A break in the silence...

My phone (where I have most of my pictures)
and my computer have stopped communicating.

My dad says that the pictures are the best part of the blog
but unfortunately I have no pictures I can share.

I came across this free verse poem Tiana composed at school.

It was too good to not save.
Although it is full of misinformation,

the sentiment is so correct.

My father was from the Philippines.
He couldn't speak a word.
He never found a date.
He ran into my mom and took her out.
Soon love was found
and my Pa is a perfect English speaker.

My parents are perfect for each other.

💖💖💖

Hello Again

I'm finally back.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge

and I'm not even going to attempt to cover it.

After our big trip east, the older kids scattered to the four winds

but eventually made their way home before school started.

It wasn't necessarily an excessively busy summer 

but it was an emotionally tiring summer in many ways.

It was fun to have my brother David and his family come one week

and made our home the base for their excursions to 

San Francisco and Yosemite.

Then we spent a few fun and relaxing days camping together.

When school time rolled around, I had three that headed off to college.

This one headed off to school for the first time since preschool.

It's been a big adjustment for her (and me) and she's had to learn how to function

in a class setting and how to get along with a variety of kids.

She has helpful teachers and a supportive staff to help ensure her success.

Now everyone asks what I will do with myself.

My standard answer:

"All the things I should have been doing while homeschooling

but didn't have the time or energy to do."

So far, I have not been bored or run out of things to do.

We slowly and reluctantly started the kitchen remodeling project that 

was have successfully put off for the past 12 years.

It was sparked by our dishwasher dying in May and the 

ensuing three months of hand washing all the dishes.

So, the first step was getting the new sink and dishwasher installed.

That's pretty much all I cared about!

We are pretty sure we have the most unique counters and back splash.

They are made from very good quality left-over linoleum and attached with roofing nails.

It's actually a very durable counter top and easy to clean.

We like to scare Bethany by saying we will just keep it this way.

The teen years have been left behind.

It's rather hard to believe that twenty years can pass by so quickly.

These two are an excellent example of how twins can be so very different.

Most people forget that they are even twins and just regard them

as two brothers with one being quiet and more serious and the other a bit zany.

Happy 20th my dear boys!

Family Reunion

{Day 2- Auction Day}

The second day is dedicated mainly to the fund-raising auction and family pictures
but sometimes there's additional events thrown in.

This time a friend of the organizers came and gave a slide-show

of a trip he and his wife took in his Model A from Pennsylvania

to California.  Then he gave rides around the campground in his car.  

 The auction is what funds the family reunions.

People bring items to auction off: some are hand made, others are new,

and still others are old family heirlooms.

Since we flew, we were rather restricted on what we could buy

and take home with us.

The doll bed generated great interest in the American Girl Doll fans.

It was a bed with a comforter, sheets and a pillow on a plastic box

that can be used to store doll accessories.

Tiana was pretty sure she needed this bed but I thought it might

be a rather bulky carry-on and there certainly was no extra room in our suitcases.

Another item that generated a lot of interest was the Mary Ellen doll.

Auction items are placed on display tables as people arrive so there's plenty

of time to check out the items before the auction.

During the auction the children bring the items to the auctioneer.

The crowd bids and some organized person keeps tally of 

what people owe so they can settle up at the end.

This year the auction came within $100 of covering the expenses 

so very little was removed from the savings account.

This little girl's mom died suddenly a year ago 

and she especially liked to sit on Bethany's lap because

her mom's name was also Bethany.

Our family picture.

We had Bethany's friend and a cousin's daughter

traveling with us.

Some of the teens relaxing before supper.

After supper there was time for singing.

Later that evening was volleyball time for the youth.

I snapped this picture as I passed the kitchen.

It was full of people but they were not all there to fix food.
 There were small groups of talkers, some doing breakfast prep, and hair being "fixed."

On Saturday morning we packed up and headed to the airport for

our early afternoon flight.

