McKinstry Moments: We Are Family

Not that I don't love fall and that there aren't plenty of things to post about, but today I'm going to jump back to some summer time pics from this year's family reunions. (I didn't have all the photos I needed until this week, so better late than never!)

The first reunion was in June. Every year my Grandma Nora Ann's father's side of the family - the Algers - get together at a shelter down by the river. Usually we are in a rush because it often falls on Granny's birthday weekend and we have two gatherings to go to (and one year even my class reunion was in the mix). But, this time we didn't have any other conflicts and enjoyed being there without the pressure of having to make it somewhere else too. We headed to church that morning and then spent the afternoon catching up with relatives.

I had a coupon for this watermelon cupcake mix at Target and picked it up knowing that summer time and picnics were on the horizon. When the reunion rolled around, I was thankful I had; they made a cute treat.

I always take extra care in planning the kids' outfits for these types of things because I want them to look their best. I knew exactly what I wanted Reid to wear...this cute shirt and matching hat. I just thought he was so adorable in it.

They had a moonbounce this year which we really appreciated. It gave the little ones something to do since there is no playground there. In the past they've had inflatable pools and water activities, but this was a lot less messy!

We had a few bumps with such a diverse age group, but the other parents helped make sure the little ones had opportunities to get in without the big ones a few times, especially if things were getting too crowded and rough.

Lexi

Reid was too little to bounce, but snuggling Grandma and Granddaddy was pretty great anyway. (NaNa would have been trying to get her hands on him too I'm sure if she hadn't been out of town at Lake Gaston that weekend.)

I was especially glad not to have to do a bunch of cooking for lunch as we enjoyed everyone else's recipes instead and left the mess there rather than in my kitchen.

Towards the end, the kids wanted to go down and throw a few rocks in the river before we left. Though it was a peaceful scene, it was also a tough spot to be as thoughts of my dad kept surfacing the longer we stayed. I enjoyed watching my babies, but opted soon to head back up to the shelter.

Our second family gathering this year was not an annual tradition, but not an unfamiliar place to get together either. Aunt Pat (Grandma's sister) decided to have a picnic of her own at her house and invited us a week or two prior to the shindig. Dave was out of town visiting his parents and Mom had been coming over late to spend the nights with us, so that morning we decided to all go to church with her beforehand. She was proud to show off her grandbabies, of course.

I headed on to Aunt Pat's instead of coming all the way back home and the kids napped in the car (or at least some of them did - I can't remember). It was about all I could do to keep up with all three of those boogers running different directions by myself until NaNa showed up an hour or two later. Thankfully, she even whipped up an extra dish so I didn't have to make one. I sure am thankful for that lady, especially on days like that!

Even with Mom's help though, it was a challenge. Everyone got through their meals (though some of us ate cold plates) and the kids played a bit before I decided to just call it a day. Aunt Pat had games lined up she was ready to play and I hated to miss out, but sometimes you just get to that point where you know it's time to bail out. I could feel the Fibromyalgia flaring and the exhaustion level rising so I gathered up my crew as quick as possible. It was hard to visit much with anyone anyway because we were spread so thin. On the plus side, Mom was able to stay a little after we left and enjoy our family and their crazy antics.

Talk about some good food! These people know how to cook.

Natalia lives next door so Max and Nick were at the picnic too and the kids enjoyed playing with their friends.

Not to mention the fun they had with quite a few of their distant cousins they don't see frequently.

Jumping to the next tree of our family heritage, at the beginning of September we attended the Noakes reunion - my dad's mother's side. We were late because of church (as we usually are for reunions), so there were slim pickings on the food, but thankfully a few other stragglers showed up and we had our share of the second round. :)

I forgot my camera but borrowed NaNa's cell phone so we still have a few shots from that day.

This one is usually hosted at a park in Stephens City and the kids really enjoy the playground.

Whoa! Look who's all the way at the top.

Anabella and Hadley were especially sweet together.

My dad's cousin Bridget always plans this reunion and, unlike our others, this one always has a theme. Can you guess this year's? Red, white, and blue, we sported our patriotic attire this labor day weekend.

Usually she has several games lined up for the kids to do in addition to the playground. By the time we were done, we went home with some worn out and melting down kids. They had fun though and it was a nice day weather wise, so no complaints here.

I thought we were going to have to pick and choose this year between the Riley reunion - Grandma Nora's mother's side - and the Noakes reunion, but I had the dates mixed up since labor day was early this year and we got to go to both. There was no way to make it to church and then hit both Rileyville and Stephens City in the same day, so the news that we could do both one week after the other was just what I wanted to hear.

Normally, the Riley reunion is held at a shelter in the small town of Rileyville (fitting right?). It is such a small little place that there aren't any stop lights and you might miss if you blink, but they do have a little park our family likes to use for this occasion. However, this year someone else booked it the weekend we hoped to use it, so instead we met in the basement of the local Brethren church there. Though being in the sunshine and the nice weather would have been preferred, it worked out just fine.

Both at this reunion and the other the kids fell asleep in the car. The week before Dave sat with our nappers and this time it was my turn. There was still plenty of food though!

Almost every family reunion includes picture time, when they line us all up by family or generation to document who was there. I don't have pics from the Alger or Noakes one, but I did get a few on my camera of the Rileys.