Family Reunion

I didn't go stir crazy with pictures with this family reunion. I was too busy, but it has been a wonderful and interesting experience. This is the first reunion we have ever held. We have learned a lot of lessons - just in case we ever decide to have another one. We have exhausted the kids and they have exhausted us. (I think I can express that in behalf of all the parents.)

Today Gillian and David went home. I take my hat of to them, especially, because they both made the long trek here without spouses. That couldn't have been an easy task but they did a remarkable job of holding it all together. Their kids were tired today. I hope they slept most of the way home.

Adam will leave on Saturday and Jason will leave early Monday morning. The day everyone started arriving (June 3), my heart kept beating quickly. I left work at 11:00 that morning to be here when they all started arriving. I kept saying,"I can't believe this is really happening!" And I was beyond happy! I haven't slept much in the past week because I lie awake trying to figure out details of the next day, but it has been worth the sleeplessness just to have so many family members together.

I am convinced that the more often family members get together, the better our understanding of each other will become; the quicker it will be to resolve personal issues; the stronger the bonds will forge and the individual support will strengthen. This is my wish for this fantastic, crazy family. And yes, we are LOUD! Cousins got to play with each other and got to know one another. For the most part, this was a great adventure. There were a few difficult patches but hopefully those will straighten out.

Here are a few random pictures. If you don't see your kids in one of them, it's either because I did not have my camera with me or they didn't sit still enough for me to catch them. (And I'm only posting a few.)

First day -- Park play and just chillin'.

 Eva had the great idea of having the kids follow her in a single file. She was the leader of the pack. They followed her.

 This adorable little girl was happy to be still enough to let me take her picture.

 All but two.

Second day:  From this.....

 To this!

 Ladies (including Eva) started painting the ugly brown trim on the front of the house.

 Dinner time after a long, hot day of service. There are a lot of us!

 Alyssa asked me to take a few senior pictures. We did a few practice pictures tonight. I wish I was a better people photographer. We'll see how it turns out tomorrow morning. There's smoke in the sky so I'm hoping the sky doesn't get blown out. She's definitely a pretty subject.