BRENDAN AND HANNAH:
Brendan is not a sun-bather, but you can't tell in the picture that he's in the shade. It was in the 90's just about all week, by the way.
We were babysitting our niece and nephews for the first weekend (over the 4th) and Hannah (adult on left) is holding Andrew, standing next to Ellie.
There was a lot of pool time (did I mention it was 90+ degrees!). Brendan and a few others tried to stand up on a raft. It didn't really work...
Hannah was the designated photographer, so there were really no more pictures of her:)
On to our kids. Again, I didn't really mean to do our family first!
LUCY:
Lucy spent a lot of time reading...We had a family quiet time out by the pool, and enforced it for the kids as well so they would let the adults read for awhile. Fortunately, they like to read.
Lucy built an airplane out of blocks, and said the small cylinder blocks were water bottles for the passengers.
She spent a lot of time in the pool, and no she never drowned. But people kept wondering about her:
While the family was playing baseball, Lucy opted to walk the stone path in Grandma H's herb garden.
Hanging out with Brendan. He is wearing Emily's sunglasses.
Lucy was the only one to successfully stand on the raft. She actually made it all the way up while my camera was processing this picture.
Arts and crafts during rest-time in the living room.
Reading on the floor of the garage while we all went out to watch Grandma ride a motorcycle. She didn't really watch, she just read.
GENE:Gene spent most of his time playing sports, swimming, or hanging out with other people. He is not at all shy around family, and buddies up to all the newbies.
He read with everyone during poolside reading-time...
He spent a little time doing math, figuring out with bead how many pages he'd read so far for the library Summer Reading Program.
He was the self-designated ball-boy for the water basketball game.
Was so excited to play baseball with the fam.
Really enjoyed learning to play ping-pong with Grandpa, and even played doubles with some of the Aunts. What wouldn't be attractive about a game that involves a ball??
JANE:
Jane had a good time over the weekend. She loved to be in the pool, and hang out with people.
She didn't take many naps, but one day she crashed... Why do kids not believe you when you explain it's too hot to use a blanket? Especially a winter comforter! The house was air-conditioned, but not that much!
She LOVES this yellow floaty tube.
Jane got a lesson from Aunt Bekah in the world of fashion magazines. And notice the fashion Jane is sporting...
She built a random tower on the back porch.
The steps of the pool are a favorite play space. And get nice and congested when everyone is getting in and out:) Sometimes the girls bring out all the pool toys and arrange them nicely right around the edge of the steps, making it fairly difficult to enter.
Trying on someone's hat...must be Aunt Bekah's!
Here we go...
Squirting Grandma.
STAYCATION VISITORS:
Ben, Ellie and Andrew VanderVeen. Cousins to my kids, get along well with them. Not so sure about the rest of the family, though! Pretty shy and overwhelmed with the crowded house and pool area. Good thing the house was large...Ben was a master at hiding from the adults and had a fairly good time with new toys and books around. Ellie went everywhere Jane went, and spent a fair amount of time in the pool. Andrew stayed firmly attached to my hip, and was perfectly content to not be put down. He napped well, ate well, and didn't seem to mind being there.
Bekah painted Jane and Ellie's nails- they ALL loved it:)
This is a great picture of Andrew, but it is misleading. He didn't actually like to be in the water:)
AUNT LINDA:
My dad's sister Linda came to visit for one day. She drops in now and again to family get-togethers, and we enjoy having her!
AUNT PAT and UNCLE DAN:
My mom's sister and brother-in-law spent a couple nights...they are always fun to be around.
RICK and DEBBY:
Great job hosting this hoopla! There weren't any major hitches, and everyone was bedded and well-fed. Nobody got sunburned (too badly) or eaten alive by bugs. Good job Mom and Pop!
Mom rode on Craig's (see further down post for details) motorcyle, but it was WAY too hot for that jacket!
Pop enjoys having someone play piano so he can sing along...and Emily is definitely the one to do it! She's the only one of us who can really play without stopping to figure out every other note.
BEKAH and MIKE:
They joined us for the second half of their stay in Michigan, before continuing on their trek from Boston to New Mexico. They're halfway through their military commitment, and will stay 2 years in NM. Then where, and doing what? I'm so curious, and hope they'll end up here, of course!
Bekah and Jane, the two curly-girlies.
And from the back:
Mike and Janie. I think he likes to share his sunglasses with her...I think we got a matching picture last year of the two of them...
Mike tried a flip in the pool. His first ever, so he claimed. And he didn't do too badly...
A family dinner outdoors. See Bekah and Mike (front, right) and all of the those other people? Oh, middle left is Emily's long-time friend Meghan. She came just for that one dinner.
Bekah played baseball sporting the newest spring fashion... Running skirts are in, maybe baseball skirts are on the way:) (You looked cute, Bek!)
EMILY and PAUL:
Emily flew out from California to spend almost a full week here! Yeah! It's been ages since we've hung out for that long with her. And her "friend" Paul flew in a few days later. First time he'd ever been to the Midwest, and first time we'd all really seen him and Emily together. They're definitely a fun couple.
The kids and I picked Emily up from the airport...she took this picture herself...
We walked to the park after picking her up, to get the kinks out...
Then we went to Mom's and hung out at the pool, of course!
Emily really impressed all of us with her diving ability. She used to dive a bit when she was a kid, but to remember it years later is a feat. She did front, back, flips, twists, swan...I don't exactly know the lingo. Can you tell that I didn't dive?
I think Emily and Lucy could be kindred spirits someday. They both have that creative streak...
And here is Paul. He plays guitar (that's how he and Emily met, she answered a Craig's list ad for a drummer in his band) is learning piano, knows how to cook, and is an all-around nice guy.
He and Emily decided to chicken fight against nobody one day...they dominated the basketball game (I think, I mean they were really tall right?!).
Emily treated us all to a family sing-along of random songs she found in the house piano books.
And here she is, one of my favorite sisters...Yes, that shirt is interesting. She swears they understand it in San Francisco...
The guys had a couple random diving-for-rings contests. I think they're discussing the rules in this shot:
Paul was not as successful as Lucy trying to stand on the raft.
KATE and CRAIG:They came a few days later than Emily, but well in time for the 4th. They've been dating for a while, in Chicago area, and you'll have to ask them how they met. I think it was through a Catholic dating site, but I could very well be wrong. Needless to say, they live close to each other and make a good couple. Craig rode a motorcycle here while Kate drove, and they made it safely.
From the looks of these pictures, Kate was busy...
Basketball (maybe just passing the ball back to one of the guys?)...
Baseball...
Ping-pong... Maybe Kate has more in common with Gene than she thinks!
I guess Craig zonked out at one point (we all stayed up REALLY late every night) but I didn't take this picture. Kate? :)
Dining with the happy couple...
That is the end of this post. Really long, for being relatively short of words. To summarize, a good time was had by all.
No comments:
Post a Comment