Reunion and reminiscing

The Ralph & Grace Cracroft reunion.   A summer extravaganza sure to entice any sociable family member.  I still went.  No, really I enjoy going to these, but lately they seem to be dwindling in numbers.  It is hard planning an event with my parents and 6 siblings and theirs, I can't imagine planning for all the descendants of Ralph & Grace Cracroft.  They had 4 children: Laurie (Laurey?), Paul, Helen (my incredible grandma) and Dick.  I don't know how many kids each of three boys had, but my Grandma had 9 children, each of whom, had a gaggle themselves.  Needless to say, we are a large brood.  Some of my fondest childhood memories are of our reunions at the Timp Lodge (now owned by BYU, maybe even then?)  Callie Cracroft and I were inseparable as we zipped through the seemingly huge lodge and surrounding grounds. That was really the only time of year I got to spend any time with her, and when we got together it was as if we were first cousins and saw each other at every important event.  The lodge its-self was, in my childhood-larger-than-life-recollection, a behemoth estate spanning thousands of square footage with the biggest kitchen, and assembly hall (complete with stage and sound system) with an upstairs with an endless corridor of bunkbeds.  

I remember sleeping so horribly because all night long we would hear, Thump...Waaaahhhh.  Thump.....Waaaaahahh.  Thump....Waaaaahhh, as children would fall off the unrestrained top bunks. If we were lucky enough to have a new baby in the family we could sleep on the opposite side of the floor where babies might cry for a minute or two, but it seamed a heavenly respite considering the crashing/ear-splitting alternative on the other side of the stairwell. 

I loved when we got a slue of cousins and played a rousing game of croquet, volleyball, or my personal favorite, red-rover; I could blast through the toughest couplings....or so I thought.  I loved running around the grounds with Aimee being silly and obnoxious around the boys, and running through the vast kitchen as our moms laughed and chopped whatever vegetables were being served in our evening buffet.  I know our dad's went as well, but they must have been in a man cave because the only time they pop up in my memories were during our evening programs where Uncle Dick would rally us up with a rousing round of "Fried Ham" before my dad trumpeted a tune or or the Zauggs sang a solemn serenade before we returned to the lofts for another night of the thump'n'wail.

Those are days long gone as we all have children of our own and are even farther spread across the country.  Our new method of togetherness is an evening at the park.  It is still joyous with bounce houses, volleyball games, and other lawn fun, a delicious array of sustenance, and even a program of sorts.  I don't mind going, and am always glad when we get to visit with those who are in town for the event, but really miss the tantalizing days at Timpanogos Lodge.