Today's Magnum Opus

Ma mowed the entire lawn today.

Oh wait...let's make that look a little more magnumy:

MA MOWED THE ENTIRE LAWN TODAY!!!

I know I said I'd never do that again after getting dehydrated the last time, but I woke up and just felt opii oozing out of me.

First I skipped exercise and watered the garden this morning. My intended 40 minutes turned into two hours as I took pity on the red raspberries and watered them too.

(ma...ma...mag--)

Then I hustled down to the church and put in two more hours of cleaning.

(ma...ma...magn--)

THEN I took a gamble that the wheels would stay on the mower and set out to see how much I could get done.

And though there was a very tough period around 4:00--and the wheels became more and more noodley--the mower stayed in one piece, as did moi, and I managed to finish just after 7 this evening.

(ma...ma...Magnum Opus! )

The numbness disperseth from my hands, as does the ache from my legs.

*happy sigh*

Now, as long as I don't fall asleep in the tub I'll be all set...
 

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Just another Iowa sunset

Good day.

The garden is weeded again, though the grass has also grown.

Irish Tenors are singing with their lilting accents. Just for me.

Carolyn was initiated this afternoon into the the Secret Art of Bread-baking Club. It's a rather exclusive group in need of a new member, for Kendra is now immersed in work for her father the rest of the summer. If she survives, it will be off to college in the fall .

(soon, she'll be wishing she could just make bread...)

And that reminds me...with Kendra away I will have to do the supper dishes every other night! It's either that or train Trevor.

I think I'd rather do the dishes myself.

As long as I can glimpse a beautiful sunset I should survive an extra chore or two.
 

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More Holiday Exuberance

Did I forget to mention that June is also:

National...

Seafood Month

Pride Month (oh yeah, like we NEED that...)

Children's Awareness Month

River Month

Low-Carb Awareness Month

and

Pest Control Month

I'm not sure what we're supposed to DO, other than glance around occasionally and try to be on the lookout for errant rivers, children and seafood.

One can only hope that Homeland Security is keeping tabs on things.

Anyway...onward, for today is:

Camera Day

Waffle Iron Day

Pennsylvania Dutch Day (yay! my heritage :-)

Flower Day (every yard needs some)

and...

National Almond Butter Crunch Day!

Really now, what IS Almond Butter Crunch. And how did it get it's own day?

Most of us don't care, but you can buy some candy, order a mug, or even procure the sugar free type if you're a certain diabetic I know (doesn't that just look yummy, Cynic?).

Today is also the anniversary of the introduction of the REMOTE CONTROL in 1964, though as we see there were various devices developed before that year.

Moving on to people we find that June 29th is the birthday of Slim Pickens, one of the most memorable character actors, in my opinion.

Now here is someone's birthday that up until three years ago wouldn't have merited a second glance from me:

William J. Mayo, who founded Mayo Clinic with his brother, Charles. You can read a bit of history here and here.

Hurry up and celebrate, for tomorrow is Meteor Day, National Ice Cream Soda Day, and Superman's Birthday.

Oh, and Kendra will turn 18 :-)
 

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Only Eleven Days Late

But Nolan is eight.

(Apologies for the blurriness, but the flash is delayed and Ma gets all nervous waiting for something to happen)

Luckily, it took Nolan 3 tries, or I wouldn't have caught him mid-blow.
I think he was nervous, too.

Ethan explains how one wears the notebook paper wristlets he crafted just today.
We always get a "unique" gift or two from siblings.

"Winnie the Pooh!


Nolan is almost beside himself with excitement, thinking I have given him a real sword....("Yeah, in your DREAMS")
Also on the table are a hot rod car--which he really likes--and "Oh, an edu-ca-tional book."

Melinda's hand is explaining that this is a bubble sword.


Which of course has to be road tested...


...and seems to work right well.
The other younger kids got out make-shift swords or "real" plastic ones and set about popping as many bubbles as possible.

I foresee a large replacement bottle of bubble mix being bought.

Soon.

As well as another diet segment.
 

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Officialness

We didn't get a humongous group photo this time around, but here is a picture of the surviving siblings:

From left to right, oldest to youngest,

Bruce: Pastor and avid astronomer, father of eight--four boys and four girls. Lives in New Zealand so we don't get to see him as often...married to Lois.

