10 posts tagged “frank family”

This year was a special celebration for us because we had all 4 grandparents here for dinner!  Bud and Jane flew in on Wednesday for a visit until Sunday, and Mom and Dad came over for the afternoon and evening on Thursday.  The kids loved having all the attention to themselves, and I loved the fact that the adult-child ratio was 2:1.

After a little football action and a lot of cooking action, we all took a mid-afternoon walk, on which we collected a bunch of fun fall nature items.  Then we came home and

concocted a special Thanksgiving hat with all the collected things.

 After a very yummy dinner, we passed the hat around so everyone could have a chance to wear it and share what they've been thankful for this year.

 

Everyone looked stunning, as you can see.

 

Last week we were quite happy to leave the kiln that is North Carolina in August, and head North.  Our main destination last week was beautiful Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in NY, and the site of our Frank Family Reunion.  All 22.5 of us trekked in from 5 different states to spend the week on the shores of the lake -- and it was definitely a great place to be.  We were amazed by how cool it was -- we actually had to wear sweatshirts at times! -- and Pete was overjoyed by the lack of humidity.  We felt not one ounce of air conditioning for the entire time, and loved that.  And, really, how could you be anything but thankful to wake up each morning with this view?

We enjoyed spending some quality time with all the different family members, and happily embarked on various activties, such as boating, tubing, water skiing (not me -- Pete), swimming (again, not me -- way too cold for me), hiking (on one of the 7 most scenic trails in the Northeastern US!), blueberry picking, lunching at a winery, dining on the lake, playing the Bowl Game and euchre, and washing all our dishes and utensils by hand (no dishwasher -- which is good for the soul once in awhile so we can appreciate the appliance more when we get home).  One of the other fun aspects for the kids was seeing Amish carriages everywhere -- the local grocery store even had a parking garage/stable(?) for them!   We also ate a LOT of cake over 5 days because we had several different occasions to celebrate, including Jane's 70th birthday and Rayna's 6th.  So, that of course made it a good week.  :) 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our time there:

 

Pete's parents, Bud and Jane, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on February 10th this year.  So to surprise them, we had a big party for them 6 months (exactly) later in Rochester, NY -- the town they lived in for many years.  It ended up being a really great afternoon -- I think they were truly surprised and the party was fun.  The most amazing part was seeing how many friends of theirs came, many of whom Bud and Jane hadn't even seen for a long time.  My in-laws are great examples to me in their capacity for friendships.  People love them!

 

As part of the "program" for the party, the grandkids reprised a song they worked on last year, called "If I weren't a Grandkid."  I'll put a short clip of it below.... Since you probably won't understand most of the words, the basic idea is that each verse is about something Bud or Jane like to do (volunteer, ski, drive the tractor, etc).

 

 

This past weekend Pete's parents came for a visit.  The original intention of their trip was to help watch our kids while Pete and I went to California.... but since our plans changed, we all got to spend some quality time together.

The adventure for one of the days was going to the Charlotte Museum of History and playing with the visiting Toy Time exhibit.  All 3 kids had a blast playing with the big toys.... Colsen's favorite was a push-toy that he kept using as a "vacuum."  Afterwards there was a tour of the Hezekiah Alexander House, which everyone found interesting.

Other adventures included a trip to the par 3 golf course, a trip to the $2 movie theater, several neighborhood walks, an attempt to go to the Lowes Motor Speedway tour (sold-out  :(  ), a couple lunches out, and a visit to my parents' house.  We enjoyed having the grandparents here -- and especially appreciated their help with the kids, and fixing the ceiling fan in our bonus room!   Thanks, Bud and Jane, for making the trip!!

 

 

 

I (Pete) don’t post very often on this blog, but we traveled to Minneapolis this past weekend for a visit with my sister Sue and her family and we had an awesome time -- it's worthy of my entering blog-land to talk about it.

 

Here are some of the many highlights:

 

·         Tubing and skiing on two of the 10,000 plus lakes

·         Jumping on the trampoline

·         Playing the Wii (guitar hero, golf, marble mania)

·         A Twins game (versus the Diamondbacks in inter-league play)

·         Pool/water park

·         Cousin David’s baseball game

·         Visiting my friend Soup

·         Rides at the Mall of America

·         An outdoor Church service

 

·       Some quotes from the weekend:

 

Strider to Amy: Today I went tubing and got some serious air

 

Rayna arriving home just off the plane, in a sad tone: I just miss Aunt Sue, Uncle Al, Maggie [the dog], David and Krista.

 

Strider: Did you know that with your plane ticket on the way there and the way back you get a free cup of juice?  A free cup of juice if you have a ticket!

 

Me: Maybe we should spend the whole summer in Minnesota some year.

Our bi-annual gathering of the 22-member Frank family for Thanksgiving (for some reason, no one else will join me in calling it Franksgiving!) was once again held in the Pennsylvania highlands, at Ligonier Camp.  On the way home, I, being my mother's daughter, asked everyone what their favorite parts of the trip were, so here is the compiled list:

Top 10 Things We Liked About Thanksgiving in Ligonier

1. (Strider and Pete): "Playing football -- and watching football."

The weather was nice enough on the first couple days to play some good games outside...

 

.... and then when the weather was colder and the BIG games were on, somehow Pete configured a little tiny TV with a paperclip and a coat hanger so they could all watch it!

2.  (Rayna):  "Playing with cousins -- and Aunt Sue" 

She loved all the attention she got... playing games, reading books, going for walks.  There was always someone to play with! 

3.  (Amy):  Being in Ligonier

Driving into this town conjures up many fun memories for me (especially from when I was counselor there), but it's also been fun to see how it's changed -- and become more and more beautiful --each time we go.  Here are some pictures I took from the car as we drove into town, and then onto the driveway of the camp:

4.  (Colsen):  Playing outside

The first day we were there, especially, was beautiful.  We spent a few hours exploring and playing out in the fields and hills.

 

 

 

5.  (Strider): Throwing snowballs!

The warm weather didn't last.... By Thursday evening it was snowing, and Friday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground!  The kids had fun playing in it.... Alas, I didn't get any pictures!  (what was I thinking??)

6.  (Pete): "Conversations with my nieces and nephews"

The older kids are getting so.... well, old now!  They're a lot of fun to talk to and hang out with.... and this is related to one of my favorite things from the weekend...

7. (Amy):  Seeing how well the older cousins play with the younger cousins.

We sent all the kids (except the 2 babies) on a big Scavenger Hunt around the camp, and they were in teams of 2: one older kid and one younger.  It was fun to see them work together and enjoy each other.  I kept thinking about how blessed I am to be a part of a family where the teenagers (even the guys!) actually play with the little kids.   Here were the teams:

 

 

8. (Strider):  "Doing the Yankee Swap present game"

We had fun doing some Christmas activities as well, since we won't all see each other then.

 

9. (Pete):  "Thanksgiving dinner -- and sweet potato casserole!"

Everyone helped make their "signature dishes" and the food really was delicious.  

 

 

... and then, of course, there were the pies!

 

10.  (Amy):  Hearing all the many, many random conversations --- all going on at once!

The greater Frank family has yet to produce a shy or reserverd individual, so the times we spend together are full of loud conversations.  At any particular moment, it's fun to just sit back and try to listen to how many people are talking at once.  I would estimate that of the 22 people present, there are always at least 17 saying something.   And oftentimes it's awfully random stuff....  Like 3-year-old Grace repeating "Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble" incessantly (which I guess was my fault because we played a Turkey Hunt game in which I told them they had to "gobble gobble" when they found a turkey), or Grandma Jane singing "Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition" over and over.... with no clear context as to why she was singing it.  But, hey, that's what makes family fun, right?

 

 

And, since we hadn't had quite enough of this loud family conversation time, on our way home from Ligonier, we stopped at my parents', where we had dinner with 17 members of the extended Wray family (including Uncle Pete and Aunt Lisa).  And once again, dinner was full of lots of simultaneous talking.... getting louder and louder and louder.  It's enough to wear out one's ears!

Now, we're home, though... and it's slightly quieter.  Colsen appears to be coming down with the bi-annual Franksgiving cold, so maybe some quiet downtime will be good for awhile...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the highlights of our big trip to Ohio this summer ocurred the very first night we were there.  We celebrated Bud/Grandpa's 70th birthday!  Since Boy Scouts has been such a big part of his life, we had a Scout-themed party -- with a ceremony and everything.  Here are some of the pictures:

 

The party included some serious elements, like a gift presentation of a photo album, a speech by Grandpa, and the pledge of allegiance... and also some fun things, like presenting Grandpa with numerous "merit badges" that he's "earned" in his life.  There was also a funny skit by the 3 oldest grandsons, and some funny dancing by the youngest grandchildren at the end...

 

But my favorite part -- and a moment that made me very proud to be a member of this large Frank family -- was a song that a lot of the grandkids (and a couple of the adults) did about Grandpa.  The main part of the song was something like "I'm glad I am a grandkid, there's nothing I'd rather be, but if I weren't a grandkid, a ____  I would be."  And then they each sang a separate verse.... all at the same time.  The cacophany was great!  I have some video of it, but apparently all the files are too big for this web site... bummer.

Now the site is telling me something is wrong with my other pictures, so I can't share them today... I'll try again later!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 22nd, exactly 6 years (to the day!) after Strider was baptized, Colsen was baptized at Church of

 the Redeemer. 

It was a special weekend... and one of the best parts was that Aunt Sue and Krista came for a visit all the way from Minnesota!

After picking them up from the airport, Pete and the kids took them to the U.S. Whitewater Center, and everyone enjoyed some time to walk around and explore.  It was a beautiful day.

Saturday, April 21, the day they arrived, was Krista's 11th birthday, so we had fun celebrating that too!  Strider and Rayna greeted her with birthday signs and balloons at the airport, and we decorated the house in preparation for her arrival too.  It was also a great reason to make a cake -- a checkerboard cake.  Everyone was amazed by how I put each individual square in it.  :)

Later on in their visit, Sue took Krista and Strider ice skating -- they all seemed to have fun, despite the fact that they all walked away with blisters!

It was nice having Sue and Krista both around.  They were very helpful with the kiddos, and they're so easy-going about everything!

Colsen's big day was great.  I kept him awake all morning (didn't want him to miss anything!) so by the time the baptism actually happened, he was rubbing his face and getting pretty ornery.  And when Dean put the water on his head, he wasn't exactly thrilled either. :)  My favorite part, though (aside from Rayna twirling around in front of the whole church lifting up her dress and trying to play "ring around the rosy" with Strider during the prayer) was when Pete prayed a blessing over Colsen.  The verses we've picked for Colsen are Isaiah 44:3-5, and Psalm 119:1-2, and we pray that he will grow to be a boy and a man "of victorious people" as his name means.  In many ways, this boy tells us the story of God's redemptive plans and we are so thankful for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gee-Gee/Mom/Jane flew from Ohio to sunny North Carolina for a visit this weekend!  And what a weekend it was....

Before we went to the airport to pick her up, I ran around in the morning trying to get the house in some semblance of order (succeeded mostly in just re-defining DISorder), got all the kids dressed (actually Rayna got dressed herself and marched out of her room yelling "I look CUTE!"), got out the door finally, missed a turn at the airport, etc., etc.,....  Anyway, we eventually found her! 

 

 

After we picked her up from the airport, we headed back to our house. Then we walked down to our neighborhood coffee shop for lunch...

 

After a fun afternoon of playing together, we got ready for dinner...

 

... and I even cooked a real, non-healthy, good dinner!  (Pete said it had been WAY too long)

 

We also had some wine.... which immediately made me dizzy and light-headed and prompted Pete to make comments for the rest of the evening about how trashed I was everytime I did or said something goofy.  (I wasn't, BTW)

Colsen put on a show for us that evening (he's starting to scootch around on his belly, even gets up on his knees like a little inch-worm),

 

... and we watched some basketball on tv (Strider really wanted Butler to win because it would be a "sweet upset" he kept saying.  They didn't win.)  And then we went to bed.  It was our first real HOT night (but we refuse to put on the air conditioner in MARCH).  Strider came down the next morning and reported that he was sweating so much overnight that he had worn his sports sweatband to bed.

Anyway, the next morning we got ready (along with a couple of Strider's friends) go to our neighborhood Kite Day festival.  The kids were very excited to go:

 

... even Colsen!

 

Rayna enjoyed the Moon Bounce thing,

 

 .... and Strider got a kick out of the magician there

 

Even Colsen was awed by it all...

 

Despite the fact that there was no wind to speak of, the kite flying attempts were made....  At first Pete was a little lonely out there trying to get the kite up, but once it was airborne, the kids came to see!

 

That afternoon we went up to Birkdale Village to do some shopping, then went to meet my parents for ice cream and to celebrate Poppa's birthday...

 

.... Then after a fun dinner out at Firebirds, we came home and crashed!

This morning we went to church and this afternoon we've been playing games...

 

Gee-Gee brought the games "Left, Right, Center" and "Farkle" (Rayna keeps jumping around saying "I want to play Sparkle!") and both have been major hits here.

 

Soon our visit must end, but we're so glad she came to see us!!