunt & uncle's farm. They host/guide hunters during pheasant season (Dakota Family Farms) and had plenty of space for my family. We enjoyed the beauty of the farm and my Aunt Marta and Uncle Bill's great hospitality. I love them both soooo much! We have a special family in South Dakota and I am so thankful to have been able to see them this year.

Trevon helped drive us to and from South Dakota. He has to log 40 hours before he can get his license. On our trip, he drove a total of thirteen hours (not consecutively)!

We drove to Provo, Utah and visited Mike's brother and his family for a few days before heading home. While there, we enjoyed relaxing in front of the T.V., playing the Wii games, jumping on the trampoline, and walking to the Creamery on Ninth. One day, we took the kids ice skating. Trevon went with his cousin to Seven Peaks, a water park next door to the ice skating arena.


We HAD to eat at SLAB pizza one night. Uncle Eric makes the best pizza. We walked around the Provo temple grounds and BYU campus too. We had a great visit. Before officially ending our vacation, we went to see the movie Despicable Me. It was okay....but getting home, that was GREAT! There's no place like home!