Lehi 2112 Reunion

 The majority of our time in Arizona was my family reunion.

This is my mom's family.

And with all trips it includes a trip to the local cemetery.

I was really surprised at the size of the Globe, Arizona Cemetery.

Finding graves that had requests for photos on Find A Grave was almost 

impossible. It was the 4th of July, so I was not able to go to the Court House and see if they had a map of the cemetery. It has both an OLD and NEW section.

It also has a lot of Arizona history.

I had never heard of the Buffalo Soldiers

When I got home and had computer access I looked up the history of this group of men.

Their story was very interesting.

Wikipedia has THIS information.

One story is HERE.

Like I said, very interesting.

We went to the Reunion at Workman Creek.

It is located in the Tonto National Park of Arizona.

We were at a neat camp area that we have had our reunion at before.

I loved getting to see my siblings though we did miss my brother Ro being able to come.

I am never surprised to see these two busy helping.

Morris and Kirk are always in the middle of what ever needs to be done.

2012 celebrates 

Arizona's Centennial Anniversary

also

My Grandma Williams' birthday,

 the invention of Oreo Cookies and LifeSavors.

How cool is this cake that my cousin had made for the reunion.

Some of our best laughs came from this GIANT bug.

My cousins baby was in his bouncy chair and this bug was getting close to him.

His big brother who is maybe 2 years old, saw it happening.

He walked over, literary hit the bug out of the air and then stepped on it.

He left as the protector of his little brother and the defeater of the GIANT bug. 

our other favorite laugh was the cup holder.

Best idea ever...everyone had a cup with their names and clothes pins.

BUT, finding where you left your cup last was hard telling.

We would die laughing as people would stand staring at the cups.

A couple of the older kids found great joy in moving their parents cups around.

.

Aunt Elma Lee had the week planned and it was awesome.

Aunt Patsy always makes everyone feel special. 

Aunt Patsy and Aunt Judy 

watching the kids playing games.

Aunt Martha and Uncle Joe enjoying the activities.

My niece, Brandi her husband, Chris and her mom Rhonda.

I am going to say that there would have been some very bored kids

and stressed out parents if it were not for my brother, Morris and his son,Chad.

These two never stopped entertaining the kids.

They are my heroes.

Chad you are so darn amazing.

I do not know many guys that would spend their vacation keeping the little ones happy.

There were cabins available for each of the aunts. 

We bunked in my Mom's assigned cabin

 with my niece, Brandi and her husband.

The weather was perfect.

We even had a rain storm roll in and really cool things off.

We looked like wet camping rats...

But, it was great fun.

Thanks Kirk for using your limited vacation time for my reunion.

I love you.

See What I Mean....

My last post I mentioned how graves without markers break my heart...What do you think this does...


Milner has 14 "known" graves...though only 4 have a marker with a name on them.

I can tell you this...walking around this small little cemetery today there are MANY more

than 14 with this being their  "final resting places"...

Lost....

I know...tomorrow...back to the living!

Getting Back To What I Love....

Remember this post...

I still LOVE Find-A-Grave I have been spending a lot of time adding  and looking for family graves...

I knew my dad a has sister buried in Safford, Arizona in a cemetery that WAS called the Union Cemetery...

over time the name has changed several times and now it is called

This is the amazing part of the people who are "Contributors"

on Find a Grave.

Anyone can ask for a request of a headstone or marker of a grave

(if you can tell what cemetery that person is located at)

I did not know if a marker had ever been added to my Aunt Judy's grave or not...

Trust me I have looked for many grave requests to find only  that they were unmarked.

 I have to admit unmarked graves BREAK MY HEART.

Anyway...I asked a fellow graver to see if  they could find Judy's grave.

Bless this person's heart he could not find the grave so went to the city offices to locate the grave.

When he got the map of where she is buried it was on the edge of some family plots that had cement around them...cars had been driving over where my aunts little body was buried.

He quickly went to marking off the grave spot...even adding  flowers.

He has since added LARGER rocks and Pink  flowers.

I was so grateful to him and his dear wife.

....So.....

I heard that there were some graves on a canal bank just a few miles from where we live. I went driving on a couple of different canals in the location of where I thought they were suppose to be... with no luck of  finding anything...I was getting sick...I wondered if they had been plowed into a field (yea that happens) or that the markers were gone and so the graves were "lost".

I was not going to give up, not yet...

I started making some phone calls to see if any of the local people who have lived in our area a LOT longer than I have to see if  they had ever heard of these graves... I got some pretty direct directions of  where they once were... rumor had it that the graves had been covered with cement

 and that an old wagon was where they once were....

Kirk drove to where I had been told to go...

THERE WAS THE WAGON...

and the cement...

I  was so happy to see what we found...

in the cement covering the graves where each of the original markers.

And though I do not know about the babies or  Mrs. Brandon who's husband lies here, I was so grateful that  someone had taken the time to preserve the sacred grown where they were laid to rest.

It felt so good to go...get out...and do something that I really love...

finding graves and history's of  families.

( after some more research I was able to find the Burch children's parents they have been buried in

Mountain View Cemetery ,Pocatello, Bannock County, Idaho, USA

and I am happy...

It Felt So Good!

It has been a long time since I had a request from Find A Grave...or I should say...it has been along time since I went and looked for someones loved one at our local cemeteries.
(Kirk's grandma)

Today I MADE myself leave the house. I was able to find 3 graves that someone was looking for.

I know this sounds crazy.

But, it is the most amazing feeling in the world when you are able to find a total strangers loved one's memorial.