black family reunion 2013

Last weekend Lance and I traveled to Georgia for the annual Black Family Reunion.  And this family doesn't mess around when it comes to reunions.  It is seeped in tradition, laughter, food, and fun.  I look forward to it every year.  Lance's family has a knack for making anyone feel loved and welcomed.... college roommates, childhood friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancés, and all of us in-laws (or out-laws, rather:) 

There are so many things that I love about these reunions... but here are some of my favorites...

1) tradition...

Lance's family started this reunion in 1988... one year after Nanny Black passed away.  Lance's dad was 1 of 8 siblings and after Nanny passed away they wanted to make sure they carried on the tradition of family year after year, no matter how many miles or much time passed by.  This year marked the 25th Black Family Reunion... and I think we had a grand total of 70 people this year.  Told you.  This is serious stuff.

2) golf tourney.

Every year a big group heads out to the golf course on Saturday... teams are strategically selected the night before, and the previous year's winning team gets to defend their title.  And every year one team wins the trophy and another team "wins" the cow patty.  This is serious business people.

 3) pool time.

While all the golfers are out sweatin' it up on the green, the rest of us spend the day lounging by the pool.  The pool festivities includes magazine reading, an intense diving board competition, crazy pool games, and lots of finger foods.  

4) food. food. food.

Speaking of food... Did I mention that we eat a little bit at these reunions?  It feels like this is all we do... and I'm not complaining.  A reunion in Georgia means awesome southern home-cooked food all.weekend.long.

 5) pictures.

We take a few pictures over the weekend.  Just a couple.  None of which are incriminating... none.

6) cookies.

As in "face the cookie."  We play ridiculous games on Saturday night... one of which is the infamous "Minute to Win it" game, "face the cookie." My sister-in-law is a pro at this game... obviously. 

7) sister-in-laws

Speaking of sister-in-laws.. I love these girls.  Lance is extremely close to both of his brothers and I am so thankful to have these two girls as my sisters:)  All six of of us went to college together in Troy, so our friendships started even before our marriages.

 8) memories.

Reunions are all about memories... remembering old ones and making new ones... and sometimes digging memories out of the depths of your high school glory days:)  Before we left we went through Lance's mom's garage looking for some stuff we never moved with us to Kentucky... and lo' and behold... looky what we uncovered... ALL 3 of the boys high school jerseys.  And even more amazing is that they all still fit... not sure if they could fit pads under there though...

 9) spoon game.

Aka, the-most-hilarious-game-I've-ever-witnessed-in-my-entire-life-game.  Seriously... hilarious.  Most of my pictures from this game are far too incriminating to post online, if that tells you anything.  If you're still dying to know more, I explained things in a little more detail in last year's reunion post.  Just take my word for it... hysterical. 

 10) these goobers.

These two little munchkins are one of my favorite parts of these trips, hands down.  Our nieces Jocelyn and Gabbie keep us in stitches... and they are beyond excited about their new baby cousin and keep asking if she's home yet:)  I love it.

Packing up is always our least favorite part... but it always helps when you have good help:)  The girls made sure everything was securely fastened for our ride home.  Another reunion for the books.  Can't wait until next year!