Reading? I can do it with my eyes closed!

The Latest Styles

Two and a half years and counting, and no scissors has yet touched her silken curls.  They're too much fun the way they are, I guess.

Recently NS set a record for leaving ponytails in (granted, most of the time consisted of a nap in the car).

And just a month or so ago she became the first of her generation to claim the Horatio Hair title (named after a messy-maned stuffed lion).  That's a challenge, you little bed-heads!

What We've Been Up To

The way I talk, you'd think I never lift my nose out of the garden or the canner.  However, our family has had some other fun this summer. Here's proof, in no particular order.

Sporting sunglasses

Picnicking with cousins

Visiting great-grandparents K

Roughhousing with cousins, aunties and uncles

Taking the stage with cousins

Jamming with uncle Z

Camping out with cousins

Taking Our Places

At a recent reunion, my Mom, her ten siblings, their children and their grandchildren formed a spiral, standing in order of appearance in the family.  Tall, short, gray, and towheaded, we took our places, centered around numbers 1 and 2, empty chairs representing my late Grandpa and Grandma. Mom was #30; I was #37, and my daughter numbered 114. The total number of family members is projected to reach 127 by the end of 2010.

A slide show of my great aunt's photographs with narration including excerpts from Grandma's diary gave us another peek into the past.  Mom and all her siblings posed in imitation of a photo of Grandma and Grandpa, aged 40 and 41, surrounded by their 11 children, ages 1-18.

Next, they all found nieces, nephews, grand nieces, or grand nephews nearest to the age that they were in the original photo, substituting themselves with the next generation.  Two of my cousins represented my grandparents.

Wedding Celebration

My younger sister H got married a couple weekends ago. It was the second family wedding my parents hosted in six months--and, hopefully, the last for a long, long time.

On Friday night friends and family gathered around the groom's infamous giant sub sandwich.

During dinner there was a poignant reunion with my newest nephew and his family, who arrived from afar.
L-R: Mom, Dad, groom, bride

After months of hard work on groom M's part, the Cricket waited at the ready to whisk the couple away on a three-week honeymoon.



Groom M wowed the crowd with his ingenious pyrotechnics after dinner.

On Saturday, the most recently wed couple in the family helped us inject fun into family photo time by showing up en mass wearing bright green T-shirts to match the getaway car. After the prank snapshot, we shed them quickly, due to the intense heat. 

L-R: Nephew N, Mom, sister-in-law A, Dad, brother D

The pranksters (older sister C and husband D):

Yours truly with NS and CP:

Oldest sister G (who would start chemotherapy four days later), brother-in-law M, and trio of sweetness:

And of course, the couple of the hour, M and H:

The winsome wedding ceremony took place in a hilltop meadow before sundown.

Bride and Mom conferring at the reception:

Twins' salute:

Mulberry Season: Hand-To-Mouth

Zip Trip

We made a last-minute visit to Dad and Mom's place this weekend. We devoured a whole strawberry pie plus a birthday supper of homemade pizzas and brownies by CP (accompanied by the customary treats: salad, olives, potato chips, and ice cream).  N helped Grandma and Grandpa pick me a colorful bouquet for the occasion.  They also collected eggs, played with lace (draped over N's aloha shirt, they looked more like leis) and played soccer (a.k.a. "básquetbol"). Some car checking, window washing, singing, and plenty of conversation found its way into the short weekend.