{there was another boy, Steven, who died before reaching the age of one)

[6/29 correction: Stephen Wayne Hoyt, who was born between Bruce and Stan, lived for just over a month]

Stan: Computer programmer and renowned picture-taker. Father of eight--six girls and two boys. Stan (married to Nora) should be forever grateful that I cropped out his white socks.

Loren: Former college instructor and Fed-Ex driver, then CSA, then driver. Now officially retired but working hard on finishing up the house. Father of five boys and five girls, one boy-of-which was a honkin' 11 pounder 'cause I was there...see...but let's not get into that.

Nelda: The only sister! She is the mother of one daughter and six sons, the latter three which were adopted from Russia. Nelda is the organist for the church where her husband Walter is the minister, and she has been heavily involved in their church school.

(not pictured) Galen: deceased in 2003 and much beloved and missed husband (to Eizabeth), father of three sons, uncle and brother-in-law, etc. to the rest of us. When he died suddenly of heart problems it was the biggest shock of our lives. Galen worked at an oil refinery and now his oldest son David (graduate of LeTourneau) works at the same place as an engineer.

Mark: Oversees the high-school (same Christian school as Walter and Nelda), teaches Latin and probably any other really tough subject, married to Lauri Anne with whom he has produced four sons and a daughter. Mark has a books permanently attached to his hands.

Sherwood: Computer programmer who shares a love of baroque music with wife, Sharon. They have one boy and one girl and proved several times they can beat Ma at staying up late and talking! Also, Sherwood is to be commended for not wincing too much while I was driving to the lake.

Everyone here either is/has homeschooling/homeschooled or sent their children to the Christian school where they teach.

{And let me know if I've messed up on the info, or forgotten something--I'd want to change anything that needs correcting}
_________________

And now that the reunion is over, I realize we missed out on our only chance to take a complete family picture for the upcoming "Christmas" letter!

Bad Ma!

Maybe I'll do something creative with heads and wookie bodies. (heh, heh)
_________________

Tonight we celebrate Nolan's eight birthday, even though it technically occurred before the trip :-D

Thought I'd run out of tape so I discovered you can wrap birthday presents with the help of a mini-stapler.

I did remember to buy candles, though.

Official photos to come...
 

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Self Portrait

This is another crazy squirrel that was running around the beach at Tyler State Park in Texas.

I think it must have been used to people feeding it.

And I feel like a nutty critter, running around mowing and weeding frantically. Unfortunately, not being at the reunion any more, I have to feed myself. That's right...no more Uncle Mark making steaming hot pancakes or his famous "potato logs" for breakfast.

For some strange reason Loren has never picked up on this whole, "Honey, I'd like to help out in the kitchen," theme that I have noticed in several households.

It's just as well. We have enough potential heart problems to worry about without the kids getting up some morning and glimpsing the spectre of their father working the griddle.

Some things were not meant to be.

Must go...have to get two little boys clean. You don't want to know how long it's been since Nolan and Trevor have had a proper bath, and there is half the garden to wash off of me, as well.

We're actually planning to go to prayer meeting tonight. Haven't been there in so long they will probably welcome us as visitors.

The fact that tonight is birthday fellowship with snacks afterward has nothing to do with it...

 

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I should mention...

...Loren arrived safely home around 8:00.

He was able to fix up Sharon's car by changing the spark plugs et al (I can't remember all the names of related stuffs) but it was a tad dicey in that they were VERY old and could have just broken off when he tried removing them.

I guess it's a good thing he went out instead of me.

I would have just had her buy a new car.

 

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Done!

The lawn.

And it only took a coupla more hours (30%) than usual. Looks worse than normal but the next mowing should take care of that.

The mower wheels did not fall off, but I give them one more mowing, tops.

Loren is on his way home from Indiana and will arrive around 9:00p.m. He had to fix Sharon's car first, since it wouldn't start. Don't ask me what was wrong.

Cars are boring bits of junk that annoy me when they don't work. They are just a way to get "from here to there," though if I could go shopping in one that had air conditioning and had a trunk that opened I would not half mind.

On the plus side, since so much of the car space gets used for shopping bags, I often go alone and get to play whatever radio station I please :-D

Wonder if the heat today could explain my short choppy sentences?

I should go out and weed.

