The Chamberlain Family Historical Society: 20 year reunion

So, last weekend was one of the most hilarious times ever. After I decided to go to the reunion all plans starting falling apart. Doug got a weekend job in Georgia which was awesome for money but crappy timing, my parents couldn't get away from the temple to watch the kids and Sophie had a big 9-6 rehearsal for their choir show this weekend so even if i left kids with her she couldn't watch them.... lets see what else. anyway, i did lots and lots of brainstorming and decided to try and make it happen.

I decided to take owen and simon with me for a few reasons. 1. Owen has a friend up there and we were going to be staying at their house so that was like built in childcare and Simon without Penny is way easier than the two together. waaaaay easier. and penny is easier to leave than simon. So, I made plans with rachel to watch penny until 5 and then a sitter to come over until sophie could get back. Jason and Donna happily agreed (cuz they're crazy) to watch Simon while I was at the party on saturday night. So saturday morning at 4 am, after a stupid busy friday and going to bed at midnight, I woke up and wrote letters to penny and sophie, put the boys in the car and headed up north.

The drive was so surprisingly EASY. Owen slept and read the entire time, simon slept, played and spilled food the whole way up. We got there just about an hour before the family picnic so we caught up with our friends and then went to the picnic. Jason and Donna (Musical Robot) played at the picnic so we all went over together. Its such and interesting feeling walking into people you haven't seen in 20 years. Auburn is such a small town and a lot of people from high school stayed close or moved a few cities on either side. It was fun to chat and let people discover who i was. I had VERY short poofy blonde hair in high school and right now my hair is brownish for fall and past my shoulders. NO ONE RECONGIZED ME. Plus add sunglasses and no one could figure it out. the reaction was really fun once they put it together. Although the same could be said for a lot of people. some looked exactly the same like my friends lisa coleman and janine flathmann but others looked really different.

We stayed at the park for a very long time because the boys we all having so much fun together. in between the parites we chatted and ate at the adairs. cheyenne casebier was staying there as well so we all caught up and laughed and talked about the last 20 years.

then we got ready and Cheyenne and I went over to dingus mcgees. something about the outdoor space with twinkle lights in the dark, the lack of children and the steady flow of booze (what would a phs 1993 party be without tons of alcohol, haha) made for a really relaxed super enjoyable party. great to see people i genuinely liked and to see who was doing what and where, etc. fun fun times. i don't have a ton of photos but here is the slew i did manage to snap.

OH MY GOSH i almost forgot to finish the best story ever. Since this is a high school post, allow me to venture back into my archives. So, when i was in high school i was obsessed with a guy named Tom. well we will call him that for this story. Back in the day we liked each other all they way up until i was 16 and then he wasn't interested. I vaguely remember going to some luau themed dance with him that had to be after 16 but it was strange and awkward and then we never talked or hung out after that. Even after graduation i would still have high school dreams about him. well, like i had one. And then i got married and still had a dreams about this stupid kid?! i told doug about it and we laughed and how funny high school is. Anyway, 10 year reunion comes around in 2003 and i feel all weird and highschooly about seeing Tom! Doug, sophie and owen came with me so it was our whole awesome clan trekking back. This was back when Mendi and Braiden lived in LA so we all caravaned up the I-5 to Auburn. Doug is really fun to take to these things, by the way, because he doesn't need babysitting. He would talk to anyone and find out how they knew me and what funny stories they remembered about me. Plus, he's super cute so he's fun to show off. He was the perfect date. He would also tease me about feeling nervous to see this guy at my freaking 10 year reunion. So the whole party goes down at a bar or should i say in the parking lot of a bar and about an hour before it ends Tom shows up. I finally get the nerve to say hi, all cool like because HELLO i'm not in high school anymore... I'm married to a stud and we are living out our dreams in LA. Which secretly means we were crazy in debt and he wasn't shooting all that much, but no one needed to know that right? ANYWAY.... So i go say hi and Tom is SO drunk he can't even see me or figure out who i am. He finally figured it out and said, "oh! how's your brother, Adam?" all slowed and slurred. Then he clumisly poked my face and said, "what did you do to your face?" ummmmmm. wowowowowowowow!! What a super huge loser. My strange case of no closure with my first big crush was instantly shut down tight! Over and Done. Hahahaha I cannot believe I wasted dreams/sleep time on that.

