This past weekend we spent a lot of time and money dealing with the little creatures that decided to hitch with us from Nola– meaning we had to basically bomb our apartment with chemicals to get rid of the beg bugs. It was the worst! And it definitely put a damper on an otherwise amazing family trip. I’m hoping we got all the little bastards, but we’ll be doing another treatment in a couple of weeks just to be doubly sure.

I know that there are many pagans out there who are all about not killing bugs, but I’m not one of those people. Not for bed bugs. Those suckers are truly awful, and excuse me, they are taking MY blood, which I need thank you very much.

The Duhe Family

Anyway, I promised I would share some of the pics from our super fun, amazing family reunion in New Orleans, and I aim to please. So! Two weeks ago Kourtney and I, along with my mother and grandmother and cousin, flew to New Orleans for our Duhé family reunion. I don’t carry the Duhé name, but I do carry their blood in my veins, from my mother’s side of the family. We trace the Duhé line back to two brothers who moved from France to Acadia (French Canada) before making their way down to Louisiana. They mixed with slaves (awkward) and then, down the line, Gaston Duhé married Brigette Leche, and they had six children.

Duhe Reunion 1995

One of those children, Ollie Mae, was my great grandmother. The descendants of those six children get together every two or three years for a family reunion. This has been a tradition for our family since probably before I was born, and I cherish each one I’ve been lucky enough to attend. I know there are people out there who dread their family reunions– I look forward to each and every one! Who wouldn’t love hanging out with their cousins from all across the country for a fun-filled weekend eating delicious food and exploring a town they’ve maybe never been to before?

Duhe Reunion 2013 in Portland, Oregon.

Because our family lives all across the US (and some outside the US now), our reunion is hosted in a different state every couple of years. And make no mistake, these are pretty well attended events! Our 2013 reunion in Portland, Oregon had about 70 people! This year we decided on New Orleans only because we still have family that lives there, but also because that’s where our family origins are. It was really cool to go and visit the home state of my great-great grandparents. Plus, this year we expanded our reunion to include the the descendants of Jean Leche, who was Brigette’s sister. So in addition to the Duhé family, we also had the Schnyder family. So this reunion was well attended (about 200 people this time around!) and SO FUN. Here are some pics, that really do not give it justice: