List from girl who never uses lists except as a time saving writing tool to avoid transitions.

We were missing Luke in this picture, but this is my teriffic family. lobiwan and mllr have more pictures of the anniversary festivities.



I don't really have a camera so a picture filled blog doesn't follow. The reception for the 50th wedding anniversary went off without any trouble. The music was good and the slides were fun. Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy the event and it was a nice moment, sublime in fact. The fam sans Luke headed for Colorado. My personal highlights were:

1. Getting to see Jonathan. He lives too far away.
2. Joanna in the swimming pool. She is a free spirit.
3. Whitewater rafting and amusing each other along the way. My boat was Drew, Lainey, Joanna, Margaret, Betsy and Matthew. Drew should never be lead paddle.
4. Talking to Mark. I really like him and I don't get to talk to him often enough.
5. Hanging out by the pond. I had Cephas, Jairus and Anna crawling on me with my toes in the water. It's great to be loved. I also recognized Lydia and Lainey at a distance before anyone else did (2 skinny, pretty girls. Who else could it be?).
6. Spencer and Levi in the back of the car playing some dog computer game. Spencer and Levi fishing, Spencer and Levi... again and again.
7. Taking Cephas to the emergency room with Shannon wasn't a good highlight, but a highlight just the same. I wore a lead apron and coaxed Cephas to sit up straight since Shannon is pregnant so that they could take x-rays of the little guy. Mary drove to Colorado Springs with us so that I would have someone to ride back with me. Cephas spent rest of the vacation in the hospital and I missed out on helping Jim make the fam sing hyms after supper.
8. One more bad highlight-- Drew's piano playing.
9. Florissant Fossil Beds. There are these petrified redwood stumps in Colorado and the trails lead through a beautiful mountain meadow. We listened to a lecture on volcanic ash, algae, and climate change. When the ranger asked questions, Kathryn got every answer right. I got to talk soils with dad. Ruth, Michael, Michaella, Jeanette, Eric, Jonathan, and Dad let me read the tour book for the stops along the trail (ok they weren't given a choice).
10. Crags trail. Good hiking fun. Jonathan on the baby backpack behind Eric was sweet asleep or awake. Michael drove there, Margaret backseat drove and Drew criticized. Ahhh, family! The drive there was less than 15 minutes from where we were staying. During the hike Christian found a cave and the rest of the crew (meaning people under 21) followed. The views were beautiful and the thin air was fun to breathe.
11. Finney praying for his dad at supper when Robert went to the emergency room. Mom of course said her most famous line "why don't we pray right now". They never figured out what was wrong with Robert, but he was in a lot of pain. Mary's vacation away from the hospital didn't really pan out. The next day Robert joined the family and so I think God was listening.
12. Nerd games. Played with Michael, Eric, Jeanette and Chris. Eric won.
13. Cripple Creek. Dad and I spent $2 in the slots with Spencer, Levi, Lydia and Lauren staring from the outside. And the pistachio gelato was delicious.
14. Driving home with Joanna, Drew, and Spencer. We eventually read Mere Christianity aloud since that was what Drew was reading. It was great.

Writing it all down makes me remember that I didn't get to spend enough time with everyone, but that is the nature of the Disco. I think we all had a long, long list.