More Reunion Photos

Okay, so I'm new at this blogging thing, and keep having problems getting all the pictures in the order I want.  Here are my last two from the reunion.  The day after the dinner, we had a brunch . . . very relaxed and more time for visiting. 

I thought it would be fun to gather up all the people there from our old neighborhood.  We all went to school together at Vista La Mesa Elementary.  L-R:  Pete Danielson, Liuba Cesena (now Lurcook), Burnell Lurcook, Burton Brown, Diane Rider, Lee Birch, ?, and me.  The woman next to me lived on a street beyond where I was allowed to go, so we didn't really play together, and for the life of me, I can't remember her name.  

Here I am talking to Burnell and Liuba.  All three of us lived on the same street.  I loved playing with both of them.  Liuba once found a baby bird and we tried to feed it a worm that was much too big to go down, so we went into her mom's kitchen, got one of her knives and cut the worm into little pieces on her breadboard.  Hmmmm!  Obviously her mom wasn't home at the time, but poor Liuba certainly heard about it when her mom got back.   Burnell and I had a fight one time on the way home from school and were going to settle things with a wrestling match.  I was sure I could take him.  As soon as I got home, I went straight to my room and put on my jeans and headed for the door.  Mom asked me where I was going, and I told her that Burnell had challenged me to a wrestling match.  Imagine my dismay when she told me there was no way that I was going to go out and wrestle him.  I told her I had to, because a bunch of kids from school were all outside waiting to see who won.  She didn't budge, and I had to go out and tell everyone the fight was off, because my mom wouldn't let me wrestle.  Those were the days.

Burnell went to work for my dad after high school, and it was great to hear how much respect he had for him.  He said that Dad was the head guy (next to the owner of the company), and when he walked into the office, you knew he was there and everyone toed the line.  He credited my dad with giving him his start in life.  It was really fun connecting with all these people again.  

Fifty Years ???

Yep!  Believe it or not it has been 50 years since I graduated from high school!!!!  We had the big reunion festivities at the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego.  I admit to being a little nervous about the whole thing . . . what if no one remembered me . . . that sort of thing.  And of course it wouldn't have taken any effort at all to get Dad to stay home, but I knew I'd regret not going, and I have to say he was really a great sport about it.  Our old school newspaper was called the Highland Fling, so in keeping with that, here's the booklet that was distributed at the reunion.  I always thought it was ironic that I graduated from Helix High School in La Mesa where we were the Highlanders, our mascot was a scotty dog, we had a bagpipe band, and our colors were green and grey.  All four of my kids graduated from Upland High School where they were the Highlanders, their mascot was a scotty dog, they had a bagpipe band, and their colors were green and white (they  really went out on a limb there and rejected the grey option).  My high school was built in 1952 and Upland's was 1955.  I'm convinced someone in Upland must have known someone in La Mesa.  
The afternoon before our big dinner dance, Dad and I went on a hike near our hotel.  

The trail ran along the San Diego River . . . hard to believe that it's in the middle of such a metropolitan area.




That night, the Helix High bag pipe band was there to play for us.  Quite nostalgic.  We all loved it.  The evening was great . . . I should have taken more pictures, but fortunately for me, Dad took the ones I have, while I was talking to as many people as possible and trying to catch up on the last 50 years.  We all agreed that it was unique to think that we had known each other at the beginning of our careers and family rearing, and now we hook up again at the other end after we've done it all and retired.
There are a few old classmates that belong to a car club and had brought a few old classic cars and parked them around the area where we gathered before dinner.
Dad particularly liked this one, since it is the exact model of the first car he ever owned . . . an early 40's Ford Sedan.  So even Dad experienced some nostalgia.

Family Reunion 2008

We finally got the whole family together at the same time and under the same roof.  What fun.  Counting our new grandson-in-law, we now number 32.  We had beds for all the grown-ups and the rest had sleeping bags.  The two teenage boys (Brenden and Landon) had their own little private den in the storage room complete with TV and video games.  We needed beds for four babies, and I was one short, so . . . Here's little Nate . . . . in his drawer bed.

On the 4th of July, we hiked around Lynxwood Lake near our home.  Here we are taking a little break while the guys tried to out do each other skipping rocks.

Hayden (David's youngest), in the lead, obviously had a place in mind that he was taking us.
Here's Ivy (Maren's) relaxing while polishing off a few snacks.
I should have taken pictures of the 4th of July barbecue which was really good, thanks to the guys, but I guess I was much too busy enjoying all that great food. 

Saturday night we had a talent show, which was lots of fun.  Here's Kerina (Bart's 4th) who impressed us with her own composition--it even has words.  She's definitely a "chip off the old block."

Here's Marie and Jarom aka Batman and Robin--a great skit, and wouldn't you know, the Dynamic Duo prevailed once again.
A Mother and Daughter Duet--Casey and Alexa.  Such concentration and not one mistake.
Along with the singing, playing, and art, Casey decided that her real talent was sewing, so when it was her family's turn to perform, they modeled the aprons that Casey had made--one for each family.  Here's Meagan with hers.
David wearing the more "manly" apron.
Maren obviously likes hers.
Hannah (Bart's oldest) impressed us all with her accuracy and technique.  Such a darling girl.  In case you're wondering about the piano--we couldn't fit everyone into that room, so the men put it through the double doors as far as it would go so we could see all the performers. Thanks guys!  Such problem solvers. 
Sunday morning everyone was ready for church and we were there in plenty of time to find seats for all of us.  Here's Landon (David's) all ready to go and waiting patiently.
Ivy and her Daddy (Andrew) also ready to go.
Bart's ready, but looks like he'd rather still be in bed.
And look at these sweet girls (Casey's) ready to head out the door.  Alexa holding McKenna, Livie, and Maya.
It was a special day for us because Bart and Marie had Grace blessed in our ward.  She is such a beautiful baby.  Poor thing--just three weeks after they returned home, she ended up in the hospital for a few days with whooping cough.  Their whole family was quarantined for 5 days.  I was talking to Andrea (Bart's 2nd who is 12) on the phone about being quarantined.  She was especially disappointed because she had plans to go to the mall the next day.  I told her how bad it must have been back in the day when people got quarantined for much longer periods.  She then reminded me that back then, they didn't have malls!  Silly me. 

