Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Rest of the Dam Story

WARNING:  If you find references to barriers constructed to hold back water offensive, then I suggest that you skip reading this post. 

So after the too crowded, too loud, too inebriated high school reunion that I left a full six hours before it ended,  the next day I had an unofficial mini-reunion back in my home ward at church.  It's been a full twenty years since I was a member of the Blaine Ward (now the Andover Ward), but I still felt like a celebrity walking in there as people from around the chapel turned around in their seats and waved to me. 

After church we went to the high school reunion part 2---the dam family picnic.

Dam family picnic, you ask? 

Yep.  

Someone had planned a family picnic at a dam where those of us with an aversion to drunken dancing could mingle with old friends without having to yell.   We  took advantage of the aptly named location of the picnic and used every opportunity possible to throw the word, "dam" around all we could. 

First we went on the DAM WALKWAY....

and watched in awe at all the dam water...

Then we got dam lost and had to ask for dam directions at the dam visitors' center...

Then we found the dam pavilion and found this dam crowd much more well-suited to my temperament than the inebriated crowds from the night before.   There were only five of us that showed up, but two of them had been my very good friends in high school and the other two were good acquaintances. 


While all of us adults jabbered and got caught up on the happenings of the last 20-years,  the kids made new dam friends with my friends' children, blew some big dam bubbles...


made some cute little dam fairy princesses...

Then found a friendly dam man with a ginormous dam telescope who let us watch some dam fledgling ospreys in a nest.  Adam, in particular, was enamored with the close-up view of the ospreys and the man's photo book spotlighting the other dam birds he'd spotted at the dam. 


After all that dam excitement, we rushed back to Heather's house to make cupcakes (that were definitely not dammed or damned) before my cousin, Susan, and her family joined us for dessert and good conversation. 
Then we spent the next day explaining to the kids why it wasn't okay to say dam when we weren't at the dam any more. 

The dam end. 

*****

9 comments:

Mika said...

Yay, this day sounds so much better than the last! What a great idea to provide a family day.

Both of your reunion posts were fantastic reads. You're a great writer....when can you come and do all my children's book of remembrance entries for me!?!

alexandra said...

That was too (wait for it. . . ) dam funny!

Deanne said...

The dam high school reunion portion sounds much more up my alley too. Looks like a dam good time!

K said...

I'm not sure if your use of the word dam is in the bible and therefore I find it highly inappropriate and am pretty damn offended. But you are forgiven for allowing me to really swear in my comment. Hope your kids don't read this!

annalisa said...

You're funny Lara :)

It's funny to me that only five people showed up the next day (maybe because the other people were hungover from the night before. Just sayin')

I'm glad they had activities for the kiddos and that you actually knew the few people that did show up!

I remember biking to the Coon Rapids dam when we lived there. I really liked it!

Steve-Rosanna said...

I thought your good friend Katie was there. Do you have any pictures of her and her family?

Sounds like a really good time!

Thanks for sharing.

Lara said...

Dad, Katy is in the purplish shirt holding her young son in the white shirt. Her husband Thaddeus is right behind her with the black t-shirt and beard. Unfortunately I did not take any more pictures than this. :(

Reynolds Rundown said...

I just feel bad for the dam pets that couldn't enjoy the dam walkway. If I were them I would organize a dam protest until they get some dam freedom. I hope all that walking didn't hurt your dam feet, you should have gone swimming in the dam water. It looked dam cool. This is fun. I am planning a dam family trip as soon as I can.

Mirien said...

My parents moved near a reservoir. You post reminds me of the first time I heard my mom complaining about construction on the dam road. Shocked, I was.

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