Family Reunion South Dakota 2024 (by Robert)

Every two years the Watson Family holds a family reunion and the person (sibling) in charge of it changes every year.  This year was Jenny's and she picked South Dakota!  I know, of all places in the world why would anyone want to go to South Dakota for their family reunion?  Well, let me tell you you are wrong to think that.  South Dakota is an amazing place to visit, sure not many people there (which I would argue is one of the biggest reasons to visit), and there are so many things to do and see. 

So here's how it all went down.  A lot of the family showed up earlier in the week and spent more time together before the official reunion started.  We arrived on Thursday (I think).  There were a few options for lodging.  The reunion homebase was a KOA-type campground where we rented out their meeting hall.  There were basic cabins (no plumbing) and some motel-type rooms also available for lodging.  We didn't want to stay there so we booked a hotel up the road a couple miles.  Turns out James and Brian and their families did the same thing.  Who was in attendance? I'll go down the list: 

Dad and Linda

Mom and Chuck

John

James and Michelle and their kids (minus Everett)

Jenny and her kids

Me and Lyana and our kids (minus Katya and Alex)

A few of David's kids (Dad flew to TX to get them)

Brian and Lindsay and their kids

So a pretty decent crowd -  like 27 I think.

What did we do? In short we talked, played games, went hiking, visited Mt. Rushmore, ate lots of food, and had a lot of fun.  And connected with each other.  That's really the point.  Everyone had a chance to to just be together in all our messy Watson glory.

The photos below are not in chronological order and I don't want to rearrange them right now.  But I'll do my best. 

Mark and Grandma Lorraine.  Even though grandma doesn't shower her grandkids with gifts, I know she is proud of them all. Here we are at Mt. Rushmore (obviously).

 

Our family photos in front of the famous rock.

John, James, Dad, Brian and me.  Take their hats off and you'd see more of a resemblance.  I think Dad has the most hair of us all though. 

Here's all the grandkids who were there.  That's 15 grandkids.  I think there are 14 grandkids who were not here.  

We hiked along a boardwalk and took some photos along the way.  Just talking and enjoying company. 

 

Sitting in the amphitheater waiting for the evening program.  Perfect weather I might add.

Mark is a good looking guy.  He's going places (not just SD).

Noice!

Mark and Carter.  I don't know if Carter likes hiking, but at least he has an older cousin to look up to. 

The first time I went to Mt. Rushmore I was probably around 12 years old.  I was on a road trip with Dad and John.  We went to Nebraska for this thing that John had in High School.  It was  big deal for me to be able to go on a road trip with my dad because, at least in my memories, I never got to do something like that where I got to do something the other kids didn't get to do.  Anyway, on the way home from Nebraska Dad asked if I wanted to pass through SD and see Mt. Rushmore even though it would be late at night.  This was in the days before Google too, so we had no idea if the park would even be open still.  I remember saying I thought it would be good idea and surely they would have lights on the mountain so let's give it a try.  So we did.  And sure enough, even though it was late we got to see the mountain at night.  And I took a picture AND that picture ended up in my wallet for years because I loved it so much.  I don't have it anymore but it looked pretty much identical to this one here below - except mine was more of a close up and in focus where you could actually see the faces. 

EVERY evening they hold a special program at the monument to honor veterans and their families.  Because so many of our family are or were in the military, this was one thing that Mom really wanted to do this week.  They called out to the audience, which was fairly sizable by now, and invited veterans, active duty members, and Gold Star families to come down to the stage.  I don't remember a whole lot of the details from this because I was really emotional throughout the whole thing.  Three of David's kids were here, and one of them (Garrett) went on stage with us.  As they lowered the flag and TAPS played, I was so choked up I couldn't speak.  In this photo you can see me with my arm around Garrett partly to comfort him and partly for my own support.  I can deal with a lot of things emotionally speaking, but ever since leaving the military and especially now that David is gone, things like this really get to me.  I have a hard time getting through the Star Spangled Banner especially.  (Don't get me started on how I feel when people disrespect our national anthem for their own political or personal agendas).  I am not always proud of my country, especially now, but I am so proud of those who sacrificed to defend it.  And when I sing the national anthem THAT is what I'm thinking about and who I'm singing it for.  After the ceremony it was long time until everyone's emotions settled.  We especially had a poignant experience as we came together around David's kids and just held them in a big hug.  It still hurts.  Even as I'm writing this I feel the tears in my eyes and the tightness in my throat.  I don't think it will ever stop hurting.

Times have indeed changed.  Who in the last 50 years would you add to the mountain? Reagan maybe? Carter? Certainly no one in the 21st century is making the list. 

Here we are in the gathering place back at the campground. We had a little game we played.  I just want to point out, there's Dad and Mom sitting together.  When I tell people my parents get along just fine now and even my step-mom and step-dad, they just can't believe it.  Maybe it's just that time heals all, or that as they got older they kind of just grew up if you will and realized it's just not a big deal anymore AND how else will they be able to all have good relations with their 29 grandchildren.  Some things are just not worth hanging on to. 

Monopoly Deal was a popular game (I am not so good at it).  Redneck Life was also a popular choice (parental supervision recommended). We had lots of good food (mostly made right there). 

Oh yeah, we went to a cave - at least some of us did.  What cave was it? Jewel Cave (the fifth longest cave in the world and second longest cave in the USA - we didn't hike the entire 220 miles of it btw).  And it was a Lantern Tour.  The guide dressed in historical clothes from the time period, and we all had "Lanterns".  Looked like lanterns, but LED of course. 

