77th Annual Graham Reunion

Our family made the trip to PA this summer to attend our annual family reunion.  We stayed at a hotel for 2 nights enjoying the pool and hot tub.  

On Saturday morning, Anna directed us to this flea market she saw.  We had lots of fun shopping here...great prices!  I'll have to do another post on our purchases.

 The reunion was held at the same spot it is usually is held since 1935...Pavillion #9 at Shawnee State Park. 

 I know a lot of these pictures are redundant...but my Dad was unable to attend, so I took these for him.  Dad got a pacemaker the week before the reunion, so he was in no shape to go.  We sure missed you, Dad!

 Here's the traditional coffeepot that is passed on to the hosting family each year.

 The games were fun.  My cousins EmmyLou and Bob hosted.  There was the hoola hoop game where everyone stood in a circle holding hands...and then had to pass the hoola hoop around the circle.  I should've taken more pics but I was busy catching up on my relatives' lives.

The sponge game required soaking your sponge with enough water to fill the team's cup.  Thank you Bob and EmmyLou for a wonderful time. 

BTW, Bob and EmmyLou have another new book published called, "From Great Men:  The Famous Ancestors Of Alice de Plumpton."  Looks like an interesting read!

This year was a different year for our extended family.  First, we got a new website.  Secondly, the last of the original 10 family members died this year.  Uncle George, the baby, passed away in May.  Our reunion turnouts have been getting smaller each year.  Everyone was wondering how much longer we will be meeting.

 Our family has enjoyed camping at the park and we always chose the same spot across from the bath house.  We hope to do that again some year.  Anna was anxious to spend a lot of time at the lake.  I'll have to get her pictures of the lake.

 After the reunion, we traveled the half hour to visit my great grandmother's birthplace.  Sarah Holler Graham was born and raised in this log cabin.

 My cousins live there now.  They were very gracious to let me take pictures.  I like the rafters...

 ...the fireplace...

 ...and the original wood flooring.  The cabin was built in the 1820s.  My cousins said they had to replace the chinking...which contained pigs' and horses' hair. 

 Here's the front of the cabin.  I remember my late Aunt Esther telling me she remembered one of the reunions when 28 people spent the night in the cabin.  She said there were sleeping bodies everywhere on the floors!  Good memories.

 Next we drove 2+ miles down the street to my Dad's childhood home.  (Thank you cousin Allan for taking us there...we would never have found it...being so hidden in the woods!)  Here's the wood shed.

 Back of the house.  I see my pictures are all out of sorts.

 The shed/mini barn.

 Dad said this is the 2 room shack that was built for Max.  Evidently Max used to live with Dad and Grandad but he always made a mess when they were gone.  So this was built for him.

 The water hole.

 Complete with snake!

 I was curious if the outhouse is still in use.  I will have to ask my cousin if the house has been updated with indoor plumbing.  He is friends with the current owners.

 Seeing the two homes kept me in a sentimental mood all day.  I kept imagining my Dad growing up here.  We have few pictures of his childhood.

 This picture shows the army reserves buying gas next to the hotel.  Mike took our children down to get a tour of the interesting vehicles.  They were very friendly!

 We drove home on Sunday but dropped Mike off in Baltimore to meet his brother Glenn so they could drive up to NJ for their Uncle Bill's funeral services.  They enjoyed two days of seeing their extended family.

We came home to find half of Allen's tilapia floating on top of the tank.  We still don't know what happened.  Allen quickly filled up the stock tank and put the surviving fish inside.  Ranger walked around the perimeter and then decided a tilapia dinner was not worth a swim.

Lizzie fell chin first out of the pool tonight while trying to retrieve the vollyball.  Her face is swollen with a bloody nose.  Makes me queasy to see!  Maggie is setting her up with an icepack and a cold smoothie. 

Many blessings ~ Kathie

 She's home!  Yes, I'm way behind in my blogging...again. Anna came home the middle of June.  She was tired but happy.  Oh how I waited for this day!

 We arrived at the airport more than an hour early, so we were waiting impatiently.  I thought her plane would never land...and then we had to wait for her to go through customs.  

 Here we are bored.  Every time the door opened, a few people would trickle out.

 So nice to see her healthy! When Anna came home from last year's missions trip, she had been literally starving for a month and was very under-weight.  This year was a different story...she even gained a few pounds!  Thanks to Shari for feeding her so well.  Shari also taught Anna to enjoy cooking!

