Family Afternoon

My sister Annette and her family also came to town a few weeks ago and their visit happened to coincide with our sister Miriam's visit. Annette was in town for two weeks and stayed with her husband's family for the first week. That worked well since Miriam's family stayed here with my mom and me and there wouldn't have been enough room for everyone to stay here at the same time.

It's always great when several of the siblings in my family can spend time together, since we have precious few opportunities to do so with most of us living so spread out from each other. I think this distance really makes most of us appreciate the times when we are able to spend family time together since it doesn't happen near as frequently as we would like. Annette and her family came down one afternoon when she and Miriam were both in town so we could all spend some time together as a family. It was too bad our sister Laura and her family couldn't hang out with us, especially since she only lives 40 minutes away. Hopefully they'll make it to the next family gathering, though, because we missed them.

My mom and I went to Mastodon State Park with Miriam's and Annette's families the afternoon Annette came down so that the kids could run around and play. It was a gorgeous day! The weather was unseasonably cool for mid-August, and there were several mornings when it was downright chilly! I'll take it, though, goosebumps and all!

We also took a walk on one of the trails in the park. The trails aren't paved, so we had to turn back after a while when the path turned to gravel because it was too rough. My buns were vibrating after we stopped moving since the terrain was so rough! The kids enjoyed our hike, so I'm glad we treaded into uncharted territory, even though it was bumpy.

Below is a picture of my brother-in-law, Gordon, and he provided the manpower that pushed me on our walk since Chandra (who usually pushes me) was at work. Also pictured below is my brother-in-law Joseph and nephew Kimball (complete with his walking stick!).

After we left the park we went to the cemetery for a while to say hi to Gramps. We just made a quick stop since the kids were getting hungry for lunch. I was glad we stopped, though, so that we could take a few pictures. They didn't turn out the best since the sun was shining in everyone's eyes, but they'll have to do. First is Miriam's family, next is Annette's family, third is both of their families together and last is Mom with Dad.

After lunch we took a few group pictures before Annette's family left for the day. Getting pictures of the cousins together is always a priority for me since they only see each other every few years. After we took a picture of the cousins Mom wanted a picture of her with her grandkids. Some of the kids weren't cooperating and didn't want to move, so Mom just laid down on top of them!

Next is a picture of Miriam's and Annette's families together, and finally a picture of the Lambs.