Monday, August 30, 2010

Westra Family reunion or Grandpa saves the day

Its true.  Grandpa Jim had to rescue me because I didn't take any pictures at the family reunion last weekend. So he promptly made a cd for me and I not so promptly am finally blogging them.


Because Rick and I dated a few *cough* (10-12) years before we actually married (13 years ago),  forgive me when I tell you I can't remember the first Westra reunion I attended.  But when Rick's sister Missy said to a relative that I've been around these reunions forever, I can see where she is coming from.

Plus, lucky for me, I've had all of those years to straighten out the names and faces of the 8 brothers and sisters in the Westra clan.  6 out of the 8 brothers and sisters were in attendance last weekend, although there were several cousin's families unable to attend.


Seated in the photo below my father-in-law, Jim is in the orange, his sister Grace, the birthday girl on this day is next, their brother John who worked with my mother at Concordia College for many years is next to her.  In the front row (L to R) their sister Dorothy, who is sitting next to their sister Helen, who is sitting next to their sister Margie.  A brother Jack, (who our Colton Jack is named after), has passed away, and a brother Jerry was ill and unable to attend.





To help identify each other, we color coded our shirts by families.  I've abbreviated the names of the families a bit, but I also didn't want to leave anyone out... okay, crossed fingers I got them all right.


The family of Jack





The family of Margie





The family of Grace





The family of Dorothy




The family of Jim




The family of John






Here we ALL are... should I name them for you? Ha, I'm better at the names, but that may just be a stretch even for me.







The only downside to our day was how unbearably hot it was outside.  We even skipped going to the zoo this time around, but who needs the zoo when you can have... minnow races :)  Who knew a couple of gutters with some water and a bucket of minnows could be so much fun?







There were lots of laughs, stories told, and memories shared.   Thanks to our cousin Brenda for her spectacular job of organizing everything and all of us too.  Believe me when I tell you its no small feat to get all of us in one place at the same time.


I know this much is true, I have no doubt our kids know where they came from.  Our family roots run deep on both sides of the family.  And this summer?  We've been so blessed to have spent so much time with all of our family.  It doesn't get any better than that.  Amen

PS, Donna, how did I do?

11 comments:

  1. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

    That's a big family!!!!!!! Love how the shirts were color coded - that's awesome!

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  2. Great job! My husband's family is about that size and I don't think I will ever be able to remember everyone's name or how they are related! The color coded shirts were a great idea!

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  3. family reunions are just the best !
    and this one looks perfect !

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  4. What a fabulous idea to color-code shirts per family. I think I'm going to borrow that the next time I'm involved in reunion planning. And I love the thought at the end about how your kids know their roots. That is a blessed thing, and something not everyone has the chance to experience. Great job on putting this post together!

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  5. What a great example of Americana. We have a local comedian who does a great routine on family reunions, complete with the Aunt who leads the singing with her floppy upper arms waving and her voice warbling.

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  6. Your boys truly will have a great sense of family. What a treasure for them - even tho they may know it yet!

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  7. LOVE the color idea! I love family reunions. I have a LARGE family. Although I am an only child, I have around 100 cousins.

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  8. I love that your family not only matched shirts, YOU MADE JERSEYS!!! Now that's what I call teamwork :)

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  9. Looks like loads of fun. I really like the idea of wearing different colored shirts for each family.

    It has been a long time since my family had any kind of reunion. My dad was the second youngest of 13 and he was in his fifties when I was born, so I don't remember a lot of family. In fact most of my cousins on his side I don't even know and my mom had a very small family.

    I hope you enjoy and cherish those times with family.

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  10. Woah!
    Now thats a fun gang!!!!
    You did a wonderful job color coding them lol
    I bet you had a lot of fun and why not. Life is short.
    :)

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  11. That's a whole bunch of happy people! It was fun to "meet" them all here in your post. Looks like you all have a wonderful time together. Those are the best times when family members gather to remember, laugh and celebrate each other.

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