Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Family Reunion!

I have a crazy family. I mean that in a good way! And it's on BOTH sides (my Dad's and my Mother's sides)- so there was no hope for the lovelies sanity we're at least doubly blessed with a crazy family!

When we are lucky enough to get together with any number of my family- on either side- the fun, laughs, total enjoyment ends way to soon!

Since Irene gave us a beautiful sunset instead of making us run for our lives, Hubs and I packed up a few things (and Tucker, of course) and headed for my family reunion.

Dad only lives an hour north of the reunion so we spent Saturday with him and a few relatives for a Saturday laugh fest! We left there Sunday morning and headed for the reunion- Mother's side.

I'll share a few highlights--after some of this weekend's shots, you will see a few of past reunions as well with some of the same people in them:



The wonderful man on the left is my granddaddy's youngest brother, John Newt. I think of my Granddaddy every time I see him. The guy on the right is the hubby of a cousin.
That's John Newt looking at the camera back in the day at the reunion.

That's Allison with her little girl. That's her mom in front of her. Allison is thinking about starting a blog. I'll let y'all know when she does!
The lady with the glasses was one of Granddaddy's sisters and the grandmother of Allison.

That's my crazy brother Tony in the yellow shirt. I love him!
See the face that is circled? That would be me.

Some of the polyester crowd back in the day--the one with the bun and her back to you is my Grandmother.


That's my Grandmother reaching across the table.



That's me with my Granddaddy and his father, Papa.

That guy right in front is Pat.

That's Pat too- the little kid on the left.

The one who you can only see her head on the left?

And there she is again- on the left looking at the camera.



Papa, Grandmother and Granddaddy

See my brother Tony in the yellow shirt? That's his wife on your left and our mother on your right.
Mother, Papa, and Aunt Betty.

This is a wonderful cousin. I love that when I look at him, I see his father- who was also one of Granddaddy's brothers--Uncle Charlie. There were 11 siblings in Granddaddy's family- 8 boys and 3 girls.  
Papa.



The baby is DoodleBug the others are cousins. DoodleBug was just over one month old. So this reunion was 1991.






I don't think we ever got everyone in the picture all at once that year though we did try. With so many, it's hard to do--especially with all the talking that we do-that is half of us up there. Anyway, see those three little girls in front and the baby behind them? That's right, the lovelies!

Leaving the reunion.

We prefer taking the backroads home- for the scenery...


Kudzoo!

House I would not mind living in..

Lots of churches along the way. Love those red doors.

Farms everywhere!

Another house I wouldn't mind living in...

Quaint town along the way-they were actually featured in Southern Living a few years ago! 

Back home.

And that was our weekend!

I'm linking to TUESDAY FRIEND CONNECT over at MID LIFE PARENTING! 
Just click on the button to join in!


21 comments:

  1. There is nothing as comforting as family! I'm so happy you were able to make the reunion and Irene did not interfere!
    Hugs~

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  2. I love reading about family reunions! I have never been to one as I am one of only 6 living relatives. Yours sounds like so much fun!

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  3. I love that you put the old pictures in between to compare. For me it was really interesting.
    I love the frizzy hair from the 90´s pic. LOL
    Those back roads look so peaceful. I would love to drive there too.

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  4. Sush-Amen! Especially when food is included! LOL

    Lorie-It was great! You are always welcome to join ours! It's the same time every year and we would LOVE to have you! And your six relatives!

    Betty-Thanks! I thought that might be kind of cool. Yeah, the frizzy hair---if you go to the 8th picture down, the woman in the blue shirt with blond hair is the kid with the frizzy hair! The back roads are my choice every time!

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  5. Great pics and so interesting to see the old photos alongside the new. Glad you had a great weekend :)

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  6. I see a lot of similarities between your family reunions & mine - except there were only 10 kids in my Dad's family - 8 boys and 2 girls. The girls shared a bedroom room, the boys shared another! Sadly, with both of my parents passed on, I don't get home for the reunions as often as I should.

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  7. lyndylou-Thanks! It was fun. I always look forward to going!

    Kara-My grandmother's family had the opposite of Granddaddy's- 8 girls and 3 boys. Big families back then. Farm life and all that I guess. One of Granddaddy's brothers had NINE kids! They were all there this weekend!

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  8. I'm glad you had a good time at your reunion. And, putting the older pictures in the mix was a great idea. Glad that Irene didn't cause you to have to miss such a fun event. Have a nice week.

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  9. Cindy-Thanks! It was kind of cool looking at the then and now shots! Some of those people have gotten old. LOL

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  10. How long did this post take you to write? I am so impressed, I just love the old and the new photos, what a great idea. Thank you for sharing these special moments.

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  11. I absolutely LOVED this post! Love the old pictures vs. the new ones - a lovely tradition!

    Glad you want to join my fall to new years challenge! I hope to do a full post on it on Labor Day.

    So glad I found your blog - love your writing style!

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  12. Debby-I already had all the older pix in the computer so it didn't take that long! Otherwise, I might not have gone that route. LOL

    Biz-Thank you so much! I am getting excited about the challenge! And READY! I'm still doing what I did for the summer challenge until you start the fall one! Thanks!

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  13. You know I've never been to a family reunion. If you guys needed name tags yours musta been a real whopper.

    I'd never seen kudzoo til last summer when we drove through your neck of the woods. A couple of months ago I saw a teen on TV who's come up with a way to kill it. I didn't think it could be done.

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  14. Michele- You HAVE to come to ours next year- always the 4th Sunday in August! We would LOVE to have you! I didn't think kudzoo could be killed either.

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  15. First, I loved your photos, thanks for sharing!
    You are so lucky to have a large family to share good memories and great times. My mom and dad were both an only child. My dad's mother was also an only child. My mom's mother had 3 siblings but only one of those had children.
    Now, I am the Matriarch of the family. I guess I better plan a family reunion! At least I have a few kids and my brother has 10!

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  16. Family can't be beat.

    I love the Mt Pleasant sign, I work in Mt Pleasant.

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  17. Thanks for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment. I came over and was happy to see that I am already following you. I am with you about family reunions. Once our elderly family members are gone it is like a part of us is gone. I have only one aunt on each side of the family left. Both of my parents are gone also. I do have alot of cousins but it is not the same. Be thankful for the reunions and treasure your pictures. It looks like you took some really good ones! Again, thanks for coming by and have a great week!

    Mary@http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com

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  18. Great post, with a lovely mix of old and new pictures. You're creating an archive here!
    It's a great idea to have a fixed day when the reunion takes place, cos then everyone knows it'll be on. Our family reunions are all at funerals, which is sad.

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  19. Papa looks like he means business!! I love looking at other people's family photos, thank you for sharing yours.

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  20. I love the mix of old and new photos. Looks like you have a close knit family.

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  21. Shawn- Thanks! And YES! Do it! Plan a family reunion NOW and have it every year at the same time! It's so worth it!

    Gail- Too bad you don't work in my Mt Pleasant---but you would hate it. Our postal workers are mean as hell!

    Mary-I do enjoy the reunions! And we all love to take and see pictures! Thanks!

    Mimi-Thank you! It does seem to work best when the reunions are on the same day every year. This one has been held on this day since before I was even born!

    sterlingsop- I only knew Papa as one of the sweetest men alive! But I've heard he could be quite serious should the occasion arise. LOL

    Ellen- Thank you! We really are close knit!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
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