Big Deal and Luau

My mom has mentioned the "Big Deal" a time or two in the comments, so I thought I should explain. Many years ago, think late eighties to early nineties, my Aunt Jenny and several of her siblings began having an annual get together for a group of friends and family. It was not an affair for the faint of heart. The kegs and margarita machines were standard fair, and the crowd took full advantage. As the years have progressed the get together has morphed into a much more family friendly gathering. Essentially it has become the annual family reunion for my grandmothers siblings and all their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It is a wonderful time to catch up on the previous year and just enjoy the blessing that is family. The 2009 "Big Deal and Luau" happened yesterday. As you may have guessed, we didn't make it to Decatur for the event. In all my married years, this is the second time we have missed the party. I would post some pictures from years past, but I am afraid some members of my extended family might object to having their mugs posted for the world to see. That and it would require digging through many boxes of pictures and learning how to work the scanner. Anyway, we hated missing the fun, but things just didn't pan out for us to make the trek. As soon as the email came out announcing the date, John told me that he had inventory at work that day, so we wouldn't be able to go. Anyway, his inventory was changed at the last minute and they finished it late Friday. Since he didn't get home until around 6:30pm, we decided it would be too stressful to drive 8 hours to Decatur, attend the big deal Saturday, and get back home for church on Sunday. Since we weren't planning to go I had us scheduled to be the greeters at church in June. Plus John had a church council meeting today. They may not be the best excuses, but it's what I got. We will try to plan better next year.