Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Celebrating 80

This past weekend, our family converged and invaded Granny's Knob which is what we call DH's folks' home in the mountains. They have 3 children and it's been a coon's age since everyone has been able to gather together. Back in the day, when the kids were small, it was tradition to spend every other Christmas together and my goodness, are there ever amazing memories of those times! Now that families have grown and married and divorced and remarried, it has been difficult to get everyone together, but Grandpa turned 80 on Saturday and that sounds like the perfect reason to clear schedules and help him celebrate. These are my in-laws and their 3 kids. (They're standing on steps - DH is actually the tallest of the bunch.)


It's an all day trip for DH's sister and brother so they stayed over the weekend, but we're closer and just spent the day. We didn't want to overwhelm his mom anymore than we already were as there was already 13 staying for a few days. My niece created an event and we messaged back and forth, organizing all the food which always turns out to be enough for an army.


I contributed 4 dozen eggs, Spicy pickles, Texas Caviar and chips, Green Chile Pinwheels, Cherry Salad - a long standing family tradition, and a 9 x 13" pan of twice baked potato casserole.


We set up a long table out on their deck and foundered on all the offerings. It was all we could do to leave room for birthday cake - homemade German Chocolate - the birthday boy's favorite!


And the laughter



and stories



and memories flew nonstop



between parents and siblings and cousins, (my BIL and his new wife, plus 2 cousins didn't get in until late, just before we headed out that night so sadly, we didn't get photos of them, but these 4 hooligans grew up together and are now just bigger lovable hooligans)




 building new memories along the way.



And the newest additions to the family tree kept us entertained. The big one's a kid at heart. :)



With kids this cute, it's hard to whittle down the pictures



shucking corn



chasing bubbles



collecting rocks



Memories in the making



We even managed to sneak in some time with fabric and thread. We're all quilters and my niece brought 3 nap quilts for her kiddos to take to school and daycare. Many hands make light work and we had our own impromptu quilting bee out on the deck:



Our girl brought Harvey and we brought him home with us, as we are grand dog sitting this week while our girl is in Hawaii on a job interview:



My in laws have a Jack Russell and Harvey spent much of the day like this:



He was determined that he was going to find a way to make himself fit into this door. He thinks he's a lap dog anyway



Good try Harvey. My FIL is a young and active 80 - he still climbs on the roof to repair things, rotates his tires on their trucks, cuts all the wood to heat their home, he just replaced every window in their home and he still saddles up and rides through the mountains every chance he gets. We're very thankful that he is healthy and able to do all that he does and that everyone could be there to commemorate a big birthday for a very special man.

16 comments:

Pauline said...

What a wonderful, happy family! Your DH sure looks like his dad and what a beautiful daughter, great picture. Hawaii??? That's way too far away. Being an only child I've missed out on family reunions and it makes me sad.

Dorian said...

What a wonderful day Karin! Happy birthday to him. It's so nice to be able to get together with family.

Tired Teacher said...

I love when families gather for happy occasions. Happy Belated Birthday to your FIL.

Harvey is a hoot!

allthingzsewn said...

What a fantastic family you have. FIl look and act great for his age. Looks like Gary has a lot of good years ahead of him, You are blessed girl. And Skeet has a good time coming too.

Louise said...

Many happy years ahead for your fil....what a wonderful family celebration.

Anonymous said...

Happy BD to FIL. Love Harvey, love the pictures. Food looked good too. Hawaii sounds like a good place to work and have family VISIT. Thank you for the pictures and story.

Janet O. said...

Good times with special people. I love to hear about happy family gatherings. Too many broken families these days.
Sounds like a wonderful head of the family that you all gathered to celebrate. Thanks for inviting us in. :)

Nancy A: rangerer@sbcglobal.net said...

Glad you were all able to get together for such a happy occasion!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our 3 girls live on the east coast, on the west coast, and in central Alabama, so we have not been able to get together much. The last time was for our 50th wedding anniversary. Our oldest daughter brought plain white pillow cases for each of the 10 grandkids which we all decorated and signed with fabric markers. Wonderful souvenir of our time together.

Libby said...

wHAT A WONDERFUL TIME FOR YALL !

Libby said...

i JUST LOVE HARVEY !!

Shelly said...

What a wonderful reason to get together! And Harvey with his head stuck through the doggie door -- hilarious!!!

Dar said...

Some great shots and many good memories in the making. Love the one of Harvey trying to get through the door and the kiddos popping bubbles etc.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Reading this post made me smile and think that all is right with the world. Do you think hard work and clean cleaning has contributed to your faith-in-laws long life? Not sure which is funnier--Harvey trying to get into the dog door or thinking himself a lap dog!

Gwynette in NW Arkansas said...

Getting together with family cannot be beat! Visiting, dogs, little and big kids, and a table full of food AND a birthday cake makes for special memories!

Kevin the Quilter said...

How much fun! Many congrats to the birthday boy on his milestone birthday! I want to smoosh that basset hound's face! Glad you all are being blessed with the rain!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

That is just too awesome!!!

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