Giberson Gatherings

All of my siblings came to Mesa for my sister's wedding.  That was an extra bonus treat since it wasn't possible for us to visit all of them during our month between missions.  I didn't take many pictures unfortunately.  Here is one that the photographer took.

Back: me, Todd, Mike, Rick and Scott
Front: Robin, Austin and Valerie, Lynette

I think it made our parents happy for us to be together again!

Mike and Andi live about 45 minutes south of Valerie.  Todd, Lea and their three youngest children drove over from Austin, Texas.  My brother, Rick, flew in from Dallas.  Scott flew in from a business trip in Washington, DC...and Robin and Lynette flew in from Amarillo.  

Everyone was suppose to arrive by later afternoon on Friday, but it didn't work out that way.  Poor Robin and Lynette flew to Dallas Thursday evening to catch a flight to Mesa.  Their flight was first delayed but then they loaded and told us that they should arrive in Mesa around 1:15 am.  So we all went to sleep thinking they were on their way.  The Dallas area was experiencing bad weather most of the day which impacted the flights and also crews.

When we woke up, we discovered that they were still in Dallas in a hotel.  They had sat on the plane for about 3 hours before they finally decided that they couldn't fly that night and unloaded and rebooked the flight.  Robin and Lynette don't fly much but they advocated for themselves and the airline arranged for them to stay in a hotel until their next flight.  Linda (Rick's wife) was able to run over and take them some lunch and drive them back to the airport for their flight.  Unfortunately, they had to go from Dallas to El Paso and then to Phoenix but they finally arrived around 8:30 pm Friday evening.  In a piece of (odd) luck, Scott had missed his plane and had been put on a later flight which arrived about 7:30 so he was there to pick them up in his rental car and bring them to our rental that evening. It was great to see them and to know that we were all in the same town.

Other than the wedding, Karla had also sent some of dad's things which she no longer needed to be divided between us.  Some of us looked through the stuff on Saturday before the wedding and then we all gathered on Sunday for dinner--at Valerie's house since she had the most space.  And we got an extra bonus when she and Austin stopped by to eat with us before leaving for the airport and their formal honeymoon.

Dungeons and Dragons figures that my dad and mom painted for their group game nights.  Most of my brothers played with them at some time or another and it was fun to listen to them check out the familiar pieces.

Dad's stuff---but how sweet the memories to see, touch, and talk about many of the items we found.

Games under development

Game rules and other development materials....These went to Todd who has interest in game development

I can't believe I didn't take pictures when we were hanging out at Valerie's.  Not only did we eat dinner (including some great smoked beef that Mike had done), we also talked and played games with each other and some of Valerie's kids and grandkids until later that night.

Scott and Todd and his family headed back home to Texas in the afternoon.  Rick was able to gather with some old Amarillo friends that evening as well.  It was a good time to be together.

Then Rick left yesterday (Monday) and Robin and Lynette flew home today (with a much less exciting trip although they haven't landed in Amarillo yet!)

Robin and Lynette at the airport in Phoenix

Until the next time...I love you all, Gibersons!