And pretty soon I have to start getting organized for the next school year and order any books that will be needed.

Oh...and quite possibly Grace College would like Kendra's final transcript....

...now, where did I put those dice....?
 

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Today's Hols

As in holidays.

Ma has been remiss in reporting June's special days, but what with the reunion and all I've been busy.

The initial crush having passed I feel duty bound to jot down a few more celebratory notes before this month is past.

Besides, I watched The Matrix with the older kids last night and apart from rediscovering what a bleary-eyed morning feels like, I am compelled to get this info out into the world before I am sucked into a tube filled with gelatinous liquid and forced to wear black sunglasses the rest of my life.

Here goes....June is:

Candy Month

Dairy Month

National Fruit and Vegetable Month

Iced Tea Month

Fight the Filthy Fly Month

(and my personal favorite)

NATIONAL ACCORDION AWARENESS MONTH!

There are other observations of course, but most of them pale in comparison to the latter-most entry.

Here's a site to whet your accordion appetite. It's more than just a big black box, folks! I've picked out one member of the accordion family that sounds particularly interesting, the bandoneón. Wonder if daughter Sharon heard any of these played while down Argentina way?

But what about June 26th, specifically?

Today is the birthday of:

Abner Doubleday

Derek Jeter (ironic, no? He's still my favorite Yankee)

and Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Also, this is the anniversary of the invention of the toothbrush and the patent of the bicycle.

And now.....I have saved the very best for last....for unbeknownst to me (until this morning, anyway) June 26th is.....

National Chocolate Pudding Day!!

Oh inescapable joy :-D

Just in the nick of time, as I was contemplating another stint of the Idiot Proof Diet.

That was close.

*checks cocoa can*

Whee doggies, there is just enough :-)

Now I'll have to get right out and mow, so as to work off tonight's dessert...
 

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Whew

Is it ever great to be clean again. Well, everything except for the right hand. I had to scrape wet clinging grass off the bottom of the mower every so often.

Just over half the lawn is mowed and it took for-ever since it was sooooo looonnngg. (think whale talk...."Hoooowwwww arrrrrrr yeeeeooooouuuuuuuu.." sorry, the kids were watching Nemo on the way down to Texas)

Cooking up the rice for supper allows just the right amount of time for a lovely hot bath. You can also bake brownies during this same period.

And if you've had the foresight to start a VHS of the Chipmunks WHILE you're mixing up the brownies, you can eat the "leftover" batter all by your self :-D

Honey, you don't get to be 48 and have ten kids without learning a thing or two about self-indulgent stolen moments.

Set-up is everything.

Excuse me...it's time to get brownies out of the oven...
 

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Sweat and Agony

Howdy hey, this is Sweaty Ma taking a mowing break.

OK, the agony part was a little over the top, but it got you to read, didn't it...heh, heh.

It is HOT out there!

*ker-CHOO*

(oh man...NEVER sneeze with a mouthful of cashews. NOT a pretty sight...)

The weather folks say it's only 83 degrees with humidity at 63% and dew point 69. Frankly, I think it's a lot, lot worse. But then, who can argue with guys in suits and cushy air-conditioned "weather labs?"

Oh, and get this...the wind chill is also 83 degrees. Now I find that terribly helpful. So much so that I'm expecting to hear about the heat index next January.

Speaking of whining, I noticed the the next field over--where I mow along the fence--has sprayed weedkiller on the corn. This is no doubt good for the corn, but there's a hefty odiferousness by the sagging wires.

As they would have said in more genteel times, "Methinks it doth make a maggot to gagoth."

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what they would have said. But I'm almost done with that section and I gotta admit, that corn does look green and snappy :-)

*slurps Diet Cherry Coke*

Zowee. Break's over and I hafta go back out...*sniff*....PLUS, I scratched my leg on a dead weed stalk. We're talkin' four inches long, blood, pain...and....and everything.

*Ker-CHOO*

I think I'm allergic to mowing...
 

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Oh, the Mow

Apparently there was rain, tornadoes and much grass growth in our absence.

No inclement weather at our place, except....the bird feeder fell over again!

Now another prong is broken off, as is the handle on the finch feeder. The feeder is easy and inexpensive to replace, but I don't know what we're gonna do about that crazy stand. It even had a guy-wire attached to the house.

