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family reunion pictures + one crazy cake at your service

05 August 2013


 ^^^ how is Andrew already a high school senior and what is Theo thinking? conundrums for the masses.

 ^^^ when I was little I was 120% convinced that sharks lived in that pool. I'm less convinced now but I stayed landlocked justincase.

 ^^^ reflexology with Nana and stating that she prefers "Julia" to "J" ...

 ^^^babysitters club ... cousins/angels sent from the heavens above

 ^^^If I had a penny for every time someone looked at Sebastian and said, "he's crazy" ... I'd have enough for a can of my beloved Diet Coca Cola

 ^^^ and then she hit up 8 other cousins for their scoops-o-sugar

 ^^^ I don't even know if Grandma saw this ... it's supposed to spell "thanks" but ... that "s" is looking lazy.

 ^^^ let's all appreciate Simon's face for 8 seconds.

^^^ missing four of the cousins but not a bad turnout. I doubt they read this but if they do ... GUILT TRIP. [okay and you see the gentleman wearing the Indiana Chemistry shirt? The blonde next to him and the guy in glasses behind him? They are triplets and I still can't tell the guys apart.]

^^^ three kids with three different gifts: nose picking, getting handsy, and looking miserable. How do I do it? I don't really know.


It was a good weekend. One of those weekends that I was nostalgic about before it was even over because Grandma always does a great job of getting everyone together every summer and providing endless amounts of food, drink, and a smile in the direction of even the moodiest great grandbaby (pointing all fingers at Sebastian Xavier Patton). Not everyone could be there for various reasons (volunteer work in Cambodia? scoff. a huge final to study for? ridiculous. a new fancy pants job? dumb. JOKE x THREE ... mostly) but it was still the classic Quad Cities reunion with lots of ice cream, jokes about reunions past (Andrew vomming all over a Disney World bus, Peter getting caught peeing in public by the cops at the tender age of 8, Peter losing his swimsuit in the lake while tubing, etc more stories about Peter etc), and free babysitting. Julia just thought that she had made a lot of "new friends" but by the end of the weekend she thought everyone was her uncle and when she woke up on Sunday afternoon to find that everyone had left she had a big little breakdown. Oh, and we thought Theo was a little peanut of a kid compared to Bash at his age but then we met Bella. Oh.

And now we're back and like always after staying at my Gram's sparkling clean house I feel like our house is thee breeding ground of all breeding grounds for gross. Basically if Clutter and Squalor had lots and lots of little babies ... they would all live in our house and have more babies. So I'm on a rampage to clean and go through clothes and clean some mo and after six hours and ten trash bags hauled out the house looks no different than it did before I went into crazy-ass-turbo-minus-the-turbo mode. Probably because when I come across things like a bottle of Velvet Tuberose from Bath and Body Works and I think I wore it a few times when I was pregnant with Julia and I KNOW I'll never miss it but shouldn't I keep it to remember that summer?

NO. The answer is no but still! I stop to ponder for far too long.

Simon's been fielding text after text about the state of the house and I will be shocked if some long and emergent case doesn't come up right at five because he married a total nut. A nut that is now off to debate the merit in keeping the white maternity jeans (should not exist) that do no favors for any body - pregnant or not, swear that we are never buying another article of baby clothing ever ever ever again, and do the yearly shake of the rugs and mop of the floors. And maybe I'll get crazy and make dinner.


Laffy taffy that.



Last year's reunions posts ...

I drove up alone with the kids (still waiting for that gold medal) ...
Photos that weren't taken with a cellular device ... 
Julia fell and her tooth went fully (shudder) through her chin ...
I forgot swimsuits ...


22 comments:

  1. So because I am creepy I am looking at your Whitey's picture and I was hoping that it was MY Whitey's. But it isn't.

    Looks like a fun weekend!

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  2. family reunions are so fun! My sibs and I really need to figure out a way to have one of those every year. We have 19 kids between the 7 of us (two haven't started procreating yet) all age 12 and under and it would be so much fun!!!

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  3. 1. Crazy Bash dance-love it, LOVE love it!. Know some of the moves by heart as they run through the veins of all crazy kiddos. Also, I we put all our "your kid is crazy" pennies together we could share a Large fountain diet coke!
    2. Simons face-great capture, that's one for a frame.
    3. Family reunions are the best! Extra hands, free baby sitting and at least one person usually compliments one of the kids and you feel successful (even if it is only the bumbo bound offspring, 1 outta 2 i will take it!)

