23 Dec
Celebrating 50 Years for My Grandparents
I stepped off the plane in Washington last Wednesday and the next day life started moving at a million miles an hour. Both sets of grandparents live within an hour of each other (and my parents live in the middle), so when I come home I get a lot of family time in.
My mom’s parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this December so we spent a few days last week celebrating with that side of the family, a bit of Christmas before Christmas if you will.
My two days of family time started with a trip to my former elementary school to watch a few cousins sing. It was all exactly the way I remembered it. The same lady is still leading the music!
This little photographer wanna-be cracked me up. He snuck up to the front for every number and held the camera high over his head to take some pictures. I wonder if any of those pictures turned out? I hope my kids are this enthusiastic about taking pictures.
You can spot one cousin grinning at me in the left photo, third from the left on the back row, and the other wearing a blue shirt completely dedicated to the song in the middle of the frame.
Later that evening 6 of my greandparents 7 children, their spouses, and a few grown-up grandchildren (like myself) got together for dinner at Applebees and a night with Manheim Steamroller.
Grandpa.
My funny mom.
Grandma and Grandpa were presented with a triptych of photos my mom took. They loved it.
I snuck a few photos at the concert. The graphics were cheesy but the band definitely knew how to rock out. The woman who played the recorder was my favorite.
My great-grandma. Isn’t she darling?
Is it weird to take a picture of your uncle’s bum because you like his wallet?
Harvest is over but the packing shed is still running full-time so my dad is still working crazy hard. I won’t tell whether he made it through the entire concert with his eyes open.
My grandparents and their kids (minus one brother). I’m not sure what that peace sign is all about.
The sisters. Our family gatherings are pretty crazy, as you can probably guess from a photo like this.
When you own the camera you don’t get your picture taken very often. I look so different in photos than what I see in the mirror!
My parents. Love them!
The happy couple, still smiling after 50 years. I hope TH and I are just as smiley 49 years from now.
This family gathering we went a little fancier than usual with gouda, brie, and blue cheese, along with our usual snack of cheddar.
My aunt and her family are selling potatoes (they started selling them out of Target parking lots) so baked potatoes were the main dish that night. I took this picture after everyone had already eaten!
Because these grandparents are dairy farmers they always get gift boxes of cheese/meat/crackers which they share with all of us.
That darling great-grandma you saw pictured above makes the best cookies. The chocolate chip are my favorite.
The adults gathered around the dining room table.
While the teenage boys took over the video game consoles. The teenage girls? They tucked themselves away into different nooks and crannies throughout the house for some girl time.
The youngest kids? They took over the racquetball court (yes, my aunt’s house is the coolest ever) to play a game called “butt ball”. To play you throw the ball at the wall, and then you (or someone else) tries to catch it when it bounces back. If the ball bounces off you in any way you have to run toward the wall before someone else picks it up and throws it (at the same wall you are currently running toward, I found it a bit scary). If the ball reaches the wall before you do you get a b, then u, then t, etc etc. I liked it!
I joined in for a few rounds to try to burn off some of the chocolate chip cookies I ate, with strict warnings that my belly was off limits and no craziness around me would be tolerated.
When I stepped off the plane two days earlier I told my mom “I still don’t feel like I look pregnant”. What the heck was I thinking?
I handed over my camera to a responsible cousin while I played and asked her to take pictures for me. The portraits that resulted crack me up.
I snuck home with my dad shortly after this and collapsed into bed after two full days of family fun. Don’t mind the water spot on my chest, as my belly grows so does my chest, and I’m a bit clumsy in my new body. The little kids definitely got a kick out of it.
Now that Christmas is almost here I think I’m ready to do it all over again.
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
I love family time. I’m missing it so much this year. It’s the 5th Christmas in a row I don’t spend in France and my family is having the huge Christmas reunion (every other year, all of their 8 kids and the grandkids aka my cousins that comes with it), I’m the only one missing.
I had tears in my eyes when my grandfather told me he got a Skype address and that we’ll set up a “meeting” so I get to see everyone.
You’re lucky to still have your great grandmother, that’s a rare gift. Your grandparents look adorable, and like you I aim to be like mine who loved each other 50 years and on.
Your dad asleep is a fun one too.
Anyway, love the pictures, the ones by the cousins are so much fun and that picture of you with the ball made me smile.
Have a Merry Christmas with your family and TH.
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Kelli Nicole Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
It’s lucky that you still have your grandparents too! Out of four I only have 1 left. That’s so cool that you have all of them PLUS a great!
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Cécy Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Well, my grandfather passed away 5 years ago, but I still feel so blessed that I grew up with him. And I met 3 of my great grand parents. I hope we have children early enough so they have the same experience I had.
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Kelli Nicole Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Oops, I meant Jenna, it’s lucky for Jenna
. It’s lucky for you that you have so many though as well! One of my grandpas died when I was 2 and another when I was 7. And Cecy, wow, you met 3 of your greats, that’s awesome. I hope my remaining grandma can hold on long enough to meet some of my children.
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Cécy Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Ah ah, yeah I figured out after I posted the answer that you meant if for Jenna. By then it was too late to erease it. Oops to me.
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It just looks like you’re having the best time.
You’re also very lucky to see your grandparents hit that milestone. It’s pretty amazing! I can’t imagine how it will be - I can only hope to reach that one someday!
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2I’ve always loved giant family gatherings like that - we used to have them when I was young, but over the years as more people have moved (both physically and emotionally) they’ve died away. Its kind of silly, but that’s one of the main reasons I want to live nearby my siblings when we grow up - I want my kids to have a house full of family during the holidays. It’s just such a great feeling.
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3That looks like so much fun!
I am really happy that I’m able to spend Christmas this year with my family as last year my grandparents were snowed in on the west coast and couldn’t make it. I don’t have as many aunts/uncles/cousins but we’re just as crazy!
A very Merry Christmas to you, TH and your family. God Bless!
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4Oh how gorgeous. Love the photos, as usual. Isn’t family wonderful! Merry Christmas!
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5I LOVE family time. Especially when you can let loose and have a goofy fun time!
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6“butt ball” was called “red ass” back in the day. Gawd I loved that game
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7That was a veeery popular game on the playground when I was in elementary school. We called it wall-ball, and it was played with a tennis ball on the outside brick wall of our gym during recess. Instead of getting letters until you were out, you got pegged (as hard as possible) if you didn’t beat the ball back to the wall. Kind of a brutal game.
Your family is all so young compared to mine! My grandparents celebrated their 70th anniversary before my grandfather passed away in 2002. They were both almost 95 when they died, born in 1907 and 1910. My dad’s folks also celebrated 65 years of marriage before my grandfather passed away a few weeks ago. Heck, my parents are already almost to 34 years, and they didn’t get married all that young. I hope I’m so lucky as to have so many years with Opie. :]
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8Looks like so much fun!
I loved wall-ball (as we used to call it).
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