We were up early this morning all excited about the family reunion!
I drove us over to Quadville where we picked up HALF of the Quad Squad!
When Amber asked me which ones I wanted to take - I told HER to choose!!!
She chose Trystan because she is the GOLDEN child!
She adapts to every situation!
She also chose Kailey because she knew she would not stray far from Granddad!
We took the double seated chair and it served them well with two hard chairs used as tables for dining! Both girls ate well and had chocolate cake for dessert!
There was a clothes change after that!
It is a good feeling to be among family.
My sister, Deanie, and Mother in the background.
Deanie, my brother, Lonnie, and his lovely wife, Michele!
I don't get to see Lonnie often. He has had a few health issues lately but, thanks be to God, he is doing better!!! I love Lonnie. Everyone does.
My one regret of this day was that I did not get a photo of all of us together.
photo courtesy of Michele's Facebook page
This is Lonnie and Michele's granddaughter and Deanie and Charlie's grandson!
photo courtesy of Michele's Facebook page
It's wonderful to have CHILDREN at Family Reunions!
Mother and my cousin, JD, and his angel of a wife, Rachel.
Other than my siblings and Mother, I never see any of my cousins other than at the October Whitfield Reunion! Few of them are on Facebook and we just have no 'connection' through the rest of the year.
My sister, Nita, and I!
Deanie and I talked about her in the kitchen with some of the other cousins!!!!
We said we think she walks on water!!!!
Thanks to Nita and Deanie, our mother has a wonderful life!
I just show up at the beauty salon every Friday!
It was a good day.
We did a little nature walking.
Kailey was happy to scoop up a cup of ice.
It's the little things that make us happy, isn't it?
We walked down to sit and look at the water.
photo courtesy of Michele's Facebook page
We meet the first weekend of October at Cedar Hill State Park, alternating from Saturday to Sunday every other year.
photo courtesy of Michele's Facebook page
We had small children, young children and some middle schoolers and a couple of teens!
This is Andie (Deanie's granddaughter - remember her dancing in her school's talent show?) and Nathan, another GRAND son!!!
Then there was the magical chocolate covered marshmallow pops!!!
Kailey managed to eat the eyes and mouth off of hers after I took this pic.
It wasn't an easy task!
Even Mother loved them!!!
I loved the prayer my cousin, JD, prayed before our meal this afternoon.
Sometimes we take family for granted.
It's true that Mother and her children are a clan; Aunt Irene (deceased now) and hers are a clan; Uncle Truman (now deceased) and his are a clan. The 'clans' come together once a year. Do I know everyone? No.
I still think it's important to keep 'family' in our lives as much as possible.
I am thinking of hosting a Family Reunion next June for all of MY siblings and their children and grandchildren. It may well be time to step up and bring some family gatherings together - other than at funerals and weddings. Louis Dean and I are doing some serious thinking about how we want to spend the next 10 years of our life and WHO we want to spend it with and WHAT we want to be doing! Who KNEW we would be having such deep thoughts as we sat in our gazebo tonight and talked about our future?
I LOVE Trystan's LAUGH!!!
All too soon the party was over and it was time to head home. The girls napped for the first 45 minutes and then babbled the next 45!
We made a stop at 'MeeMaw and Granddad's' house so the girls could see Maggie!
A good distraction and an opportunity for a little roaming around and stretching their legs!
They have really missed her!
They are just precious!
We searched the whole house over for Maggie and finally found her under a dining room chair.
We took Kailey and Trystan home to Mommy and Dada and Lolo and Harrison.
We arrived there at 9:00 this morning and returned at 5:00.
It was a very good day!
A good day and a special, unique day for everyone! Y'all are the best grandparents!!
ReplyDeleteIt's almost surreal to hear you ask them questions and they answer you! They aren't babies anymore.
ReplyDeleteJoe and I talk about where we want to be in 10 years also. As you get older, it's something to talk about.
Families are wonderful. I'm so glad I have mine. Looks like you have a wonderful family also. And we should get together sometime besides weddings and funerals.
What a wonderful and blessed day! I love the picture of Trystan with the marshmallow pop! It was a stroke of genius for you to have Amber choose which two would go, and of course she made the perfect choice. Do they have any pets? If not, then Maggie is even more beloved by the Quads!
ReplyDeleteI think you are the perfect person to host a family gathering Linda, I am sure come the summer we will be reading about a wonderful get-together organised by you, ably assisted by Louis-Dean! X
ReplyDeleteso they were twins for a day and it looks like everyone had a great time with them. and I am betting Amber had a good time with her twins... your mother is so blessed to have your girls to take care of her... i miss our family reunions. everyone is gone on to heaven now except for 4 of us cousins.
ReplyDeleteLinda, That was a fine time for all. It is good to get together with family. Looks as if everyone enjoyed the time. Blessings to all, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, family reunions are so special. You did a great job of organizing the affair. Looks like all had a fabulous time. Those kiddies are growing up so fast. Happy Sunday...
ReplyDeleteO, I love love love family reunions.. we always had one every year but as the older ones died off, and cousins live hundreds of miles away, the reunion was dropped somewhere along the way. My cousins are all in East Texas, old and don't like to travel....Mr. Sweet's has very few cousins left...Sad Sad !
ReplyDeleteSure glad you had so much fun.
Sounds like a wonderful day. I know those Grands just love their time with you and LD. You guys are such amazing grandparents. Our family used to do reunions but then after my Great Grandma passed, we all just stopped. I miss them too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day you had! The girls are adorable ~ love that laugh. You and your sisters are all beautiful! Glad your mom was able to attend. My mother was one of 9 and family gatherings were just wonderful! It's sad that we, as the kids and grands, don't get together. Life is too short!
ReplyDeletexo
Pat
How lovely to have an extended family. I have no brothers or sisters, so that cuts things down a bit. In this fragmented age it's even more important to value family.
ReplyDelete