Bethany and her friend Heather traveled by car to Ohio 

and we took Alicia with us to the airport.

There was no lack of luggage.

It was a bit of a challenge to make sure it was all accounted for,

hauled around, and checked in.

Finally we were on our flight headed homeward.

She was my seat buddy.

I may have been a bit exhausted due to having shared a

bed with an over- exuberant sleeper for three nights.

It was good to see the familiar sights of California again.

It was home-sweet-home later that evening

with a very relieved Rudy to greet us. 

Despite his heavy work load while we were gone,

10 days was just a little too long for his liking.

Family Reunion

{Day 1: Local Attraction Day}

In talking to people, I found that The Moss Family Reunion is an anomaly.

I guess I had always presumed that all family reunions

were multi-day affairs of large attendance.

I was surprised to find that most family reunions consisted of a small group
getting together for lunch and by 2 p.m. everything was cleaned up

and the participants had departed.

Welcome to the other side of the coin:

The Moss Family Reunion

It is held every two years, often in conjunction

with where ever our church conference is held

since people who have to travel far are already in the area.

It doesn't matter how closely or loosely (or not at all) you are related,

you are still welcome.

This year it was held at a camp grove in Pennsylvania

and started Wed. evening and ran through Sat. morning.

This is the cute, yet chilly and unheated, cabin where my parents slept.

Most people were housed upstairs in the main lodge.

Seven of us females slept in this room.

There was plenty of room for sleeping but not much room for putting our stuff.

The first full day is when everyone picks local places to visit.

Some do it in family groups, others find people with similar interests to tag along with,

and others "do their own thing."

My group ended up being a car load of girls

with my mom and my boys in another vehicle.

My dad was off visiting bookstores with a friend.

We enjoyed our drive through the Amish countryside admiring the neat farms,

their unique scooters (I would have brought one home for Tiana

if it would have fit in my suitcase!) and their specialized clothes lines.

Our first stop was a little basement store.

The surroundings were serene.

Our main hang-out of the day was the town of Lititz.

The Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery was a fun tour.

We were taught how to roll dough into a traditional pretzel form.

The first attempts didn't look too good but this one turned out okay.

Then there was a tour of the now defunct brick ovens and explanations on 

the baking process.

We decided to leave our cars parked and strolled the streets

to see what we would be interested in doing next.

I had heard of this place and it happened to be a few blocks away

so this is where we ate lunch.

It was obviously a very popular lunch spot.

We ended up eating on the patio with my mom seeking out the sun

and me making sure I was in deep shade.

 Everyone seemed to especially like the glass bottles of water.

I had this amazing peanut butter, banana, Nutella panini.

It's probably not a place I would bother to take my teens again.

They just were not into that type of food and would have

been happier with a hamburger or pizza place.

Wilbur Chocolate was across the street so we ambled over

to peruse their treats.

I was disappointed to find that it was only a retail store with no factory tour.

This is the candy bar of her dreams.

 

Wesley ended up buying her this three pound box of chocolate

pieces as her graduation gift.

She was pretty happy.

After a visit to the lovely downtown park,

we walked on the other side of the street to our parking area.

We popped into a few shops but spent the most time and money at the ice cream parlor.

It was fun to sit outside watching the cars go by and admiring

the old buildings that line the street.

On our way back north, we came across a fabric/gift/home store in

a huge barn-like structure.

I have never seen so much fabric at one time.

I think there were three floors of fabric plus it had grown

into a little house attached to the building.

It was amazing...although the boys were far from impressed

and spent most of their time on the front porch.

Everyone drifted back to the camp for supper at 5:30.

Afterwards, there was a pinata for the children to enjoy.

Everyone was pretty worn out from their busy day

so the evening consisted of sitting around and talking

and families getting their children ready for bed.

Some of the teens stayed up later to enjoy spending time

with friends they don't get to see very often.

They were quiet and didn't disturb anyone so no one minded.

So ended day one but we knew even more good times were coming the next day.