 The first week home we found Anna sleeping at odd times thanks to jet lag and adjusting to our time zone.  She was also missing her missionary family...especially their newborn.  I heard her wondering if we knew anyone with a baby to hold.   *smile*

 We were thrilled the night Allen painted the 2-story stairwell.  We were finished painting!!  What a long 6-month project this has been...but well worth it. 

 We hired the three men from Michelson's Flooring to come install our oak flooring.  They did a wonderful job, and we enjoyed getting to know them. The picture above is Dennis. 

 This is David Michelson, the owner.

 And Bob.





The week they installed was in the mid 90s with lots of humidity, so they couldn't open the windows.  The upstairs was miserably hot since the air conditioning wasn't able to keep up with the heat.  (We hadn't replaced the insulation in the attic after the Hurricane Irene fiasco.  We've sinced added the insulation.)

 

Isn't it beautiful?!  It was hard to wait a week before moving upstairs...but the fumes were just too overwhelming.  Then we had to put felt on the bottom of everything...beds, sofas, dressers, chairs...even my trashcan!  I love it.  I especially love using my swifter for quick cleaning!

For our church friends, these three brothers recently tested for their green belts in Tang Soo Do.  Congrats to Ben, Sam and Philip!

I have lots of pictures to go through.  We have mostly been busy with painting and trim, but we did go on two small trips.  Lots to catch up on.

This summer has been record breaking hot with lots of humidity to keep it company.  I am very thankful for our pool...which for some reason has kept right at 84 degrees.  Refreshing!  The past two days we have finally gotten some rain, so I think we may be starting to recover from our drought. PTL

Many blessings ~ Kathie

 Anna ~ This picture is for you.  I hope you don't mind that we took your jeep out for a spin!  Can you tell how much fun we had?!  No, this isn't really Anna's jeep.  We saw this jeep in the Kmart parking lot and immediately we knew we had to snap a picture.

The good news is that Sheri's baby was born early this morning!  We've been praying for her arrival all week.  Anna will be thrilled to be returning to Iganga where she has her own bedroom and bathroom:-)  Welcome to the world, baby Faith!

 We didn't have a Memorial Day picnic this year.  We just went to my parents' home for swimming and hotdogs.  Thanks, Mom and Dad.

 Our church had a fellowship dinner after morning service this past weekend.  Anna, guess who's hotdog this is?  Yes, there is a hotdog buried under all the onions and ketchup!

 Yes, it belongs to Sam. 

 Mike and Allen discussing ham radio towers.  

 I wanted to get a picture of Ruthie and Mary Grace washing dishes together at church.  Mary Grace makes this the most fun job around!  The fellowship in the kitchen is wonderful.  I always enjoy hearing Mary Grace talk about her mother and the other elderly ladies (who are in glory now) who used to have a tiny sink and a water fountain to do the dishes.  That makes our current kitchen a real dream!    

 Maggie snapped this photo on the way to Silver Springs this week.  She liked the idea of a Meany Campus.

 I froze duck eggs for winter.  (Ice cube trays were too small.)

 Last week when we went to violin lessons, Clara didn't come to the door to welcome us.  She was busy playing chess.  Yes, chess!  And she can name all the pieces.  I know nothing about chess, so I picked up a piece and placed it on a square and said, Checkmate!  Clara looked at me like I had 5 heads, and said, That's not checkmate!  Oh well.

 Clara had on a cute denim overalls jumper that had cute calico strips sewn to the bottom.  I'd like to try sewing that sometime.

Lizzie and Ruthie have been practicing making hairdos lately.  I love all their efforts!

We finally got our pool installed this week.  Lizzie is waiting for the water to fill up.  It took 30 hours with 2 garden hoses.  Mike is installing the sand pump now.

Allen lost 3 chickens to a possum this week.  He gets so sad over this.  Right now he has the Have-a-Heart trap set.  A hawk keeps flying down but Allen thinks he is going after the possum. We'll see how this drama plays out.

Well, time to get off the computer.  We have some dangerous storms on track, so I need to shut it down.  The rain is welcome here anytime.  I'm just thankful I don't have to be out driving in it.  PTL

Enjoy your weekend.  Many blessings ~ Kathie