McGaughey Family Unite! - The "Big O" 2014

Even a passive follower of Brothers Untie knows that Dave and I get together every year with our huge extended family on the Huntington side (see 2013 and 2012 Cousins' Reunion posts).  But did you know that the McGaughey Clan also does a massive family reunion that takes place every 10 years?  We call it the Big "O" since a number of family members have decade birthdays around these reunions--my grandfather would have been 100 this year.

The full McGaughey Clan unites every 10 years

Hailing from such exotic and distant places as Hawaii, Germany, Alaska, Oregon, and Minnesota (most exotic of them all) my aunts, uncles and cousins all traveled this year to Killington, Vermont where we shared home-cooked meals, hiked mountains, combined musical talents, and played countless games of foosball. 

The windy, rainy summit of Mount Killington

I couldn't resist a little Vermont nature photography...

What's going on here?

The major event of the reunion was the interment of my grandfather Melvin Ray's ashes next to my grandmother Grace.  We all chuckled as we recalled stories of Mel in a tuxedo protesting the Iraq War with a "Billionaires for Bush" sign or the way you couldn't call him on a Saturday evening when Prarie Home Companion was on the radio--a show that is near and dear to me because of him. 

  

McGaughey Siblings Unite!  A rare and beautiful moment with all five McGaughey siblings in the same place

Dave and I didn't fight too much...

But rather we chilled out and played a little blues...

And the reunion was so fun we decided 10 years is too long to wait...we'll do the next one in 5!