Poor Maddie (Brian's daughter) didn't like this descent and we almost had to turn back.  Thankfully we did not. 

Everyone really enjoyed the cave tour (even Maddie after all) and of course it always fun having four Watson brothers constantly making quips and puns about everything.  I think there were some bat cave jokes in there somewhere. 

Another highlight was visiting my dental classmate Eric Unkenholz.  He is a dentist in Rapid City so we set up a time to visit him and his wife.  We had a great time having lunch with them at their mountaintop home, catching up and reminiscing. Just some of the best people one could know. 

The whole crew minus a few went on a hike together just a few miles from the campground.  A quick thunder storm (no rain) went by and scared us back to the cars a little sooner than planned.  

Mark and his tree 

There was a chainsaw sculptures place in town so we stopped for this perfect photo op.

That's a BIG foot.

And ice cream in Rapid City of course.  Who wouldn't want that.  

Mark and Grandpa.  I wish they got to see each other more.  I think my dad could really teach Mark a thing or too  :)

Lyana and me overlooking Rapid City.  Like I said before, not a lot of folks in this part of the country but that's the charm of it. 

And I don't remember why Mark was on this slide, maybe getting in touch with his younger self. Or just on his phone texting friends.

And that was our family reunion in SD.  We all had wonderful time and next reunion is only two years away (we are in charge).  

Last but not least--here is a picture of me at an airport lounge! We travel fancy nowadays because Lyana is working hard to understand this whole credit card game. Visiting lounges and getting free snacks and drinks during the layovers is always nice, saves money and makes it much more comfortable to travel. 

Robert

Alex’s Pre-Mission Week

Alex had home MTC for one week (compared to Katya’s two). We finished up last minute things and tried to soak up every moment together. 

While in home MTC, one day Alex was able to stop by and watch Mark play tennis one last time before leaving. 

This is a sad picture. Alex's outfit for traveling as all of his things are packed up. 

And I cherish this picture so much. This is Alex with his favorite snack--a huge bowl of a smoothie and granola on top. He is in Home MTC but wearing an apron in case he spills. 

After a week of Home MTC, Alex had his last Sunday with our family and at church. Katya flew in from UT and was able to spend a few days with all of us. 

Alex is a great example to Mark. Mark is so excited for him! 

And here is our trailblazer returned missionary Katya with Alex. 

 

Alex gave his farewell talk on this last Sunday as well. A few of his good friends came to support him. 

Luke, Alex's rowing friend, stopped by before Alex left for the MTC. 

It was great to see his rowing friends and Anneke (she is a rower but also a friend from church). It meant a lot to Alex. 

Katya had to fly back to UT the day before Alex had to fly to SLC. Here is their hug goodbye. The fun thing is that Katya worked at the MTC at that time so she knew she would possibly see Alex during his EIGHT weeks of training (spoiler alert: SHE DID a few times!).

And here is everything ready and packed. Two big suitcases, one carry on and one backpack. 

Alex is ready to take on the foreign world. It was pure coincidence that his backpack bought on Amazon, had that Latvian colors looking emblem on the shoulder straps! 

Exciting and soooo hard to say goodbye. 

We are so proud of him being brave to go. 

But we will miss him so much! 

Last picture together for the next two years. 

We know Alex will grow and learn so much by serving a mission. His faith will bless so many people. 

Sending a kid on a mission is incredibly hard--logistically and emotionally. But then you realize there is no other place you'd rather have them be, and all is good! 

Lyana

May-June Happenings

Right after New Zealand trip we had just a few days with Katya still around. One of the things we did was open our sealed envelope with the letters we wrote in Mar of 2020 when the whole world shut down. We were waiting till things are back to normal and that we were all together... It was pretty fascinating to read them again. 

For the Memorial Day, Robert and Mark flew to Denver, Colorado! Mark played an Indoor L4 tournament. 

The Alleys came over to watch Mark and it was super fun! 

The Alleys always wait for us to come visit CO and see them. 

On the way back, Mark and Robert stopped by the amazing Capital One lounge at the Denver Airport. It's always nice when you get amazing freebies with the credit cards. 

Mark finished 9th grade! All A's, speaking a whole lot more Spanish than he did the summer before. 

Mark also got his Driver's Permit! Now he has 9 months to complete his 60 hours of driving. We had to drive to Sanford super early in the morning to get in line to get the permit without an appointment. Mark passed the writing test...barely-hahaha.

Every year Mark plays in the Southern Closed, a tournament for just our Southern section. And every year he has to get a special permission to reschedule his finals as the tournament is held when our schools are still in session. For B16s, it is held in Little Rock, AR (thankful to have our Southwest Companion Certificate).

Mark didn't play as well as he hoped, so unfortunately, he did not go far in the tournament.

We tried to explore a bit of Little Rock, drove around downtown and walked along the river bank (that was nothing to write home about). We also went to the visitor's center that told the story of the Little Rock 9--a group of African American students who enrolled in the Little Rock Central High School and were initially not allowed to enter the classrooms. It was actually very interesting to learn about that. 

In the meantime, Alex and Robert decided to do an adventurous hike to Mount Mitchell. 

I am so grateful they like challenges and outdoor activities like this! Such good bonding time before Alex's mission. 

Robert is the one who has always encouraged our boys to do outdoorsy stuff like camping and hiking. I hope our boys do that with their kids someday! 

The beauty and peace of Western North Carolina...

And an update on Katya is that she left for BYU at the end of May, moved to Glenwood apartments, got a job at the MTC and started school during the summer term. She had to fly back home right as the term ended because we were all traveling to Romania in August! But that's another post.