Family Reunion...TX Style

So, there are family reunions...and then there are family reunions in small town, middle of NOWHERE TX. Marc is very supportive and maybe, just maybe, I with held the complete truth of total travel time to Seymour, TX from Austin...but I am glad we went (because according to him, we won't be going "all the way up there" again...smile...sigh). So, let's just set up the stage for you...first, we drive up to Dallas, which might as well be Alaska. After the first 15 minutes in the car, the kids are already "done" and want to know how many movies they "have" to watch before we get there. Luckily we have family in Dallas...so we play with cousins, eat yummy food and pretend that we won't have to journey farther into the wilderness in the morning. Bright and early...it is already a balmy 90 degrees at least, we pack up and head north-ish, I think. We follow our trusty google directions for another 2 hours or so until we get to the part where we should be getting where we're gettin' to. The directions just tell us to drive but not where to exit so we drive past both of the two "exits" for Seymour. Marc asks, "I thought it was downtown...where's downtown?" "We just passed it," I say.
SO, we take our next turn onto a small street with trailers, houses and a few businesses (none of which are open). We pull into the gravel parking lot of a strip mall kind of thing and a man comes out of one of the "closed" stores. "Can I help Ya'll? he asks with a charming southern drawl. "Yes, we are trying to find (show him the address)." "Oh, you must be here for the big "Hensrick/Vita" reunion, right?" Wow...when our reunion makes the local paper and all the residents know about it...you know you are in a small place. Kind of nice... but forget about privacy in a place like this!! He kindly pointed us in the right direction...which wasn't hard considering that there were only two main streets in town...and we arrived at our destination. It was kind of like a metal "barn" structure with plywood walls inside and almost no moving air...which might not be too bad except it felt like it was about 120 outside. Eme spent her time gazing at a picture of a local priest on the wall while Marc braved the heat outside with the boys. There was a bounce house and unlimited desserts so we might as well have been at Disney World as far as the kids were concerned (see pics of some happy kids).
Mostly, I caught up with some aunts and a couple of cousins and then there was the room of others I mostly don't know. I liked watching all the "old timers" interact and share their stories with each other. My Aunt Mildred celebrated her 80th bday and my Aunt Gladys (who shares a bday with Adam) had her birthday that very day. Call me crazy, but even though it was less than exciting and it took forever to get there...I like the idea of my kids knowing where they come from.