rich times

I haven't posted in a while, because life has been pretty busy! I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Saskatchewan for a big family reunion. It was great to spend time with my immediate family, as well as many extended family members. My dad's mom's siblings and all of their descendants all got together for a weekend, which has happened at least every three years since I was a baby, if not a few years before, when my great-grandparents were still alive. It is still going strong now, with feelings by many that it definitely still needs to continue. It says a lot that even my generation (the 4th of this branch of the family tree) still has a really good showing. There was lots of good Mennonite food. I learned how to make Roll Kuchen with my dad and several others. As someone put it that weekend, our 3 food groups are flour, butter, and sugar! There was also a lot of singing and playing of instruments. What a treat to be a part of that.

While I was in Saskatchewan I also spent some time with my mom's side of the family, as well as two old friends. It was so good to connect with all of them again.

I was home only 2 days, and then I headed off to Puget Island for the weekend at my friend Nathan's family's cabin. This island is in the Columbia River between Portland and Astoria, Oregon. It's a beautiful spot! There was a group of about 12 or so of Nathan & Telia's friends, and we had a great time sitting on the beach and swimming despite the cloudy weather, going in the boat and wakeboarding (for some), eating lots of great food masterfully grilled by Nathan, playing Mafia and Balderdash, picking blackberries, playing ultimate frisbee, and catching up with special friends. The weekend went too fast!