Summer Tradition....Intermission (3rd post in 1 day!!!!!)

Missed me?

So Mari scored some extra computer time. I had finished a sample outfit and needed to snag Deirdre for a photo shoot before she left for a big dance competition in the Dells. We headed over the Auntie Peggy's garden and took these....

I need to do a bit of photo editing before I can get this outfit up on Etsy but I hope to have it up later tonight.

But as we were getting ready to leave, Julia and Deirdre decided to get a drink from Peggy's sprinkler....

and one thing led to another......

it's just been so darn hot around here that any way to cool off will do!!! 

Even if it means you have to squeeze out your shirt before you're allowed in the car for the ride back home!

Summer Tradition....part 2

Well Mari and I have worked out a system!! I do a post and then she gets it for the same amount of minutes it takes me to post before relinquishing the computer back to me for the next post. Seems to be working....


Shortly after the Family Picnic my Dad likes to high tail it back to Florida. Like as shortly after as possible!!! So to make sure we keep a tradition alive we made the hour long trek to the south side of Chicago to indulge in our annual ice cream pilgrimage. The ice cream on our last night together is a fairly 'new' tradition instituted on our spring break trips down to see Grandpa in Sarasota but the annual pilgrimage to 93rd and Western is at least 50 years old!!!!!

This is such a happy tradition that even my mercurial child is 'all in'!!!! Even though it was the chilliest night we've had so far this summer we were not to be deterred!!!

We snatched Auntie Peggy right out of work to join us!!! 

Guilty!! I do love my Rainbow Cone!!!!!

And the kids????

DUUUUUUUUH!!!!!!

Now after going through the pictures I notice that Julia seems to be absent...she was most assuredly present but grabbed her cone and ran for the car! In one of those typical childhood moves she had decided that Mom was crazy for recommending a sweatshirt and the combination of tank top, ice cream, and chilly winds proved to much for her! (If you look real close at the shot of me you'll find her in the shadows!!)

Good bye Grandpa!! Safe travels and keep the light on...we will be down by hook or by crook!!

Summer Tradition....part 1

Those who've known my family for awhile and those blog friends who've been following for awhile will be familiar with my next series of posts!! My strongest memories from childhood are from those events that occurred with some regularity and 'traditional' aspects. Keeping that in mind, I've tried to maintain as many of these type activities for my girls to develop comforting memories of their childhood!

In an effort to 'catch-up' to real time I'll be throwing up a series of posts today...and maybe tomorrow...depends on how long I can hang on to the computer now that I have a soon-to-be teenager in my life!!!

The morning after my Dad's 85th birthday bash, we were back up nice and early. Dragging from fatigue and heat  but motivated by the big Family Picnic reunion that is held EVERY year on the Sunday AFTER Father's Day. For the first 30-40 years it was held ON Father's Day but as Father's Day took on more cultural baggage we decided to move it to the next Sunday. This means there is no excuse for not knowing when the picnic is going to be each year!

I had several genealogical posters made and ready! Cousins drove in that morning from as far away as Cincinnati while my brother wins the distance award as he flew in from Seattle! In this picture I'm getting Terri to dredge up all the memories she had of one of our cousins who was killed in the Vietnam War.

Cousins who hadn't come in YEARS were welcomed back with quite a change in the family tree project!! Our tree now takes up FIVE picnic tables!!!! Cousins is quite the generic term in our family. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd twice removed, 1st once removed....it doesn't really matter to us as we are all COUSINS!!!

I encourage the kids to color in their names as a way to make navigating the family tree fun!

We line the newest generations up for lots of pictures.....

while the oldest generations just sit and chat! Sadly, this year my Mom and her sister were the only ones left from their generation who were healthy enough to make it to the picnic.

This year it was a touch hot for a lot of organized games so we did a lot of what comes naturally....we talked!!! Obviously there was some eating going on too. Next year will be more of the same!

FFF- U Pick

If I'm posting it must be the weekend!! Here we are on Friday again! This week is a U Pick FFF. As you may have noticed, I'm a bit challenged when it comes to  'staying in the lines'. So today let's just acknowledge that my interpretation of FFF includes the word fotoS....

#1 A sure sign that Auntie Peggy has the 'party house' in the family!!!

#2 Another picture I took!!!! Peggy's camera but I was behind the lens. Makes me sure I need to save up for a 'real' camera!

#3 My Mom getting a supportive arm from her 1st cousin twice removed...aka my Godfather.

Birthday post P.S.

Well it seems that the 5yo is feeling a tad bit slighted at not being 'featured' in the last post.....

so here is the birthday boy Ethan!!! 

Like I said....they ranged in age from 5 to 85!

Birthday, Birthday, BIG Birthday.....

Ahhhh, June the month of birthdays!!!! On my side, the 'immediate' family currently stands at 37 people. 13.5% of them have birthdays in June!!!!! The June 'babies' this year ranged in age from 5 to 85...yes, EIGHTY FIVE!!! 

Let's just keep this post sweet and simple....not short but succinct! Suffice it to say that the 5 through 39 year olds had the typical cake and ice cream gatherings.This post is not really about them. This post is about the Patriarch.

As an only child, you'd think my Dad would have had whole portfolios of baby pictures from which to chose an opening shot for this post?  Well my Dad did not come from a typical family! Seems my Grandma S was short on sentimentality and long on spring cleaning. So this shot was the first one he gave my Mom when they started dating and thus the 'youngest' picture of young Alan I could find at this point in time. I've heard rumors that another one or two of him at around 10 years old also exist...haven't found them yet?!?!?

A typical young man of his era!!!! He 'played' his parents off each other to be allowed to enlist in the Navy at the tender age of 17. After a rough couple of years fighting in the South Pacific, he came home safe and sound and scooped my Mom off her feet....well, sort of....he has a bit of deficit in the sentimentality department as well!


The only child soon found himself surrounded by children. His own children. Nine of them when all was said and done!! He did all of the things Dads of the day were expected to do. He was the bread winner in the family, often working two jobs to keep food on the table and bills paid. In all of his free time he was the Boy Scout leader for all of his sons, the bicycle repairman, the household handyman, the strong shoulders for tired little legs and most famously THE whistleman! Every child for blocks around knew when my siblings and I were being called home for dinner...his whistle still can stop us dead in our tracks!!!

So this past weekend we all gathered to celebrate the occasion of his 85th birthday! My eldest brother came from Seattle with his wife bringing a special treat for the birthday menu....

Dungeoness Crab for all!!!! 

While this is a picture of just Julia enjoying the crab, both of my girls are now quite fond of crab!!

The day was stifling hot and humid with not a breeze to be had but it didn't stop the fun! They played ladder ball and croquet.

Mari had one of the most interesting shots to play!!! 

My Mom and Dad endured the heat and humidity as well!!

We did a LOT of eating! Mari really showed how much she's growing up by pitching in on the serving!!

While the BFF/ Cousins shared a unique boulder bench to eat their dinners on.

Of course there was cake,

And singing,

And presents!! Alyssa made this clock for her Grandpa in Industrial Arts class!!!

We had the opportunity to get a bunch of family pictures which I'll try to get posted soon. It's so rare to collect all nine of us from the reaches of the country these days so we treasured the chance to record the family groups with Grandpa and Grandma! But the party had to end....because we had another big one to attend the next day!!!! The big annual family picnic for my Mom's side of the family!!! That's another whole post....

just thought I'd close with a shot I took. My brother's grandson after sampling the birthday cake. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out...maybe there's hope for my camera skills????