But my immediate concern for today and tomorrow is that the rear wheel doesn't fall off the mower again. It is wobbling ominously but Loren said, "There's another wheel in the garage and I'm sure Jason could figure out how to fix it..."

Right about now I'm sure Jason is praying that wheel holds out until his dad gets home.

Yes, we are JUST back from Texas and already Loren is off again, running Sharon out to Indiana.

There are a couple of job opportunities she is checking out in Warsaw and Tuesday was supposed to be a day of significance. We'd thought about flying her up from Texas, but as things worked out we didn't need to and she definitely helped us by driving the extra car home.

It would have taken the little kids SO much longer to push it up to Iowa.

Thankfully, Loren was feeling up to driving today. You just never know with that guy. Yesterday he woke up feeling quite punk so I started out driving in the morning.

Quite often the mere thought of me driving is enough incentive for him to try very hard to feel better. It seems to have worked in this instance as by the time noon rolled around he was ready to take over.

Fine with me. Leaves Ma free to do crossword puzzles, nosh and snooze.

Today however, is not a free day! I was up and out the door by seven, got to Wal-Mart 30 minutes after they opened, and then to the grocery store 3 minutes after they opened, came back Ackley-way and, 1)collected and restarted the mail, 2)bought mower gas, 3)got the stuff I forgot at the BIG grocery store, came home and had most things put away before some of the kids were even outta bed.

*smirk*

The last of the three loads of laundry (begun last night) was dry and I folded up a few things so Loren would have cleanish clothes for his....*crosses fingers*....two-day trip.

I also squeezed in five minutes of Sesame Street which was WAY too short because how great is it to have two little guys snuggled up to you on the couch?

Pret-ty great, actually.

Tomorrow....Ma is going to watch ALL of Sesame Street :-)

It's so nice to be home where I can once again be involved in the intellectual pursuits that encompass my day.
 

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Like.....YO

We is home :-)

Not that we enjoyed leaving the relatives, but after long hours in the van, with Sharon driving the limo...oops, I mean Lincoln, we are glad our caravan has safely arrived.

And the other good news is...I've practically found everything I'd though we'd lost!

As in Loren's sock--it was in the bottom of his clothes bag which is lined in black, making it hard to find his black sock.

Yes, I KNEW you'd be excited!

And Carolyn and Melinda's toothbrushes were discovered when we unpacked here at home. (we could not find them at Aunt Elizabeth's house on the way back)

My wonderful Goodwill jacket was reunited with me the last time I was at Nelda's house (I must have left it there) so that's another $.99 relief. (it's not so much the money as the fact that it's irreplaceable)

And Derek found his watch. It was in his bag...*rolls eyes*
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HOWEVER, it seems we left an item or two down in Texas.

-Ethan's backpack
-Ethan's Bible (I'm sensing a theme, here)
-both Carolyn and Melinda's jackets (I know...really useful things to have in Texas, in late June)

But since Ardith is staying down for a few more days to visit friends, she should be able to cart them up and deliver them to us when she comes up for Fourth of July. (by the way Ardith, wanna come up for the Fourth of July?)
____________

However however, a few unintentional stuffs rode back to Iowa with us....

Two Redwall books:
--Martin the Warrior (hardback)
--Marlfox (paperback)

and, a pair of girl's New Balance white tennies, complete with white socks that really don't smell too bad.

I saw these sitting on the floor near the front of the van for several days, thinking they belonged to one of ours. But if I'd seen the "N" on the side, I would have known better....NO ONE but Ma or college students gets good shoes like that. (unless we find some at Goodwill :-)

So it looks as though we may have come out even, or possibly ahead :-D

But let me know who these things belong to and we can begin negotiations on their return...
 

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And then to home...

Today will be the first of the two-day trek home.

We shall be going back with an extra vehicle, taking the car we'd loaned to Bruce's for their extended stay in the United States.

Just a five hour jaunt up to Elizabeth's in OK. Seems a real shame not to harass certain people over Longview way. How often will we be in Texas? I give Ardith (who is remaining for a few more days) free rein and full authority to annoy, badger and even kick a shin or two on my behalf.

Actually, someone will be down in August to take Jason back to LeTourneau. Loren and I haven't cast the urum and thummim as yet to see who gets to go to Texas for Jason and who will head out Indiana-way with Kendra this fall.

