Sunday was our annual family reunion. For some unknown reason my dad’s mom’s side of the family gets together like clockwork. End of August every year. The numbers started to dwindle a bit because, in all honesty, who wants to drive to backwater WA for a family reunion? So the family got smart and moved it to a community park with a community golf course. They hold an annual golf tournament and then a picnic afterward. Neither the trusty husband or I have played in the tournament the last 2 years, but when we did it was fun. This year my dad’s group won. And in my father’s fashion he had to proclaim it to everyone.
This particular side of the family is a bit large. Not as large as my dad’s dad’s side, but still pretty big*. Good news is they are a little less rednecky than the other side. In other words, they didn’t all show up on Harleys. There are 13 “children” in this family. Those “children” are all Great Grandparents now (or dead). They have names like Inez, Bertha, Leon and Myrtle (the last being my own grandmother). Two years ago they gave us a journal of our family history. It is fascinating and partly what sparked me into some of the genealogy stuff I do. We have a contest to see which family has the most members in attendance. Ours won with 33 members. My Grandparents have 7 children, 18 grandchildren (it used to be 23 but 5 are gone due to divorce) and 15 great grand children. So 33 out of 52 possible family members isn’t bad. That’s just my dad’s immediate family.
Anyway, I didn’t set out to give you a lesson is how absolutely huge my family is. I set out to give you photos. Because don’t we all love a visual?
This is my baby brother (who actually isn’t my youngest brother).
Not long before I took this photo he took the boy outside (we were in a clubhouse thing) and the boy was returned by my second cousin twice removed (or something like that). Only because Kellan decided it was more fun to sit in my not even 16 yet cousin’s new Audi TT that his dad bought for him. Gah.
But I still love my brother.
My obligatory once a year photo with my father. I swear his nose gets 4 sizes bigger every year*.
The trusty husband and my father showing off their madd water balloon toss skilz.
My dad doing his obligatory once a year grandfatherly duty.
My cousin Lynn and her beautiful daughter. I left her brother in the background because his shirt says “I work because millions on welfare depend on me.”
And yes, being around my family for extended periods of time vastly reduces my IQ.
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*And yes, it is totally by happenstance that we are all wearing red… Ok not really, but at least we didn’t get Teal in the draw.
Love family reunions when there are so many people that they assign colors. My family is quite small in fact my mom is THE.LAST.ONE in her family she has no living blood relatives (well except me and my brother) and my dad while his family is bigger it is not much. I would love to have a family so large we had to coordinate shirt colors…
You are sporting quite the ‘tude in that last shot.
?I work because millions on welfare depend on me.?
And ya’ll were wearing Red shirts, eh?
I’ll at least try to not draw conclusions and will not appear shocked.
On our recent family trip I found out that my grandmother had another brother who died in infancy and his name was Exonaphant. I don’t know if that is spelled right, but that is how it is pronounced phonetically.
Your dad looks great! And it sounds like you had a great time, even if it was obligatory!
We have a family reunion every August too! Must be a good time since the kiddies aren’t in school yet.
Your hair looks nice!
Diggin’ the shades!
Great pics – You look a little like Thelma (or is it Louise) in that last one.
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