When Mom Dayton was alive she made an effort to gather her kids and their spouses at least every other year. After she passed away in 2019 the kids decided to continue that tradition so in 2021 Liz and I volunteered to host a sibling reunion Dallas. All the Dayton siblings and spouses were invited and 3 couples were able to make the trip....Ruth and Rick Mooney, Ron and Anita Dayton, and Mary and Steve Bullock. They arrived at our house on Nov 10, 2021.
On Nov 11 we drove into downtown Dallas and visited the Grassy Knoll...the site where President Kennedy was shot in 1963. They have some nice memorial plaques and descriptions of the event. Next we went the George W Bush Presidential Library which is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Lastly we went to the Dallas Arboretum that featured a special Christmas display with gazebos depicting the 12 days of Christmas.
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Reading the marker at the Grassy Knoll
where JFK was assassinated |
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George Bush Library
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Oval Office
Steve Bullock as President |
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12 Days of Christmas Gazebo at
Dallas Arboretum
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Group Shot at the Arboretum
Lee, Liz, Rick, Ruth, Mary, Steve, Ron, Anita
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| Ruth with her good friend |
That evening we ate at Abuelos, our favorite Mexican restaurant in Dallas. The next day we drove to Grapevine, TX to see the Parr Park Rock Trail. This is a walking trail that is lined with painted rocks that have pictures and messages on them. Rock painting became very popular during the Covid pandemic.
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| The sign reads "Parr Park Rock Art Trail" |
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| This one is very funny |
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| Very cute |
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| Walking the Rock Art Trail |
Next stop was the Gaylord Hotel which has an amazing Christmas display inside its huge covered atrium. It's a place with many photo opportunities as you can see below.
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| Just the siblings |
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| Just the in-laws |
This day we stopped at Hat Creek Burger Company for lunch and then went to Nebraska Furniture Mart, a huge furniture store that is a unique experience just browsing. On the way home that evening we stopped for dinner at Spring Creek Barbeque, best place to get Texas barbeque.
The last day we had together was Saturday, Nov 13. We used this day to see some local sites around Allen, McKinney and Plano. In the afternoon we set up a zoom call with all the absent siblings and spouses (Claudia, Mark and Cynthia, and Bruce and Becky). This was a sweet moment to catch up with our siblings that were not there.
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| Bridge at the Old Stone Dam in Allen |
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| Park in Plano with flags to commemorate Veterans Day |
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| Zoom Call - siblings at our house |
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| Zoom call set up |
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| Bruce & Becky, Claudia, & Mark on the Zoom |
After the Zoom call we all drove to Celebration Park in Allen where we met up with the Porter family (Mary's daughter Allison & her family). It was really good to see all of them and to have some family close by in Texas.
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| Ryan and Aly Porter |
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| Catching up with the nieces and nephews |
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| Catching up with the next generation |
The last evening we had food delivered and ate at home around the dining room table remembering stories from our childhood days. Afterward, with Ron playing the piano, we sang some of the favorite Christmas carols that we all grew up with. It was a great moment to remember.
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| Siblings singing Christmas carols around the piano |
The last evening was a wonderful ending to a sibling reunion that I think our Mother would have viewed with pleasure and satisfaction. We all enjoyed the experience so much that we agreed to do it again in 2023.....at Mary's new house in North Carolina.