Had an interesting discussion amongst the adults last evening on the nature of the Christian's walk with God. I'll just leave it at that since I do not excel at encapsulating two or more hours into one paragraph.

Poor Jason was out with all the kiddos and was forced to resort to a Veggie Tale on his laptop. As a reward, he got to sleep on a couch instead of the floor for this last night.

Ma has recently returned from her last walk of the trip. Counting tomorrow morning we'll have been gone 10 days and I was able to walk on seven mornings (approx. 2 miles, walking and jogging)

Hopefully that will keep me from gaining more than the alloted 4 pounds I've allowed myself, though fearsomely good food has been provided and I have indulged in a snack or....*cough*....two.

Must go. Uncle-Mark-the-husband-who-actually-cooks
(not-that-I-would-have-personal-experience) is making pancakes again for breakfast.

"My best, yet," he modestly proclaimed.

Ta, ta
 

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Thursday charades and Friday escapades

The numbers have dwindled as several people left for a church conference. That being the case, it is no longer necessary to meet and eat at the school gym. On Thursday night we gathered at Walter and Nelda's for supper and afterwards...the first game of charades!
Here is Laura Lee giving her best for the movie, "The Judgement at Nuremberg." Her team figured it out.

You just can't beat seeing a man of the cloth on his belly on the floor.
Uncle Walter had the historical event, "Creation." Walter was going for "creep" and with the intent to chop off the end...but they got it far too easily.

Our only consolation (I was on the other team) was knowing that position was not the easiest thing for Walter's knees. Small palliative, as our team lost in the end.

This morning brother-in-law Mark took Nora, Laura Lee and myself (Trevor was with me but doesn't count as a separate entity since he and I are still joined at the hip) to the GOODWILL SUPERSTORE!

It felt like a little bit o' home. I did exercise a fair amount of restraint, so as to save money for the tolls up to Tulsa.

Then after lunch, two van-loads headed over to the Brookshire World of Wildlife Museum.


Mr. Brookshire being the avid hunter as well as grocery store entreprenuer.

Carolyn with a zebra--stripes and stripes.


Monkeys "playing" monopoly.
Yeah, I thought it was weird, too.

The wild animals brought out the best in the young males.


Rows and rows of dead heads....I have a little problem with all this animal trophy business.


Outside was a playground, complete with an old 1952 Dallas fire engine.
Nolan, heady with power in the driver's seat.

Many children experience massive danger as they pretend to rush to a fire.


Hanging around Mark and Lauri Anne's house in the evening.
Ardith demonstrates the rewards of four years study in engineering.

Erin organized a scavenger hunt for the middle and younger kids, which was met with a fair amount of excitement.


The winning team's prize was a smooch from Aunt Lauri Anne, with which Ethan was more than happy to comply.

 

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It's been zooish

The family assembled in the gym around 8:00 Wednesday evening for the Talent Show.
There seems to be moderate amusings taking place.

Evan, Lindsey and Alice demonstrated the ABC song in sign language, followed by "Lord, You Are So Precious."


This seemingly sedate recorder quartet began with a stately version of Pachelbel's Canon...
...which degenerated into certain humorous substitutions, such as "Bor-ing," etc. (you had to be there, but it WAS funny--Erica was kneeling to give the others a fighting chance, height-wise)

Jonathon demonstrates his martial art work.
He and the stick both came out of it alive.

Aunt Nora read a book to the younger ones. It had been written and illustrated by daughter Lindsey...
...but all accusations of nepotism were quietly hushed up.

Esther gave her personally created ballet interpretation of a section from LOTR music.


Ryan does some of his tricksey whistling, while the audience breathes a sigh of relief that he's as normal as he is...


Grammay gave a rundown of the stateside family, from Grandpa on down.
She also gave a sweet testimony of how God has used her to touch the life of a Muslim woman from Iran.

Chris accompanies younger brother Taylor, who sang very well. I know this because some of the words were in a language other than English. This is always a sign of good music.
Seriously though, he's only taken lessons for one semester and methinks we shall hear from him again.
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This morning was zoo day. I didn't take a lot of pictures where cages and bars intervened, but here are some nice reddish parroty birdies.


The blue version


FLAMINGOS!