    Looks like you had a great time and your family just radiates love and happiness!

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  4. Sounds like a fab weekend! Whenever we visit our extended family, it's one big crazy party. I think it's great for the kids to feel a part of a bigger family and for us parents to take advantage of the babysitters/babylovers :) Glad you're feeling energized (enuf to clean + chase kids = impressive)!

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  5. Triplets?? Does that run in the family? *praying for only one*

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  6. I LOVE Julia's pigtails. And the fact that she prefers Julia to J... too funny. She's got A LOT of personality for such a little person.

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  7. I just read the entire 'A Year with Less' blog (family of 8 working on becoming minimalists) and subsequently stayed up WAY too late last night attempting to clean out my bathroom & hallway cupboards. I wanted to really purge the clutter. And yet I couldn't get myself to toss my lip smackers from high school?! (ok probably junior high!). Really? Because I am going to need Dr Pepper Chapstick when? Oh right. Never! Good luck with your purge...may you be far more successful than I:)

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  8. I totally need a family reunion with my family, but I am the only one that harbors grandchildren at this point so yay for the craziness I would bring! I need to go through all the things that smell that made my morning sickness hit an all time high. Luckily they are all in one bathroom cabinet but i can't seem to throw them all away!!

    http://pardonmf.blogspot.com

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  9. That looks like so much fun!! I'm glad you could get away. My family is stupid and anti-social and never get together, but they will occasionally proffer free babysitting, so you know I'm not burning any bridges on that front.

    I just got back from taking the Magnificent 7 to the beach by myself . . . because I am insane. The cherry on the top was #5 knocking out her front tooth. I literally screamed so loud when it happened that I scared the lifeguards.

    Not in my top ten most relaxing vacations and it's all my own fault.

    Good luck with all the purging/cleaning. It's what I should be doing, but I'm still recovering from my 3 year old looking like a hockey player. Will I ever learn? Probably not.

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  10. We just went to a GIANT family reunion this summer with over 100 people - I LOVE my big family!! I'm the oldest of 19 cousins, my dad has 6 siblings, and all the cousins were there, with spouses and children. So much fun!! And who wouldn't give Julia every bit of their ice cream with those cute pigtails. And just to make me feel super old - Peter and Andrew are the same age as my two oldest sons.

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  11. Something must be going around because I left Matt the craziest of crazy voicemails while he was working this weekend ranting about cleaning house yada yada. When he called back he asked if he needed to flee to Canada. I want a deep cleaning maid.

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  12. the reflexology pic reminds me of my mom. she was totally doing reflexology/massage on parker last week. also is bash legit crazy? i want deets. i mean, parker can be crazy too. and, you know, crazy loves company. bash might have him beat but we'll see.

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  13. Is that Whities I see?? My husband was born in Davenport and we still have a ton of familia in the Quad Cities. It is always a great time when we go back to visit!

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  14. First, I can't believe I've been Camping (hanging out at Camp Patton.. is it still funny if you have to explain it?) for more than a year already.. I remember when Julia's tooth went right through the skin. Oh, and I sent you a medal for that solo car ride but it must've gotten lost in the mail. Damn post office.
    The main point of this very necessary comment was to tell you A- I missed you the last few days! and B- Simon is the only one (besides Grandma) wearing shoes in the family photog.
    Annnndd because I can never just not write you a novel, I also have major issues with getting rid of anything Ryder has ever touched.. even toys that the dog has chewed beyond recognition.. "but it was Ryder's first [insert ANY item here]" or "but what if he asks to see his first toothbrush and we don't have it?" i know. issues.

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  15. AHHH, Whitey's Ice Cream! I grew up on that and would always get coconut with almonds in it. A friend of yours directed me here (Tara M.); she was right, you're hilarious!

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  16. Crazy fun and I think Simon is saying, "Put that effing camera phone down and come help me". I imagine your response, "BWAHAHAAH"!

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  17. These pics are amazing! I miss Whiteys ice cream SO MUCH.

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  18. Can I just tell you that I STILL have a phobia to this day of swimming in pools after dark because of an irrational fear that a shark is down below the surface? True story. Glad to know I'm not alone.

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  19. Is it weird that I love looking at pictures of other people's family reunions? But I do! It looks like you had so much fun!

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  20. Purge purge purge!!! Organizing is my happy place...I live a sad existence :)

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  21. I just about died when I read your linky to Peter's jock strap story. Almost died. Hi--lar-ious!!!!

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