{cramer reunion}

july 26-27: it may seem an unusual sight to see a group gathered so casually in a cemetery with children playing and men and women with drinks in hand, however, it is exactly as it seems. every year my maternal grandmother's family has a big family reunion in west virginia. the festivities usually include an old fashioned weenie roast at a family members house on saturday and the actual reunion at the park on sunday. this is the first year that i have gone to the reunion since i was a kid and i had a great time! the weenie roast was a lot of fun and a good chance to catch up with family i haven't seen in a few years. one of the highlights of the evening was the visit to the cramer cemetery. this is a family cemetery with one of the most gorgeous views i have ever seen. it sits high atop a hill nestled in the mountains with a breathtaking view of the sunset. we didn't get to see said sunset on this trip, it was too cloudy. the cemetery is one of the highlights for us all to visit while we are there and this trip was no exception.

the actual reunion was a lot of fun too! like all traditional family reunions there were games aplenty. we all took part in the balloon toss and some of us played in the egg toss, too messy for me! there was tons of good food and perhaps the most fun we had was during the auction. people brought gifts and wrapped them so no one knew exactly what they were getting. everyone had a great time bidding against one another. the money they raised from this little activity is going toward buying new picnic tables to donate to the park where the reunion is held.

the weekend was a lot of fun, we stayed at alpine lake, as usual. and our weekend included a lot of late nights drinking and talking. we played scat (a card game my dad's family plays often) and really just enjoyed each other's company.

i can't wait to go back next year!