Family Reunion

So, my mom, a genealogist, loves to get the families together. My grandfather had a brother with whose family we regularly get together. Loren and Dutch were probably the most approachable of the 5 siblings of that generation. The weekend was beautiful and we really had a great time.

Niece #7 out of nine and Auntie.

 The girls on the tandem... this is often used to travel from the Cabin Haus (below) to the tent sites across the pond. Its really a little lake, about 5 acres and is the focal point of the property... well, besides the house!

 My dad built the cabin with some help with various members of the family, his dad being one. This end of it is the original cabin. The rest of the house ( to the left of the large tree in the above photo) is a modern addition designed by my dad years after the cabin part. They retired here about 15 years ago.

 The porch is the summertime hangout. It looks out over the pond, picnic area and fireplace. Here two outlaws get acquainted.

 Soon after everyone arrives the dogs are let out to play in the pond. They get in the water and chase sticks. I don't know why dogs are such a part of the Cabin Haus experience but every one's dog is welcome. Two chocolate labs, Mocha and Copper, start off the stick chasing in the refreshing water.

This is Ginger, one of my sister's dogs. She smells pretty bad but is so sweet and has such heart. My daughter and I took her on a 60 mile hike through the Adirondacks a couple years ago. She was a trooper!

Here my little grandson gets up close with Copper. Isn't he cute!? (the baby...)

This is one of my mom's dogs, Lucy. Niece #9 holds her here. A couple days after the reunion, she lost her first tooth. A milestone! (not for the dog...)

 Neice #6's dog has been dubbed "Copper Phelps" in honor of the Summer Olympics XXX.

 The swing on the huge pine tree next to the porch is a big part of reunion day! This is a cousin's grandaughter.

So are some of the decorating still lives in my mom's house. She has a real knack for decorating. Above are items from my Great Grandfather's pharmacy. Below is her hutch with lots of neat things inside!

 The montage below is a history of 6 generations of women in our family. My daughters and nieces are on the bottom, my sister and I are next up, my mom is third from the bottom on the right, them my grandmother and great grandmother. This far back I knew, but it continues with descriptions of each woman and events from her life.

The note next to my great great grandmother says 

Louvina Booth Kested   

"Adelia"  

1854-1930  

 Married 

Frank J Kested   

  

Children  

William Lancing*  

Sarah Ann  "Satie"

The asterisk denotes direct our direct ancestor. William Lancing was my great grandfather, the pharmacist.

 Outside the picnic begins with a table groaning from the dishes made with love and pride from each family. My cousin, brother and husband manned the grill.

 These are touted as the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I have to admit... they were VERY good! My mom hid two of them in the kitchen so she could savor them later over a cup of coffee!

 "Oh yeah, I'm all over this..." (My grandson!) He loved the noise, activity, kids, swimming, and the cardboard house.

Here's the house... the new stove for the apartment was delivered in it and it took a beating all day! After awhile, doors and windows were cut in it. 

 Darcy saved something special to share with Grampa. It is a tiny gramophone in a case. My dad collects old players but  had never seen one of these. It is from the 20s or 30s and is a tiny picnic record player. So cute.

 All the parts, not the records!, fit into the little box and it cranks up to play.

 We listened to a couple records and they sounded pretty good!

 Then came the 'meeting' part of the reunion. My mom made up a 'quiz' to see how much we knew about the family. Questions included: (I'll add them when I get a copy!)

 Here's the gathering, about 45 strong throughout the day. The fire pit awaits the campfire/s'mores when it gets dark.  After we took the quiz, it was off to one of the main events: the Horseshoe Tournament!

 My cousin, Rocky (he and I were famous fishing partners when we were kids), was the referee and scorekeeper. He did a great job, planned for awards, and made the difficult decision of who won the last point... it was about 1/4 inch between shoes that determined which team won the trophy.

 Here's my dad eying the stake... he's not a bad horseshoe-er!

 This is the peanut gallery; my mom's cousin and her husband. They built a business selling John Deere tractors and other farm equipment. One of their grandson's name's is William John Deere!

 Sunday morning those who were left gathered on the porch to finish off some leftovers and say goodbyes. The dogs were all underfoot and kids were playing on the steps and were in and out the door. We hung around, and hung around, a storm came through, we watched some Olympics... and drove off down the road.