VERY LARGE FAMILY REUNION

I'm talking like 2000 relatives kind of large!  It all started with this man: 

 Henry Grow is my great, great maternal grandfather.  He was a pioneer to the Salt Lake Valley during the Mormon settlement in the 1800s.  He was a bridge builder who was commissioned to build an assembly hall.  His radical design of a dome shaped building was the first of it's kind, which makes the Tabernacle a historic building nationally, and within the church's history.  9000 descendants have been identified as coming through him and 2000 showed up to this special family reunion.  It was pretty cool to walk all over temple square for a weekend and to see people who totally looked like my cousins, aunts and uncles but who were people unknown to me.  Those Grow genes are STRONG!  I tend to take more after my dad's side of the family so I didn't see anyone that I thought looked like me but there were definitely a lot of people walking around that looked like my mom, her brothers, one of my sisters, and my cousins.  It was wild!  We also laughed at how other people talked about the Grows inability to whisper.  Yep, that definitely describes my Grandpa and my Mom!  It was a fascinating weekend to come together with my parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins and to learn more about my heritage.  It was truly a weekend that caused me to reflect much upon who I am, where I came from, and where I am heading.  And I couldn't help but think about how not only do I descend from someone who built impressive things, but that we are all builders in our own rights.  We build families, and happy homes.  We build and strengthen our testimony's in Jesus Christ.  We build our lives and I hope to continue to build always on the firm foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ...because with such a foundation, I'm certain that whatever I build will be beautiful.

Aunt Linda, Cousins Heather and Amber, 2nd cousin Kaylee, Mom, Dad, siblings, spouses, kids, and nieces and nephews in front of the Tabernacle at Temple Square.  I only wish Grandpa Grow was alive to be here!  He would have loved this.

Blaine and I inside the Tabernacle.

Cousin Heather and I...she looks like a Grow, for sure!

Mom, Dad, and my sisters and brother and I

All the cousins...just missing Makell.

In the Mormon Tabernacle choir seats...learning about the design of the building.

This I know to be true...Families are Forever!