Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The past few days in review...

The past several days have been filled with lots of family activities, some good and some not so good. We were unable to make our scheduled trip to visit Tomas & Motherkitty and to meet our new great-nephew Talon, and for that we are very sorry. An unexpected hospitalization in the family was to blame and in just this past week we have had two more family hospitalizations. Everyone is doing fine now and we are pleased to announce that our dear Aunt Ollie who was 104 years old in February is doing okay, although she still remains in the hospital. Lucy, my best friend and Jimmy's cousin was also put in the hospital on Sunday during our family reunion when her blood pressure unexpectedly dropped dangerously low.

Now for some good news....


Zac & Thalia stopped by for a visit today. I once said that Zac changes bikes as often as he changes clothes, so I wasn't surprised when he came riding in on this bike. The bike belongs to Jason Epperson who is currently one of the last remaining 5 contestants on the TV program, "On The Lot." Epps as they call him is Zac's mentor. Zac also does work for Eppic Films which is owned by Jason.

Thalia & Zac


Thalia asking Mr. Sycamore where Cucoo is.
Zac warned T (Thalia) to be careful...
not of Mr.Sycamore,
but of grandma
who might use the picture in her blog.
hehehe



Where's the helmet hair? When I take off my helmet I never look this good, hehehe.



I gave Dylan a new name when I saw him on Sunday...SPIKE. Now that he is 3 yrs. old he likes to style his own hair. Here he is with his Aunt Valerie another one of our beautiful granddaughters.


It's wonderful having a picture phone and these next 3 pictures were sent to my computer by my oldest daughter Sharon. She is on a bike trip with her husband Scott. Daily she sends me pictures using her phone and I almost feel like I'm on the trip with her.


I'm going to jump on a limb and say that this picture of Sharon is in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina where there are beautiful mountain streams. Most of her pictures come unlabeled...well all of her pictures come unlabeled, but I know that she is in that area.

Maybe Sharon is in Cherokee, North Carolina??? What a beautiful Indian Maiden! and I'm glad she loves to be in pictures. When others hide and run, Sharon is always willing to have her picture taken and I'm glad. I've often been asked why I have so many pictures of one child? Well I think you can guess why...she's the only one that didn't run from the camera. Don't you wish all of your family was as cooperative as Sharon?


This afternoon we found Brian busily buffing a new bowl that he is working on. Reva was gone with Brandon and he was there keeping himself busy. Brian was the first person hospitalized in our family last week and he is slowly beginning to bounce back. Suzanne is a frequent, almost daily visitor bringing him books & tapes to listen too during his recovery. He has been slow to get back out into his workshop, so it was nice to see him there when we arrived. He sat down and visited with Jimmy & I, and we showed him the magazines that we had brought him. The magazines are called, "Kentucky Ex*plorer" and are mostly historical with lots of stories and old timey black & white pictures. I bid on these at the family reunion.



The next 4 pictures were taken at the annual family reunion before the majority of people arrived. Once the crowd got there, the eating frenzie began along with the non-stop visiting. Relatives came from throughout the U.S. and it was wonderful seeing them all again. Aunt Ollie, as I mentioned above missed the reunion this year and she was dearly missed by all who attended. We are all responsible for bringing a home cooked dish or two, so you can imagine over 200 different home cooked dishes & favorite desserts being served. It was a feast to end all feasts.


Kyra with her grandpa Glenn & great-grandpa Jimmy


Brian, Sandie & Reva
and Brandon's nose.
We have been trying to figure out what was going on when I snapped this picture. Maybe someone special was arriving...or maybe Dylan did something naughty. hehehe
The limo with the guests from Las Vegas had already arrived, so I know it wasn't that. I sent the picture to Sandie and she didn't know, so maybe Reva will be able to shed some light on what was going on.


Rachel, Casey & Carla
I put this picture in here so that Zac can see Casey, one of his H.S. classmates. I have to admit that I forgot to tell Zac, Megan & Thalia about the reunion and I'm sorry they missed it. I'll be sure to remind them of the reunion next year. Sharon was out of town and I just was not thinking, as she usually attends the reunion.