So that was the big hilarious story from the 10 year.

Flash forward 10 years and life is even better than before. More kids, great work, good place in our marriage, etc. etc. Its fun to see people when life is going alright so I made the journey up to Auburn. I related the Tom story to Jason and Donna and we all laughed and laughed at how stupid the whole situation was and then i took off for the party.

Then all the stuff I wrote about in the above paragraphs happens and i see good friends and have a great time and then just as i'm about to leave the party, Tom shows up and his little entourage brings him in. I'm guessing that he's already drunk. anyway, I talk to a few more people and head down to leave and Tom comes from behind and bumps into me. He looks back and i say, hey, how are you? it's emily buck! And he comes back and the conversation that follows was what i imagine it's like talking to space alien. Full of incomplete sentences, like he couldn't focus or get things out. Then he started talking about mormons because his family and cousins are mormon and they're just everywhere and they want to take over the world and sell you stuff..... um ok.

Then he goes on a rant/confessional about how much he liked me in high school!! hahahaha "We were connected, right? you like life and i like life and we are connected!" and "i really liked you and your face it's so pure, and i really tried... i really liked you." It went on like that and then a crazy amount of other random crap. we talked about when he came over to my house to watch a movie and it was super awkward and i mentioned that one of his friends came along and he got all mad...."why you bring him up?! F** that guy!" um, you mean your really good friend that's standing like 10 feet away? hahahaha oh my gosh it was so funny.

For whatever reason his confessional was like a victory lap on that little saga. Like i wanted to high-five my 16 year old self. And then i went home and sat on the end of Jason and donnas bed and told them the whole story in the dark at midnight just like a teenager would, and we laughed and laughed some more. When I got up the next morning I couldn't have been more excited to come home to my family and my house. Back to the life Doug and I have created here in Los Angeles.

I did get to stop and Mendi's house on the way home! I love those guys. we laughed and I ate her chicken salad out of a bowl with big fritos like it was a dip. Owen got cozy with their calvin and hobbes and didn't talk to anyone until we left. Simon played with all the girls finding candy hidden around their house. They have really cute halloween decor. my boys loved it!

So these pics are full of selfies... Sorry!!

obviously not loving whatever music i had playing

you know you're in auburn when you see the naked warrior statues

Owen trying out the steps to our loft bedroom

working out to Musical Robot. Check them out on FACEBOOK, ya'll!!! They're so hilarious, you kids will LOVE them!

Jason and Donna as Musical Robot

tired simon. all done playing

super cuties

sorting out life on the back porch.

Simon making himself right at home after the picnic.

Owen and Simon eating TACO TREE!!! Classic placer high school off campus lunch.

ready to party

emily and cheyenne

emily and eric neff - we went to an OMD concert together back in the day

Ben Nettleton and Emily - we worked on a prison project together for civics class and went to folsom prison for interviews

Dan McLaughlin, me, Jill Gregg, Kim Goddard

Janine, me and Sky English - note the beer above making an appearance

My senior portrait! hahahaha

at grad night people wrote down what they'd be doing in 20 years. this is what someone, maybe Ben Nettleton, wrote for me. and he got the year wrong. Must have been a raging grad night

Mike Edwards, me and Tim Beck

Me and Lesley Bruening

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Milo and Owen riding on the country road - owen said he was afraid of getting hit. :)

Sunday Morning before i left, their old gang got back together. I didn't hang out with any of these people in high school. haha

Jason's homemade rickshaw!!

State Theater - my first date with David Prince was at this theater. my mom had to drop us off. bahaha

Mendi and I ate Mongolian BBQ here all. the. time!

corner with the hillmen sign. taco tree is right across the street!

Day after i got home DOUG got back from Georgia. happy reunion

Then the next day my awesome brother showed up for an hour or two between business meetings. my kids wouldn't leave him alone. He is now in his stake presidency in Utah and he gave doug a blessing for his back. it was so nice. I love having family come over.