passing

and so the passing of my family's elders continues....

while at fowl fourth we received a call from my mother's cousin, letting us know that her uncle bob was diagnosed with liver cancer...

here's a picture of my Great Grandma B, and my Gram and Uncle Bob....many years ago...Grandma B passed away in 1989...almost exactly 20 years before her only son...


we recently visited with uncle bob at my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary celebration...as my grandmother's only sibling, she was thrilled that he and a few of his children were able to join us for that special dinner.


just nine days after he was diagnosed, having never left the care of the hospital or hospice facility, my great uncle bob passed away.


while i visit regularly with extended family on my dad's side....but that hasn't been the case with my mom's side...it had been many years since i'd seen some of my distant cousins, and, as always, i wish that it wasn't for this reason. this occasion gave my grandparents an opportunity to go out to dinner with just their four children...and my mom couldn't remember a time that they'd ever done that...just the six of them...

and it gave me a chance to visit my grandparent's house...some place i hadn't been in many years...

it's still very much like i remember it...though the rooms are more filled with signs of my grandparents' travels and collections of who knows what from who knows where...it's a house my grandpa built himself. it's a house i spent visiting every Christmas Day, for many, many years. and Uncle Bob and his family would come over after Christmas dinner...they lived just down the street. as with every passing, it is a time to reminisce, reflect and remember what has brought us to this point in our lives. the places we visited. the people we knew. and the family we love.

geocaching

what is it and why do we do it?

well, we've had friends who have been geocaching - and it was intriguing enough that i figured out how to make the garmin we have for our car (as opposed to a handheld that is traditionally used for hiking and geocaching, etc) work for our purposes...

and so we now enjoy this 'treasure hunting' hobby - by downloading clues and coordinates for 'caches' that we hunt for...sometimes it's just a log book (or a small scroll!) - other times we find rubbermaid containers that have tradeable items (dollar store type items, or happy meal toys, etc) it's a fun, 'free' activity that our whole family enjoys...and we have some GREAT geocaching stories (like the 8 bee stings maya got at one location....or how we drove to new jersey just to find a cache....)

here's some pictures of us out and about (we try to remember to take one of every cache we've found...)

fowl fourth xxviii

and so another fowl fourth has come and gone....

there was some good godfather/godson bonding...

and i will never forget the dreams that came true at the annual softball game...if only i'd had the video camera on for porter's first 'at bat'...which quickly turned into a home run!

girls young and old entertained each other on the playground during the game...

and lots of fun was had at the 'port-o-potty' lake...despite the color!

and the recent adult entertainment addition to the festivities....


the pictures are 'blurry' to protect the innocent and the guilty...and i only have two words - plum cordial....

we also got in some geocaching, in a larger family group, which was fun, too!

molly found her first geocache all by herself....she's not proud, or anything!

the kids in their 'camping shirts' having a light lunch before the family potluck dinner...

and some unusual sightings as well...


over the course of twenty-eight years, this event has changed very much....from a tent city with our backyard pool and a screened-in garage game room that was open 24 - 7 to family camping throughout the Great Lakes...and while it isn't the same as it was when it began....it's still the same great people who gather and have fun as a family...and this is one tradition that i wouldn't change or give up for the world...

project 365 - part six

June is busting out all over...

A visit from my cousins from Georgia

Celebrating Molly's 3rd birthday at the Great Lakes Loons game...complete with fireworks!

a picture of the kids in Dow Gardens

group shot with my brother and his kids from my parent's 35th anniversary party
(and dad's 60th and 15 and 6 year survival!)

baker cousins getting ready to run the 1 mile fun run at the Dow Run/Walk