Family Reunion

We had a fabulous time at the family reunion!  You know, the busier I am, the less that gets posted.  I didn’t take a lot (like no) of pictures at the family reunion.  But I did a lot of visiting and eating and a little hiking and jig-saw puzzle building.

It was so fun to mingle with grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and their children and siblings and Mom!  I have the best family!

Monday was Picture day and Savannah's great parents came up to take our family photos.  They are such nice people.  And GREAT photographers.  I'll post their pictures later. Here are some candid shots Tom took. 

What was perhaps the most fun was seeing the cousins and second cousins just have a ball together.  They formed groups sort of age related and ran around, built forts, played in the play house, rode bikes and scooters, played computer games together, gathered for movie times. 

With nearly 100 people there, the only injuries were cuts and scrapes… with the exception of Tom who fell when running and really dinged up his hand and shoulder.  His ring finger swelled way up.  We tried to get the ring off.  But could not.

Fortunately we had an orthopedic surgeon in the midst who specialized in the hand.  No, he didn’t remove the finger.  But he did have to numb Tom’s hand and was then able to wrap dental tape around the finger to squeeze the swelling back into the hand and wind the ring off.  Interesting to see… but a bit uncomfortable for Tom.

He had a stiff hand most of the week. But he treated the cuts with Essential Oils and they healed up.  And by now (2 weeks later) he has full range of motion… but still a bit swollen.

We also took advantage of our great IT guys.  Ryan helped Tom understand how to use his tablet more. I was so impressed with his patient manner.  Not condescending, just clear and simple.  Cyrus worked his magic on my new laptop—getting rid of bloatware and installing more RAM.

And Daniel helped Rebecca by changing the igniters and spark plugs in her van. To read the whole story of the epic van problem read her blog.

 We took a great hike along a mud flow from Mt. St. Helen's.  I was ahead of this group. Tightly holding Sarah's and Denali's hands as we went across some trails with a drop down into the river.  Still, some places they were free to frolic. And it was beautiful!

 It was easier for me to go across this suspension bridge this time.  There are gaps between the slats, and a long way down through the gorge to the river.

All too soon it was time to say, "Good-Bye."  Friday we packed up and left. We drove home with Deborah and her children.  When we stopped for gas near Mt. St. Helen's here was this marvelous moss covered roof.

 We took the scenic bypass along the Columbia River Gorge and stopped at some waterfalls.  All the kids were troopers at climbing up to the falls, including little Christopher.

 Just some great scenery on the drive.

 When we got back to Deborah's she and Ian took off for a 10th anniversary mini-moon.  We watched the children while they were gone.  This day the kids went through the costume box.  Steven is Buzz Lightyear.  Sarah is a princess.  Tom must be a bunny.   All are having fun playing Uno.