Brandon loves to read and is reading the magazines.
In order to keep the family reunion going year after year, money must be raised & collected. For the last couple of years, some have been donating handmade items or items of sentimental value which might be very old or not so old for the auction, which takes place later in the day before everyone leaves. This year Jimmy's nephew donated 8x10 pictures of relatives in the late 1800's and early 1900's which were a big hit. Some were of distant cousins in Oregon and my personal favorite was a picture of all of Jimmy aunts & uncles when they were babies & young adults. Also everyone received an 8x10 picture of Jimmy's dad in kilts when he was about 2 years old. Someone also made a biplane out of used pepsi cans which was cute. I'm sure you've seen them before. There were also handmade wooden cutting boards and various other items.
I bid and won the stack of magazines which I mentioned earlier in my post. I got them for Brian, but Jimmy confiscated them as soon as we got home, so Brian only got half of them today and as soon as Jimmy is finished reading them, we told Brian we would bring them out.
The money collected pays for the annual shelter rental and for paper plates, cups, forks, spoons, drinks and a BIG BIG box of fried chicken. You know....just in case no one else brings meat.


We also went on a trip to Indian Fort Theater where the play, "Wilder*ness Road," used to be performed at. It is now almost abandoned and the grass is growing up through the rock seats. I used to bring my children here to see the outdoor drama when they were as young as Brandon, and to hike the mountain. We didn't hike the mountain on this day because we were there for Dylan's 3rd Birthday Party.

Brandon heading back to the party.



Some of the guests at Dylan's 3rd Birthday Party.
Dylan opening his presents with help from his daddy, Michael.
We've had the pleasure of Brandon spending several days & nights at our house lately. He loves my DSL and he likes to play Scrabble & Sorry with his grandma....and his grandma & grandpa Jimmy love having him around. We never got to take him on any rides with us because he kept forgetting to bring his helmet with him, but maybe next time he visits he won't forget it.
Yesterday, Reva, Brandon & I went shopping for school clothes for Brandon. School is right around the corner...not the actual school...I just meant that school is about ready to begin again. We really had a lot of fun shopping because Brandon is so easy to shop for. His mom would suggest something and he would say "okay"...at least most of the time. hehehe. We finished early and he didn't break the bank. I have to hand it to his mom...she knows how to shop for his clothes and where to get the real bargains.
We ate at Reva's favorite burger place named for a castle color where you can eat at least 4 little tiny burgers. I always thought this place was perfect for very small children and we used to take the kids there when they were very small simply because the burgers were so small. I wanted to take them to the movies, but Brian was home alone, so I didn't even bring it up...maybe next time. I found out later that Suzanne had gone out and spent the afternoon with her brother Brian. She's such a caring & considerate person that we all consider her an angel here on earth. I just wish she'd let me take her picture once in a while.









10 comments:

tomlaureld@yahoo.com said...

Very nice blog.
Looks like you had a lot of catching up to do on your blog.
I love the photos.
Love ya

Rachel said...

That was a long post Sandy!! Wonderful pictures. It's neat that Sharon can send you pictures over the phone. That's beyond my technology smartness!!!

I love the KY Explorer and subscribe to it religiously. Such good reading about the good old days and memories. The "I remember" part is my favorite!

I figured it had been to hot to ride lately, since it's really been hot and humid. Looks like you have been keeping busy!

Glad your Aunt who is 104 is doing better! Wow, she is having a long life!! How wonderful!

You and Jimmy keep cool!!

Alipurr said...

hey we missed you, but will catch you next time. Hope everyone is feeling better....send my love to all

Tammy said...

Thalia is very pretty as is Sharon...I would have loved to stop beside one of those streams while I was in the SM's!
An auction at a family reunion sounds like so much fun...great idea!
:)

JunieRose2005 said...

Sandy,

I really enjoyed reading all your news and seeing all the pictures!

You have a very attractive and interesting family!!!

Sorry for all the sickness and hope all are better by now.


Junie

Carole Burant said...

Wow, that's been a lot of excitement in your life the last couple of weeks! It's always wonderful to be able to have an annual family reunion. Loved all the pictures and I do hope that all who were in the hospital are now on their way to a full recovery:-) xox

Ava said...

Hello there! I hope that you have a great weekend! I'm going to get some rest this time!!! That's my plan!!!

What great pictures! Family is wonderful and I'm glad that you got to spend some time with yours.

Anonymous said...

wow what a wonderful family you have there!!

Alice said...

Lovely photos, Sandy. What a wonderful family record you must have with so many photos. I'm not surprised you wanted to blog Thalia and Sharon - they take such great photos.

I hope all of your family are now recovering and returned home from hospital - I guess it may be cooler there than at home though.

Cheers -
'Alice'

Kerri said...

I missed this post! So....doing some catching up here. Sorry to hear Brian was in the hospital, but glad he's home and mending. Hope is wasn't too serious. Suzanne is such a great sister! No wonder you're proud of her.
Neat that Sharon can send you pics via her phone. What a nice vacation!
The family reunion looks like it was great fun. You sure do have some gorgeous grandchildren :)
Loved all the photos Sandy.