Albatross with strange growth on bill. Bird aficionado Stan said it was only temporary and related to the mating season....
...but if I were a female albatross I would have serious doubts about this guy's grooming habits.

Mr. Elephant, eating and stashing some hay in his tusk for an afternoon snack.


Alligator....or is it a crocodile?
Whatever he is, Ma thinks he looks sneaky. Sorta like a politician, only more handsome.

This picture is for Liz Currier :-)


Bald Eagles. Hey, I've seen these in Iowa!
The funny thing was coming up to them with Trevor...."Whew's da king of duh buhds? Whew's da king of duh buhd's?...oh, WOW! Okay, wet's go..."

This nutty parrot climbed up the fence with beak and claws, then hung from just his beak trying to impress and entertain folks.
The behavioral resemblance to people in real life is so all encompassing that it defies specific comparisons.
________________

After lunch a contingent viewed Greg Hoyt's spoof of The Matrix. I've never seen the real thing, but it looks to be centered around sunglasses, dark suits and bizarre fighting techniques.

I'm thinkin' political convention held in a sunny location.

Some of the crew went to view a Chinese Junk this afternoon, but simple and humble Ma just went back to the house and did some laundry and took a shower. And when you have around sixteen people in a house with two bathrooms, a shower slot is not to be sneezed at.
 

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Saving the Lost

Well, there is bad and good news on the lost article front.

I still haven't located my jacket--an irreplaceable number from the Goodwill store--but I may be approaching acclimation to the local air conditioning, as I was only cold once today.

I found the missing beach towel, along with the missing wet swimsuit.

From Monday. Or was it Tuesday? It's just so hard to tell anymore. It had been curing nicely in the floor of the van for....a while.

I'm not sure if finding it was good or bad.

At any rate, the suit was ripe as a frog with dirty feet but it has safely made it through the washer and even now tumbles in the dryer as Ma prepares to snort some Zicam before bed.

(these late hours are getting to this ol' lady)

This evening was the Talent Show and once again provided variety not heard of even on Jay Leno. We were please to make it through our Glenn Miller number without stopping, though it was a little dicey at one point.

Tomorrow morning is the zoo.

MORE CHANCES TO TAKE PICTURES!!

Perhaps I can get one of the kids to pose in the jaws of a lion.

Than Ma is on deck to help with lunch, which I've been assured involves almost nothing to for prep time. Lauri Anne has done hours of work in fixing this meal ahead and now Erin and I get to pop in and take all the glory for the good eatin'.

I guess I must be livin' right.

This has been a fun-loaded reunion so far, but the activity schedule looks to be more rigorous than past get-togethers.

I'll definitely need a vacation one of these days.
 



I'll try to get some pics on and a bit of commentary up tomorrow

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This morning and last night

First things first....DELORIS!! LISTEN UP! Your daughter Sharon says "Hi."

:-D

Someone thought the kids had gotten a little short-changed in the swimming venue, so three vehicles made their way out to Tyler State Park again this morning. And when you drive a 15 passenger van you are practically FORCED to haul humongous loads of kiddos ici et là.

Gave me a good excuse to grab my last Diet Cherry Coke from the fridge.

(Oh....some of you might want to quiz Stan on the "interesting" experience he had on the way out of the park...heh, heh. I believe the policemen said my vehicle stopped for that pesky red octagon)

Here is Carolyn wending her way through the water


Ryan brought along his two kayaks and took many people for rides, Trevor being one.


Uncle Sherwood demonstrates some fancy footwork as he walks on water, Derek does a simple levitation exercise and Andrew looks to be harassing someone.
In actuality, there had been so much rain that the dock was under water.

A semi-friendly black squirrel up on the beach. He didn't stay too long once he realized he wasn't getting fed.


Last evening we trekked to the Banek household for a cookout and hymn sing.

Here is Sharon visiting with Grammay. Many of the clan use that since her middle name is "May."


Walter the grillmeister working his magic in the stifling heat and humidity.


The children enjoyed a bit of the bubbly out of doors....


After the food had digested a bit, everyone crammed into the living room and adjacent doorways for a short hymn sing. Some of them I even knew.
Now, Ma doesn't wish to complain, but it was noticed that on other hymn selections, EVERY SINGLE VERSE WAS SUNG! However, on my request ("Rejoice the Lord is King"), I could not help but notice that only the first three stanzas were sung!!!