Here are some of the men who stood in the circle to bless little Grace--Uncle Tim, Grandpa, Daddy, and Uncle Andrew.  Uncle Dave and Cousin Pavel had to leave right from church to get back to Utah for work Monday morning, so they missed the picture, but they were in the circle as well.
Tim and Casey left that afternoon for California, and Maren and Andrew and Bart's family left Monday morning.  I have to admit that I was too lonely to enjoy the peace and quiet.  It had been such fun--we had wii tournaments, played pickleball, and ping pong, and watched power point presentations that I had put together of the kids and grandkids growing up.  I think the grandkids really liked seeing their parents as kids--couldn't believe they would wear such funny clothes and hairstyles.  It was remniscent of all the laughing their folks have done through the years about our clothes and hair.   What a lot of fun.  I can hardly wait to do it all again.  There simply just isn't anything better than having all the family together, and I can't thank my children enough for the wonderful grandchildren they have given us.  We just can't get over what good children they are thanks to their parents.

Blogging Attempt #2

A couple of weeks after Meagan's wedding, we flew to Washington DC.  We had been there for ONE day a couple of years ago, and realized that we needed a lot more time than that.  Now we have discovered that you can't even do it in one week.  Just too many things to see and experience.  One of the most outstanding places was the Holocaust Museum.  It's definitely a "must see".  We both found it difficult to even talk to each other while we were there.

Here's Stan in front of the Capitol Building (I know,---you can hardly see him).  We got passes to go into the gallery of the House and the Senate.  What an eye-opener that was . . . plain craziness in the House.  On the senate side, there were only three or four people down on the floor besides the senator who was speaking.   What were the chances that we would be there at the exact moment  Orrin Hatch arrived to give a speech on the evils of pornography--good for him.  When he finished we left and went downstairs.  Stan, of course, had to pay a visit to the men's room, and while I was standing there alone, who should happen by but Senator Hatch.  He stopped to talk to a couple of people from the NAACP just as I approached him to thank him for the great speech we had just heard.  He was very friendly--introduced me to the NAACP folks, then we talked a little about what I was doing there and he asked where was my husband.   I told him we were on our way to NC for the birth of a new grandchild, and he got very excited and told me that he had just had a new grandchild and then gave me a hug.  We said our "goodbyes" and I was off.  By the time Stan got back, he had missed the whole thing.

We went to visit the place where they print all the money.  (If you go there, don't expect any samples.)   I always thought Stan was worth a million dollars, but according to this chart, I was wrong.  He's worth almost TWO MILLION!   
We rented a car and headed down to NC to Casey's.  On the way we stopped in at Mt. Vernon to visit George and Martha and their two grandchildren, Wash and Nelly.  

We timed it just right to be in NC for McKenna's birthday #1.  What a little sweetheart to want to share her birthday cake.  Such a cutie!    
Casey and the girls took us to see Kerner's Folly . . . a very interesting house nearby.  You can see that McKenna was really excited about the whole outing.
I think this was the "laundry room" at Kerner's Folly.  I bet they never had any girls this cute living there.
Nathan Gibb Bosley arrived in plenty of time for Grandma and Grandpa to get to spend some time with him and his family before returning to Arizona.
Casey and the girls (Alexa, Livie, and Maya) drove us straight to the hospital and we all took turns holding the new baby.  What fun!
We even gave Mom and Dad a turn.
You can tell Livie was loving her new little cousin.
Here's Nate--at home--and with his eyes open.  Do they make hair gel for babies?

Blogworthy events in 2008

Okay--After prodding me for some time, Maren finally sat me down in June and set up this blog which I assured her I would get to as soon as we returned home.  Since then, it's just been hanging over my head and obviously, I haven't done a thing.  Actually, it just seems rather daunting, and I'm not sure I can make it interesting enough that anyone will want to read it. But, here goes.    I decided to begin with what I consider the first blogworthy event this year, (leaving out our move from the Phoenix heat up to the cool and beautiful mountains) . . . 

Meagan's wedding.  Enjoy.

May 2, 2008--Meagan and Pavel were sealed in the Mt. Timpanogas temple.  They are a darling couple.  Pavel moved here from Russia with his family when he was 8.  He has such an interesting background, but best of all, he seems to love taking care of Meagan.  
It was such fun seeing "old" friends from Upland at the reception.  Here I am with the Guymons and the Harpers.  The Harpers are now having some very unique experiences while he serves as temple president in Nigeria.  Stan's not in the picture, because, of course, he was playing music with Bart.Here we are--all grown up (for a couple of us--maybe "old" is more appropriate).  Stan and Bart managed to tear themselves away for this family shot.  Maren (we were hoping she wouldn't go into labor until she got back home), Casey, me, Stan, Dave (is he really old enough to be "Father of the Bride?"), and Bart.
The happy couple with both sets of parents.  

(Event #2 to follow.)