Not to 50!

Did you know that some people stay married for half a century?  It's true.  Just ask my mom and dad.

It seems that such an accomplishment deserves a party.  So...to celebrate the upcoming 50th! wedding anniversary of my parents, my siblings and I journeyed to a winter wonderland called Bear Lake.  This was months in the making, months of group texts and indecisiveness, months of wafffling between should-I-stay-or-should-I-go, and months of anticipation and excitement at the idea of being under one roof again. 

It was epic.  Epic in a way that only a house full of irreverent loud-mouths can achieve. 

We had a few devastating moments - my sissy's plane was diverted due to weather and she had to stay home.  That was incredibly disappointing.  And my other sissy and brother had illness raging through their families and had to arrive a few days late.  And my other brother got a pair of boots stuck on his fat feet.  

But overall, what an amazingly monumental celebration.  It was lovely to be together as a family; we spent hours laughing, eating, playing games, and relishing the company.  It was loud, chaotic, and completely perfect. 

Kitty loved all of the cousin time and the fact that we were sharing a top bunk.  For some reason, she found it hilarious to watch me hobble up and down the ladder, my life hanging in the balance with each rung.  The ladder wasn't attached to the bed and I nearly ate it on one descent to the toilet in the middle of the night.  Can't we all just admit that I'm too old for the top bunk?

We had our gingerbread house competition (Kitty designed ours), the kids went sledding in the deep snow, we made Christmas crackers full of candy, and hours were spent in the game room playing pool, air hockey, ping pong, swimming around in the foam pit, and other inventive shenanigans.

And then, out of nowhere, we all had to go home.  I was sad it was over but grateful we had the days together.  Mother nature was sad we were leaving too.  She iced up the driveway real nice so no one could drive up it - well, no one without 4-wheel drive.  (Which happened to be almost everyone.)  After a panicked hour in the whipping wind and snow, my sister mused aloud, "If only we had some sand!"  This caused my dear mother to say, "Oh!  I have about six tons of sand bags in the bed of my truck!"  What a bunch of ninnies that we didn't think of it sooner.

I am grateful for a family full of friends.  I am grateful for parents who have weathered the storms of life together for 50 years, and have provided an example of devoted love.  And I am especially grateful that I don't live where it snows.

Happy Anniversary!