Family Reunion

At the beginning of June we went to Las Vegas for a family reunion with Keith’s family.  The last time we had been there was in 2003 for a Mucha family reunion and this time allowed us to meet some new cousins and reconnect with everyone again.

The family reunions started many years ago with Keith’s parents, Al & Ruth and Al’s sister Betty, his brother Paul and their sister in law Bette Fae.  They all lived in Pittsburgh and traveling out to Las Vegas was perfect to meet up with all of the California family and some in the middle along the way.

And Al’s brother John’s children lived in California, so they started coming.  Keith’s cousins John and Maurine started bringing their children Kim and Nick and his cousin Betty and Ray brought their children Dennis, Summer and April.  And Summer started bringing her children Brett and Shaylan.

And there were some Aunts and Uncles that started coming that were related only by marriage, like Uncle Walter and Aunt Rose and my Uncle Phil.  Everyone was welcome.

And one tradition of our reunions is that during the day, everyone does whatever they want but around 5:30 or so we all meet in someone’s room and have cocktails and snacks.  Some years it would be in John and Maruine’s room and some it would be in Al and Ruth’s.  This year Mark and Kim were the hosts.

It’s always a fun get together and there is a lot of laughter and serious discussion that happens.  For many of us, it has been a year or more since we have seen family members.

And then one year we found out that Keith’s cousins John and Betty had a half sister MaryElla that lived on the east coast.  So she came with her husband Gary and brought her children.  And even Gary’s parents came a few years!

And this year we were able to meet another half sister, Elsie. She brought her husband and son.  And it was the first time she and Betty had ever met.  It was emotional to say the least.

And there were some other first time meetings.  Dennis brought his fiancé, Summer’s daughter Shaylan brought her husband Steve (and by the way, they are exepecting!)  Summer’s son Brett brought his girlfriend Roxy, Keith’s brother Mike had only been to one reunion before, but he brought his wife Vicki and their son Kevin was able to drop in for one day while we were there.  Also, our youngest members were two of Kim and Mark’s daughters, Katelyn and Taylor.  Katelyn had actually attended the last reunion as a baby.

And there were quite a few that could not make it – they had hoped they would but it just didn’t work out.  John and Maurine’s son Nick and his family, MaryElla’s husband Gary, Keith’s cousin Sally and her husband Mike – she is the daughter of another of Al’s sisters – and Keith’s cousin John and his family (he is Aunt Bette Fae’s son in Pittsburgh.)

It really was fun meeting new family members and reconnecting with some we had not seen since the last reunion.  We really missed those that had passed on: Uncle Paul, Uncle Walter and Aunt Rose, Gary’s dad Joe and my Uncle Phil.  Aunt Betty and Aunt Bette Fae were not able to travel but they were with us in spirit.

And another tradition we had was one that Uncle Paul had started.  He was always the life of the party and really enjoyed life.

After meeting for cocktails it would be time for all of us to head down to dinner together.  And it never failed, that someone would get on the elevator with us as we headed downstairs.

Which meant we had to sing Happy Birthday to the unsuspecting “guest” – imagine getting into an elevator and being serenaded by a group you don’t even know.  Uncle Paul always started it and one year we even had a bride and groom join us.  Only in Vegas.

But let me tell you what happened this year.  Our suite was at the end of a hallway, and we had opened the door to cool things off a bit – the room got a little stuffy with everyone inside.  Next door to us was another suite.  And the gentleman in that suite came into our room and asked if we could do a favor for him.  It was his wife’s birthday and they were celebrating next door.  He wanted to know if we could sing Happy Birthday to her.  Oh. My. Goodness.  April and I looked at each other and we each had chills.  Only Uncle Paul could have orchestrated that.  Of course we went over and sang Happy Birthday!  I mean, what a feeling we all had after that.  It was really amazing.

I tried to snap some casual pictures of everyone while we were enjoying  cocktails.  I think the only one I missed was April’s husband Mike.  And I never got Dennis’ fiancé’s name.  One other tradition we had was getting a group picture, and I think we got so excited about singing Happy Birthday we ran out of time.  So no group picture this year, because we had dinner reservations at the Rainforest Café.  But we did have some great memories and an unbelievable experience singing Happy Birthday!

Dinner that night was a lot of fun.  We had good conversations, lots of laughs and everyone enjoyed the meal.  Maurine, Mark and Kim did a fantastic job organizing this year’s event.

The next morning we saw everyone again at breakfast before heading to the pool and doing some exploring downtown.

Everyone enjoyed the cabanas that were reserved for us and our time in the lazy river.  It was a short stay but it was wonderful to see everyone and reconnect.  We love you Mucha Family!