Johns Family Reunion
July 2007

For all of those reading this blog who are not members of my family and who have always wondered (because I know you have) what my entire family looks like, well, today is your lucky day. This picture was taken July 2, 2007 and I love it!

This picture is the original 9 Johns. I have the best looking brothers, sisters, and parents.

All 34 of us gathered in Provo, UT for the 2007 Johns Family Reunion and to celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. It had been six years since we were all together and in that time 11 nieces and nephews were born. There are a total of 19 nieces and nephews...the oldest is 15 and the youngest is about 15 months old. We all had the best time. It was so fun for me, as the organizer, to watch everyone interacting together. My parents were in heaven with all of their children gathered around with their spouses and children.

I have many highlights from the four days we spent together but I think at the top of my list would have to have been Sunday, the very first day we were all together. As one of the gifts for Mom and Dad I has asked all families to be at church Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. As of 7:00 p.m. the night before I knew we would have all but one family there because of a change in their travel schedule. However, as each family filed into the chapel Sunday morning I was almost brought to tears when I saw this family walk in. It was all I could do to not jump over the pews to get to them. They had driven all night! Picture if you will Mom and Dad surrounded by 7 families...we took up 3.5 rows. It was quite the site.

Just to give a brief rundown on the fun we had together:
Sunday: church, dinner and family night at Mom and Dad's. Mamii came for dinner and family night. It was great to see her surrounded by great grand children. Murray gave a lesson on the armor of righteousness; Katelyn played the piano; all of the grandchildren sang, "I am a Child of God" and the adult children and spouses sang "Love at Home".

Monday: family pictures in the morning followed by lunch, home tours, swimming and then a BBQ at a local Provo Park.

Tuesday: Children's Discovery Museum in Salt Lake City, more swimming followed by a special presentation at Mt. Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon. This was another highlight for me. I had prepared (with professional help) a video highlighting Mom and Dad's life. It is 33 minutes of pictures put to music. I had been anticipating this moment, this unveiling for months and it was a hit. There were tears, laughter and just a genuine enjoyment by everyone. In addition to the special presentation we also had a talent show. Monica and Keaton performed some ballroom dances that they have both been learning. They are excellent dancers! Brynn did a somersault; Madeline and Halayna did a cheerleading cheer; we watched a video tape of Anneka's ballet performance and Jana's hip hop performance from a recent dance recital; Clark shared family trivia from a Q&A that he had sent to each of us. It was so fun to all of this talent. Clark also gave a little lesson prior to the unveling of the family movie. Clark taught the importance of accepting everyone regardless of their race, color, language, physical or mental disabilities or struggles in life. He tied this to the family movie: even though we all come from the same family we are all diferent and that is what makes our family (and all families) so wonderful. The entire night was awesome!

Wednesday: 4th of July celebrations. We all did different things throughout the day. Clark and his family left in the morning for the airport, some families went to the parade and to Stadium of Fire. Most families did go swimming in the afternoon to cool off and we enjoyed a BBQ together at Mom and Dad's.

All in all it was a huge success. My work and planning paid off, at least, from my perspective. Each family contributed in some way: Dad made his delicious chili and hosted three families at their home; Murray's Sunday evening lesson; Rick's help with the video equipment; Monica's plans for the talent show; Clark's lesson on accepting everyone; Graydon hosting me at his homoe for a couple of nights; Jana's help with the family pictures; Carrie Anne created and printed the "Reunion Guide"; Megan coordinated the photographer for the family pictures and she is still handling the picture orders. In addition to all of this everyone helped with meal preparation and clean-up.

I get so much from each of my siblings, their spouses and children, and from Mom and Dad that I wanted to give back to them. I wanted our time together to be memorable and I dare say that was achieved. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful, amazing family. I am so proud of my brothers and sisters and what they have achieved so far in their lives. Their families are beautful...their children are tremendous, so talented, good looking, well behaved and kind.

Here are more pictures: