The Week Comes to an End

Thursday was the most changeable day weatherwise, and since I didn't feel like going in the boat and watertubing or skiing or wakeboarding in the 58 degree drizzle, I stayed in bed all day and read my book, The Goose Girl. Others went out on the boat and had a nice time. The weather cleared at times and some kids even went on the tramp and went swimming. I think there was a lot of sitting around and chatting today and basically kind of a lull in the action, which is good during a week-long reunion. Thursday afternoon, Aaron, Amy and Grandma Joy went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Later on, the second shift went-Mom, Pop, Evan, Jake, Eric and, I think, Phil and Alex. Someone else should write about Thursday because I really did sort of take the day off.

Anyway, Friday was, among other things, picture day. Since I spent most of the day worrying about that, this post is mostly from the point of view of Kellie the Photographer. The weather was pleasant and partly cloudy but the clouds were moving fast. Lots of people swam and boated in the in-and-out sunlight and warmth. After lunch, we gathered by the lake and gamely attempted to take photos. The sun was too high in the sky at that point, but it was our best bet, so as you see, there is some squinting going on. Just as I would get my camera set for the overcast light, the sun would come out full on and vice-versa, so the exposure is off in just about every shot. Everyone was good-natured though, and I think we got some decent shots that at least tell our family's story, even if they are not great from a technical standpoint. This is when I thank the Lord for Photoshop.

Here are my favorites. If you want to see more of the photo shoot, click here.

The whole gang. If you count, there are 33 of us. This one is really good except Randi has her eyes closed. This one is pretty good of most everyone except several little ones are looking away or holding their noses, etc.

This is three generations. Most of my siblings, my folks and my dad's mom.
Here are 7 of 8 of us. I like this picture a lot.

Friday night was our fun talent show and I thought it went great. We had a wonderful variety, from getting to see video of Sophie dancing to video of Dave Elliott on the news at the Star Wars premier. We heard singing in Spanish, singing of hymns and decidedly politically incorrect singing (we'll never forget Grandma's pre-civil-rights lullabies, will we?). We heard Owen sing his name, and got to see a slide show of the boys' walkabout in West Virgina earlier in the week. That was a highlight. The whole thing was a treat and I am so glad we took the trouble to do it. It was really fun to share in that setting, to cheer for each other, and to enjoy the simple joys of being together.

After the little kids went to bed, we convened around the fire with the plan that each family would report on the happenings of the last year or so, but it ended up being another serendipitous opportunity to hear our Papa share his memories. This time it was memories of each child and it was funny and touching all at the same time. Things were brought to mind that I hadn't thought of in years and I gained insights into the lives of my younger brothers and sisters who lived much of their coming of age without me in the house since I married when Mandi was 4 1/2 years old.

At 11 or so, the geekiest of us got up from the fire and went over to Wal-mart to pick up our Harry Potter books. We got in line around 11:30, got our wristbands and worried a little as the store people talked about the fact that they only had 300 books. We figured we were about 50 people from the front and what if lots of them got multiple books???? It all turned out okay and we got our books quite quickly. We were out of the store and on our way by about 12:20. When we got home, some were still up talking around the fire and getting ready for bed. We got the books distributed and some of us commenced to read. Some of us did not, but it was fun to share the memory of participating in the hysteria of the most anticipated book release in history. And the book was awesome, so it was worth it to not have to wait any longer than necessary.

Saturday morning was packing, saying goodbye, getting a few last shots and everyone pitching in to get the house in shape for leaving. It went pretty smoothly, though we still, as of this writing, we still don't have the hot tub issue resolved. I will keep calling though. I would like some sort of compensation, but I guess I'll have to be sane about just how far I push it. Anyway, I am still on cloud nine about how lovely it was to be together. Certainly there were moments of all sorts-bad, good, dramatic, tense, funny, etc., but the thing is, I feel like all the moments blended together into something nice, something memorable and something that brought our family closer together. It certainly reinforced for me that heaven being organized into families is a good idea. I definitely think we got a few glimpses this week.

Wednesday

Today began with pancakes for breakfast, courtesy of Mom and a birthday crown for Tim, courtesy of me. You can see how excited he is about being singled out like this for being the birthday boy. I think his quote was, "I'll wear it just so you can think that I actually appreciate you making it for me." Bless him.


The rest of Wednesday passed in relative unstructured peace, with people hanging out, going to Wal-mart, kayaking, heading back over the the Fun Zone, and relaxing.

One of the fun things that happened was the completely impromptu way the sisters came up with of celebrating all the boys birthdays: Tim, Aaron, Ryan and Johnathan. We announced after dinner that the party would start at 7:30 and each family would draw the name of a birthday boy out of a bowl. They would then have one hour and any usable resource in the house or on the grounds to make a gift for that person. We provided glue, tape, Popsicle sticks, and post-it notes and sent everyone off. It was fabulous. These may look like run-of-the mill items, but only to the unschooled eye, for they are actually masterpieces of last-minute creativity and wit that will make me smile for years to come. Each craft demonstrated love for the recipient, familiarity with their personality and stage of life, and, best of all, great humor and fun. It was one of my favorite moments. In spite of the drama of a fallen gift on the way to presentation, the lesson learned that fifteen-cents-a-bottle glue from Wal-mart is not a bargain and neither is cheap tape, everyone rose to the occasion and made it a real celebration. Here is the gallery of the making and the gifts themselves:

Aaron and Amy crafting the perfect date for Johnathan:


The Adamoviches out on the porch making a Mexican Memory for Tim


Here is Sam taking Popsicle stick art to a royal level-this is the scepter he created for Tim:


Alex and Luc create while Phil contributes by keeping Olivia occupied elsewhere:


Meanwhile, Grandma and Ryan cook up something amazing out on the deck.


Here is the Elliott's clever (and delicious-looking) family tree for Aaron:


As well as the finished "Road to Oaxaca" diarama for Tim. Way cool:


Alex handcrafted a family portrait for Ryan that included him there on the far left. This was such a fun idea.


Mom and Pop's personalized rock for Johnathan:


The Nuss attempt to say how we feel about Tim:


Ryan and Grandma's superlative prophetic sculpture of Aaron at an advanced age, still going strong, sort of:


And last but not least, I am still compiling photos of some of the last creations, but Mandi and Tim made Ryan a very useful Girlfriend Decision Maker with petals of Popsicle sticks that are removable to help Ryan know whether or not "She loves me" or "She loves me not."
Ethan made Aaron an awesome airplane, Eric put together clever exploding Popsicle stick Frisbees, and Johnathan's perfect date was indeed perfect: beautiful, modest, and made of sugar and spice and everything nice.

The night culminated with Mandi's delish spice cake and about a hundred candles. The boys' combined age is 97 if I'm adding it up right. It was quite a cakey conflagration, but all the candles did get blown out and the party was over in time to get the little ones to bed.

After that, some headed back to the Fun Zone, and some of us thought about watching a movie but didn't , and most of us went to bed.

Days 3 and 4: Monday and Tuesday

It is a good sign that I've not updated before now because I haven't wanted to take the time away from our time together. Let me try to catch up. On Monday, Eric went and picked up the water trampoline which was an instant hit. The kids have been using it a lot. We also got a kayakish canoe or canoe-ish kayak, I don't know which, but it is more stable than either, looks like a kayak but handles more like a canoe. Whatever you call it, it has been the perfect way for couples to sneak time together while 3 other women fight over the chance to watch their kids for 30 minutes. The kids have also had some fun rides in the boat and have been perfectly satisfied with the slower pace and calm ride.

We spent a lot of time in and out of the lake on Monday, with the only disappointment being that our hot tub doesn't work. It seems a little obscene to complain in such lovely surroundings, but it has been a teeny tiny bit frustrating. The kids are enjoying the "cold tub" anyway and I call the rental office daily.

The highlight of Monday was a fireside where almost all of us except the very young (and Grandma Joy, who had already gone to bed) gathered around the fire ring outside in the cool air to have a big family home evening. It started out open-ended and became a time for everyone to share stories, testimonies, and remembrances from childhood. We got to hear about Pop's early life in West Jordan, adventures that we siblings and in-laws have shared and lots of other wonderful stuff that is of little interest outside the magic of that small circle. My heart thrilled to this evening because it indicated that the purposes of a reunion were beginning to be accomplished: We are strengthening our family bonds.

Tuesday dawned cloudy and cool, but it cleared up into the perfect kind of afternoon for a visit to Swallow Falls State Park. The path from the parking lot winds through the extraordinary atmosphere of the last old-growth forest groves in Maryland. These old trees have stories to tell I'm sure. Muddy Creek Falls are also there, and they are the highest falls in Maryland. Keep following the path and two rivers converge, then Swallow Falls spreads the river into a wide, slow swimming hole that offers the intrepid and appropriately shod visitor the chance to swim, jump, brave the (fairly gentle) current, and skip rocks all the day long.

A short walk back through the magical green-gold light of this favorite forest takes one quickly back to the real world,
but the day is prolonged a few more minutes if one takes the opportunity to get an ice cream cone from the superlative Lakeside Creamery ice-cream shop that operates at the park.

While some of us were enjoying our afternoon in the river, 6 of the menfolk went off on their Man vs. Wild adventure. They packed their gear, talked Pop into going with them and drove off into the woods of West Virginia to hike and camp for the night. More about that later.


Tuesday evening was our girls' night-so much fun. We all worked together making chocolate trifle, then got the little ones down and settled in for all four beautiful hours of Masterpiece Theatre's Jane Eyre. My favorite Mr. Rochester EVER. We enjoyed trifle, helped each other as the babies woke up for comfort and bottles and stayed up until 1 am and the glorious, bittersweet ending. It was a wonderful day.

Days 1 and 2

Well, after a settling-in operation that was reminiscent of a military operation, all 33 of us are in our assigned rooms, and everyone is helping out with the cooking, cleaning and taking care of the precious babies. The young moms can relax a little knowing that there is always a cousin, aunt, uncle or grandparent to keep a watchful eye. The older moms are reveling in the smell of babies' heads and cute toddler antics. The big cousins are being nice to the little ones and helping out at every turn to keep all the miniature people happy. So far, so good.

Most of of got here yesterday in the late afternoon. Phil, Alex and Mom were the exceptions, saving their grand entrance till about 11 pm just to keep us on our toes. Alex survived the plane trip and everyone is safe and sound. Many of the men and boy-folk went to see manly action movies last night.

Today we went to church in the wee Oakland Branch. I ended up playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting and Eric, Johnathan, Josh and Jake administered the sacrament. It was nice to be able to help even though my piano playing skills are "slender indeed." The afternoon actually went by pretty smoothly for a Sunday on vacation, with the kids making a joyful noise while the adults chatted, napped and snacked. Here is Ryan catching a catnap on the couch in the middle of total cousin chaos.
Here is Steph having a scenically serene moment of her very own.

Some of us made plans to run in the morning as we were standing around the kitchen counter enjoying a wide variety of sweets. I think our logic is that the more we run, the more we can eat.

Now everyone is settling down a notch or two. The little ones are starting to peter out, the grandmas and a couple of cousins are doing the dishes, and the lake is shimmering in the come-and-go sunshine of a storm system blowing through. When the light capriciously appears, it is the warm gold of the last hours before sunset.

Here is Owen fast asleep on the couch after a long day.
Here is Mathew fast asleep at the dinner table. When it's time, it' time!

Tomorrow, we will get the canoes, the water trampoline and the real water fun will start. We are right on the lake, so the kids can stick their toes in and swim without even having to go over to the state park beach. We probably will go over one day to have a nice sandy-beach kind of day. Lucas has already had one unintentional soaking, so we know the kids will enjoy the water.

We all arrived at Scenic Serenity on Saturday . . .

The place is huge!!!!! Scenic Serenity is located right along the shore at Deep Creek Lake, MD, which is between McHenry and Oakland, MD. Its located within the Silver Tree Landing vacation home community.

In attendance are the following souls:

1. Grandma Joy
2. Gary Wixom
3. Christine Wixom
4. Kellie & Eric Nuss
1. Jon Denver Nuss
2. Sam Nuss
3. Sara Nuss
4. Evan Nuss
5. Stephanie & Dave Adamovich
1. Chad Adamovich
2. Cheyenne Adamovich
3. Josh Adamovich
4. Jake Adamovich
5. Sophie Adamovich
6. Phil & Alex Wixom
1. Lucas Wixom
2. Olivia Newton Wixom
7. Randi & Dave Elliott
1. Ethan Elliott
2. Mathew Elliott
3. Avery Elliott
8. Aaron & Amy Wixom
1. Owen Wixom
2. Adam Wixom
9. Ryan Wixom
10. Mandi & Tim Cook
1. Tyler Wixom