The Whole Family Gathering

These past two weeks seem to have flown by in a bit of a blur. When Craig and family said they were coming this summer for a visit we went into planning mode as I know they did. They had to get plane tickets, car rental, activities and tourist things they wanted to see.  We had projects around the house we wanted to finish and also plan activities around what they were doing.  The first week I blogged about the trip to the Falls and then they had their whirlwind trip to NYC, Washington DC and many stops along the way.  We chose to stay here and get ready for the next part of the trip. It had been a while since any family pics were taken and I wanted to grab the Grandkiddos for a group shot of all of them. Not always easy with everyone's work and vacation schedules but somehow we pulled it off. The weather cooperated by not raining, turning pleasantly cool and low humidity to finish off their last few days with us.  We even got permission from the family who bought my in-laws farm to let us come and tour the grounds.  It brought back tons of memories for the kids. It's been 18yrs since they were there. The family that lives there now are so nice and did a beautiful job of remodeling the home and taking great care of the property. We thank them so much for letting us invade! I won't post pics of their home since I don't want to put them out on social media without their permission.  I will post these many pics from our group photo shoot on Thursday.  On Friday my sister and Mom came to join us for a family BBQ and for Mom to see Craig's kids again.  It all turned out great and I can't believe they are all back home and tomorrow I'm back at work. So here goes:

We are missing only one member. That would be Jackie's wife Evelyn. We had originally scheduled the pics for Friday but the two oldest Grandkiddos couldn't be there so we went with Thursday. I felt so bad she couldn't be there but she understood since it's been so long between pics with all the grands together.  (my Granddog Kip made it but Arnie wouldn't cooperate!)

Jackie, Craig, Jordan, and Phil...this wasn't the final normal shot..they had to get the wiggles out first.

Boys!

They had a good time catching up and just laughing all the time.

Jackie's clan...

Craig's cuties...

Phil's girls.

A few jumped for joy when we were done!

Some cousin bonding going on here...Addy Rae and Sophie really hit it off. So fun to see them play and get to know each other better.

Mom was happy to get together with her Grandkids and Great-Grandkids.

A little cake never hurt!

The kids have grown since Mom last saw them in person!

As the evening wore on we had fireworks, gun shooting, golf ball hitting, bow and arrow contests, and riding around the Pines on the old Gator...yep, I think they had fun.

We also had icecream sundaes all around...even Kip tried to snag some from Anthony. We really enjoyed this time with everyone and we were very sad to see Craig's family head back home yesterday.  But we'll be back out to visit them and I hope they can make it East again soon.  Love my family..they are the best!

Finally, I think Arnie was ready for a little rest! Us too!

Fast And Furious!

We've been a little on the fast track this past week.  Our son Craig and his sweet family are here visiting.  I guess saying "HERE" is only partly right.  They arrived very late Tuesday/Wednesday morning around 12:30am via Columbus Ohio airport.  Wednesday we spent taking my Grands to see where their Dad went to school, our old home in town where he and his brothers grew up, and some other places that are new to Craig since he moved away 20 some years ago.  We joked that every grade school and even the junior high he attended have all been torn down to erase any memory of his having been there! Just kidding Craig! One of the places his kids were looking forward to was Cedar Point amusement park. So we trekked up there on Thursday.  I hadn't been there is over 30yrs  and we went on a super hot day.  But like true kids, it didn't matter the weather, it was still a blast. We got a bit of sun and then in the late afternoon it stormed.  We ended the day wet and tired but had fun.

Here they are..Amy, Craig, Sophie, Taylor, and Katie.

The park is huge and they got on as many rides as possible.  Only one ride had a pretty long wait and they did that one first. The last roller coaster they were about to ride got shut down because of the thunderstorm that blew in.

Katie and her pink cheeks...Taylor keeps us laughing!

A bit wet at the end of the day but still smiling!  You wet those towels and they stay cool for a while. We needed them this week!  A heat wave hit us and thankfully will be gone by Monday.

At home the kids have enjoyed getting to know the Pines since it's been a while since they've been here.  Taylor giving his best boomerang pose! On Friday we headed up North to Canada to visit Niagara Falls.  It's only about 4-1/2hrs from here.

Even though I've seen the Falls many times, it never fails to impress.  Such beauty and power.  Again we were plagued a bit by thunderstorms but we did the tourist thing and took the boat ride to the Falls.

Poor Katie gets seasick but managed to make it back OK.

Again, Taylor makes us laugh!  Saying goodbye to Canada, we hit the trail back to New York state to see a Church pageant in Palymra NY.

It's pretty impressive too! It started at 9:15pm  and went until 10:30.  After a full day of driving and sightseeing, we were ready to hit the hotel and sleep. It's here we parted company with Craig and crew and they head out for a power car trip to NYC and then on to Washington DC and other sites along the way. They will come back here on Wednesday and finish out their stay with us and the rest of the family.  Whew, fast and furious for sure.  More of this adventure to come.  For now we're just waiting for this crazy heat wave to pass.  It's suppose to be much better by Monday and I'm hoping for good weather to finish out this week with a family cookout for Friday night.  Jack and I will be resting up tomorrow! Night all!

The Grandest Marshall Ever! Happy 4th!

Someone was Queen for a day...although she's a queen every day in our book!  July 4th found me in my old neighborhood with family celebrating and honoring our fabulous country and my fabulous Mom.  She was Grand Marshall for the July 4th parade.  She shared those honors with her friend and neighbor, Mary Lou. They both have lived in the neighborhood the longest and were the ones who started the original parade back in the 50's.

Here's my sister and I at one of the original parades. I imagine we were celebrating Hawaii being a state.   There hadn't been a parade for about 10 years and my sister's daughter Amy, who lives in the same neighborhood now, decided it was time to do this again.  She organized it, raised funds from local businesses, and got the Mayor's approval.  With help from family and friends she pulled it off.

Good job Amy! She's a nurse and knows how to get things done!  It was a typical July day here, hot and humid but we had fun anyway.

Besides businesses and other organizations marching, it was great to see neighbors and kids decorating bikes, strollers or just walking in the parade like we used to back in the day.

Truly made it a neighborhood gathering and sharing and celebrating.

My niece, Katie rode along in her squad car....Check out this dog gone cutie who rode with her..her daughter, Brooke! Katie does a Dare program for the schools and this is the mascot. Thankfully Brooke didn't have to walk in the heat with that on!

It was a fun, tiring and hot day, but Mom and her friend, Mary Lou enjoyed it!

Mary Lou is 96, Mom is 93...both lovely and fun ladies! To end the day and this post, I hope everyone had a great 4th and weekend.  Jack was at Boy Scout Camp for the 30th year...more on that at another post!

We watched fireworks from Mom's driveway...Boom!