*sniff*

Nevertheless, I have decided to rise above it all and not remain bitter.

At least not for more than a year or two.

On an entirely unrelated note, it is quite possible that the will-status of certain persons now rests upon shaky ground.
 

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Nuther Busy Day

I have pictures to post but no time to post them!

Took the kids swimming this morning again at Tyler State Park.

Lunch and then some desperately needed showers....

...some more practice this afternoon and then supper...and then...

THE TALENT SHOW!!

Oh wait, first we have a prayer service at the church at 7. (calm down, Ma. Calm down)

If anyone is within two hours or so, you're welcome to visit the Good Shepherd church in Tyler for the big talent bash at 8 :-D
 

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More reunioness

Thought I'd give you a little break from all the pictures.

I went on a emergency chocolate run to Wal-Mart this morning and discovered a few interesting flavors from Lindt...

Did you know they have Ecuadorean and Madagascarean chocolate?

This whole chocolate market is getting pretty sophisticated for simple ol' Ma. I decided not to pay the inflated Texan prices and just went with the Special Dark from Hershey's. Sure it's a little pedestrian, but who can resist all that chocolate chunkiness for such a low price?

On the lost sock front, I've managed to lose one of Loren's already and the reunion isn't even half over. It doesn't help that I only packed 4 pair. (I was pretty distracted that day) So now the poor man is making due with 3 and a half, or would be if I hadn't bought another package at Wally World this morning.

Right about now you are wondering if things can get ANY MORE EXCITING.

Well let me tell you...finding Nolan's wet things from yesterday's swim in the lake was an unexpected plunge into odoriferous trauma. There's nothing like lake-sodden swim trunks which have been sitting in a plastic sack on the floor of a locked 15-passenger van for almost 24 hours.

One whiff was enough to make Ma wake up and smell the seaweed.

I rinsed them out and left them on Mark and Lauri Ann's porch, hoping their appearance would not bring down the status of these Hoyts in their neighborhood. They've worked too hard on that backyard lawn to have a nephew's swim trunks tank their reputation.

Other than that, a missing beach towel and my disappearing jacket things are pretty spiffola.

Lots of great visiting, board games, volleyball and today we even had a live video conference with the rellies in New Zealand.

A cookout at Banek's is imminent, followed by a hymn sing, so off we go....
 

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Monday Night Dancing

RELAX.


It's just English line dancing.

Someone (probably a male) suggested that all the young ladies line up for a photo op.


Taylor Hoyt, son of Mark, demonstrates some of his convivial wackiness by catching up unsuspecting Trevor and twirling him about, all the while singing "I Could Have Danced....all Night."
Taylor has one of the best falsettos I've ever heard. He's a little strange, but a nice bird...

Nolan, so aptly inspired, managed to get in his own brand of weirdness.

Here is Ardith with cousin Greg (older and amazingly sane sibling of Taylor) learning the waltz position.


Kendra rehearsing Ethan on footwork for the Patty-cake Polka.


The gentleman were given instruction on the proper way to ask a young lady to dance, and the ladies were told it was not polite to refuse.

It's a lot like pork barrel spending.

Derek and Sharon, learning the intricacies of the Patty-cake Polka.


Jonathon, son of Loren's brother Sherwood, with Carolyn.
Jonathon is only one year older than Carolyn so I guess she has some heavy-duty growing to do this year...

A larger view of the Patty-cake Polka.
Nolan wanders the periphery, either taking in the ambiance or looking for victims to trip.

Given the choice of being harassed to dance or taking video of the festivities, the choice was easy for Jason.


Nolan (OOPS! that is Ethan, as daughter Sharon corrected) and visitor Sarah adding a few unique steps of their own.


Most of my pictures of Ardith came out somewhat blurry, which only demonstrates how quick and light she is on her (little) feet.
(sorry, I'm still trying to figure out how she ended up with 6 and a half size shoe and I'm stuck with 9)

I don't know how long it was before I became aware of Trevor, parked with his ear up against a speaker....
..."Trevor...I said, TREVOR! Get away from there..."

After a consultation with master photographer Stan, we discovered my camera had had the image stabilizer turned off.

I don't suppose that has anything to do with the blurriness my indoor pictures...
 

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