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}
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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)
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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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