Caveney Clan Summer Reunion 2023

We gathered together over the week of the 4th of July at my brother’s place in Texas for the first Caveney Clan Summer Reunion. At our last Christmas gathering (2021) we decided that we wanted to meet more frequently than once-every-five-years. I’m glad we did as it was fun to see and spend time with everyone–we had 28 people in attendance on the peak days (family photo above).

It started on Saturday, July 1, with the arrival of all my siblings (and their children), my mother, (step)son Enkhjin, and my father and his wife Mary. We came from a variety of states–Virginia, Michigan, California, Idaho, and of course I traveled from Türkiye. Some arrived by plane, others drove. We had been in the planning stage for a few months, and as we have for our previous Clan gatherings, we used a shared Google Doc to coordinate meal sign-ups, to designate sleeping assignments, and to share about potential outings and events. Every family prepares one or two meals to help share the work of cooking for what feels like a small army. We had 15 of us on the first day, 28 on peak days, and then down to 8 or 10 on the final days.

The nuclear group enjoyed a first supper that night–my mother’s beloved hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes and peas–Forest’s favorite meal! Across the week we enjoyed a host of different meals–delicious roasted pork tenderloin (Cousin Rick and family), Mexican Night (the Sanchez family!), and of course all the fixings for the 4th of July–burgers, hot dogs, brats, with sides of potato salad and a Caveney Clan favorite–baked beans with cottage cheese on top!

Enkjin and I made a traditional American breakfast early on (scrambled eggs, sausage links, hash browns, and toast with Mary’s delicious homemade jams and jellies). Then towards the end of the week we prepared a baked potato bar with a variety of toppings to include bacon, beans, jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream. We also offered a mixed salad. Generally speaking we plan two meals for each day–a brunch around 10 or 11 am and then dinner sometime between 6 and 8 pm (depending on evening plans). In between meal times people are free to consume leftovers or make a snack on their own.

Most of our time together for this gathering was free and unstructured. There was a small contingent that drove to San Antonio on July 3rd to visit The Alamo. But most of our time together was spent hanging out in the pool and on the patio, or inside with the air conditioning where games were played (euchre is always a Clan favorite) and numerous conversations were enjoyed and shared by assorted groupings–by age group, by family unit, by gender, by interests, etc. It was sweet and precious connection time for all of us. Especially for one contingent of the family (my father’s brother Wayne, his wife Deb, daughter Emily, and granddaughter, Taylor) as we hadn’t seen any of them since 2016 because COVID, unfortunately, impacted their ability to attend in 2021.

We had an 80s dance party one night ,and best of all we pulled off a surprise 80th birthday party for my father, Ned. While he had officially turned 80 years old on May 7th–we chose to celebrate him on the 5th of July while we were all together. This included the viewing of an 80th birthday compilation video which I put together with input from family and friends. We enjoyed a meal together (cooked by Mary!), followed by cake, and then many of us participated in a euchre tournament organized by my sister-in-law (and oldest friend), Angi. There were 12 of us that played in the tournament and the ultimate winner was my nephew, Walker! 🙂

This family reunion was only the first stage of a summer holiday which had three distinct stages and is now rapidly coming to an end. I return to work on Friday, August 25th. I will hopefully be able to share with you soon about the other stages of my summer. The reunion was the week after I landed in Texas–I spent the first week with two dear friends that graciously flew in to spend time with me. I’ll save that for another post.

The Clan reunion was a wonderful time together and I am grateful to all my family members for making the time and effort to get together. I thank my brother and his family for so graciously hosting all of us.

As of this post our next scheduled Clan gathering will be summer of 2025 in California (Robin and family slated to host/organize). And then of course in 2026 it will be time for a Christmas gathering. Location for that one is TBD. That wraps up this initial summer post. Hope you have had an enjoyable summer break and more soon, Friends.