The J. Earl and Leona Packham children family reunion took place in the Yucatán Peninsula--on Feb. 8-12, 2001.
Our Church history sites trip to the Nauvoo area in 2007 was so much fun that we wanted to get together again, and after our mission call to Mérida, Lynn & Louann and Naida said they would like to come here. Lynn had come through these Mayan sites 30 years ago on his return to the States from Panama where he was stationed, so he wanted to show Louann how special they are. Neither Louann nor Naida are comfortable with Spanish, and Louann had received many warnings about food in México, so they were very brave to consider coming.

We met them at the airport in Cancún on Monday afternoon--after waiting for about 3 hours while airport personnel dealt with a planeload of 800 Russians (since almost no one spoke Russian). We sympathized with Kathy from British Columbia whose group had left her and she had no way to communicate with them.
We saw other people eating at this outdoor restaurant, so though it would be a good place to start our adventure. Each time we ate, we chose little places that had Yucatan food like sopa de lima, panuchos, pollo en relleno negro, chuleta de res a la mexicana, pollo con chicharros, tacos with chorizo y papas and flan for dessert.
Our day at Tulum was sunny and warm, so we all had pink necks, but the archaeological site and the view of the Caribbean were worth the waiting and the walking.
Louann loved the color and the feel of the Caribbean water. Lynn liked the ruins, Louann liked the plants and iguanas, and Naida kept up with us. Instead of seeing the last ruins, we were waiting for the little train to take us back for our baggage, when we saw Limhi Petlacalco and Ruth Davila. Limhi told us of many interesting details of Tulum from an LDS point of view--the sun rises on the 6th of April in perfect alignment with the doorway of this building at Tulum--

and showed us a representation of the Tree of Life from Izapa, Chiapas, which was our souvenir from this trip. The figures are identified as in the Book of Mormon.
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We did a lot of bus riding, which gave us talking time and even some resting time before the next activity--dancing at Santiago Park to the music of the 50's and 60's.


Wednesday morning we toured Mérida on the gua gua, where Lynn found a friendly expatriot who wanted to talk. Eventually Lynn brought the conversation around to family history and gave Stan his email address.
We saw the history of Yucatán depicted in murals in the Governor's Palace (see man being created from corn as the Popol Vuh tells) and then came back to get ready to attend a session at the temple. Lynn's picture is just perfect!

It is very special to be with siblings and appreciate the family feeling in the place that is closest to heaven on earth. Uncle Nolan and Aunt Barbara reminded me that surely our parents would want to peek in at us from the other side of the veil. We hope they are happy with how we have grown up and what we are doing.
Louann felt she needed to climb the Templo Grande at Uxmal , so she and Lynn went clear to the top where they could see us WAY DOWN below, but they thought the effort and the construction at the top were worth the climb. The tour company fed us dinner, and then we came back in the evening for the light and sound show. The story might not be historically accurate, but the lighting effects were beautiful.

We said hasta luego the next day when the tour company picked them up for a trip to Chichen Itza, a cenote and then on to their hotel in Cancún before their flights left on Saturday.

Lynn sent some pictures and Naida sent a CD in March when Rosie came, and it was fun to remember our good times. The hours we spent together were few, but the pictures and the memories will last a long time. I appreciate these precious times with family, perhaps because they are so few and far between, and I know that the sealing power of the Priesthood will be of effect for us and for our families eternally if we choose correctly and love our Lord and Savior.