Family Reunion in Tennessee

 Thursday, July 14 we drove to Chatenooga, Tennessee-- a 13-hour drive-- for Dave's family reunion. No one lives there, but it is a central place to meet.  Erika, Tyler and Andrea were with us in our van. We arrived that evening in a huge thunderstorm and had dinner with relatives at their cabin. We stayed in a cabin with Dave's parents, 3 sisters and 2 nieces. It was in a pretty setting and was a charming, rustic cabin with plenty of room. (Click the title for more pics.)

 Friday I went with a group on a lunch cruise down the river.  This is us before boarding.  Dave, Andrea, Erika and Tyler were more daring and went white water rafting.  They had a great time--some falling out, some jumping out.  I'm glad they had fun and were all safe.

 Friday afternoon we also hopped a free bus in Chatenooga and saw where the Chatenooga Choo-Choo was.  This pretty hotel was once the bus station.

 Andrea and cousin Christine had a good time together.

 Friday night was a barbecue in a glass pavillion in a pretty park here.

  (Christine and Erika)  The lights were pretty at night, and it was right on the water. 

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Here's Dave with his sisters that night.
Saturday night all 70 or so of us ate at a restaurant in town.  We saw a family slide show and everyone took family pictures.  It was fun to see everyone again.  It's a nice family to belong to!

Day trip to the Beach

 We're lucky to live a few hours from the beach.  We had a nice day with Julia and Andrea walking the boardwalk, eating Boardwalk Fries, buying souvenirs and salt-water taffy, flying our kite, and even getting hit by the waves.

My Denver Visit

Kara called on Monday (June 20) with the news that Blake David Decker was born.  I flew out that evening to Denver to see him and help out.  Luke picked me up and took me straight to the hospital to stay the night with Kara, while Luke went home with Jacob.  Wednesday I went home and watched Jacob and we picked Kara and Blake up at the hospital. 

Blake looks so small in his car seat even though he weighed 8 lbs 9oz when he was born. He is ready to go home!

Blake's first bath

Blake in his swing

Luke's parents were here last weekend and took this picture in Kara's back yard.

 Jacob is getting more used to me now, and we've done things like gone to the park, the library, blown bubbles, gone on walks and played with his cars.

He will be a good big brother.

Kara is doing well.  She's up and about already after one week and we've done some errands together.  I think she'll do great with the two boys

Here's the family in front of the Denver Temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Blake is on the blanket I crocheted for him.

Blake is so cute!!  As my Italian friend said, seeing his picture, "e bellissimo sembra fatto di zucchero".  (He's so beautiful he seems to be made of sugar.")

Baby Blake

Kara had baby Blake David on Monday.  She and Luke went to the hospital at 1:00 pm, and he was born at 2:20 pm.  Good work, Kara!

Blake weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces, and is healthy and seems happy.

I flew in to Denver that evening and was able to stay with Kara until she was discharged Wednesday morning.

                                           Big brother Jacob had been talking for awhile about baby brother.

What sweetie pies!!

Andrea's 8th Grade Completion

Andrea has completed 8th grade. Our family has now attended the elementary school and middle school for the last time. She will attend high school in the fall.

Here is the decorated gym for the dance that evening. Congrats, Andrea!! You have well represented the Meiners' family name.

Spring Cleaning

As we waited for Erika and Tyler to arrive from Idaho, I did some spring cleaning. I like to keep the furniture neutral, and embellish with seasonal pillows, curtains and rugs.

 I like change, so it is fun to record the different ways the rooms are decorated.

Erika and Tyler came on May 25th to stay with us so that Tyler could establish 3 month residency to attend school here.  We have enjoyed having them.

Family Portrait

Andrea upcycled our movie 3-D glasses with bright new colors for our family pic while Julia was at home this winter.

Excursion to Harper's Ferry

Dave and I took a day trip in May to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.  It is located in a strategic place where Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia meet.  The Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet there too.  It has a lot of intersting history, particularly during the Civil War era.

We saw several people reenacting different parts of life.  These people recreated the boats that sailed up and down the rivers.  They let us get on and tour them.  They cooked right on the boats, too.

In 1859 John Brown raided this armory where they stored lots of guns that were made here.  He was an abolitionist and wanted the arms to fight.  He was caught and hung, but it is still quite a controversial topic concerning his role in bringing on the war, and the abolition of slavery.

St. Peters church, built in 1833 was the only church not destroyed during the Civil War.

Harper's Ferry changed hands 8 timesfrom 1861-65  (being so near Maryland, a Northern state, and Virginia, a Southern state in the war.)

It was a fun town to walk through.  Many of the buildings are museums belonging to the park service and can be toured, while other buildings are fun shops.

We had some nice weather to take in some of the beauty and history of the area.

ERIKA IS A MASTER COUNSELOR

Erika with Julia, James and Tammy

Erika with proud hubby, Tyler.

Erika recieved her Masters's Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Idaho State University.  YAY!  Awesome job, Erika!

Jamestown/Williamsburg

Click the title to see the pictures of our trip to Historic Jamestown which was settled over 400 years ago--the first permanent (European) settlement in America.  Julia and Andrea were with us for a 3-day trip on April 8-10 before Julia headed back to Brigham Young University-Idaho.

In Jamestown we saw the recreated village, ships and Indian village much as they were in the early 1600s, as well as a new museum with interesting artifacts.  The stories of people like John Smith and Pocahontas interest me.  Though it was sad to hear about all the bloodshed, famine, disease and suffering that many of them endured.

Then we walked through Colonial Williamsburg, just a few miles away.  It was a scenic trip!  Sorry I missed Queen Elizabeth who came last year for the 400th Anniversary of the settlement of their colony.

Christmas in Fallbrook

We were lucky to find a fouse in Fallbrook that we could rent.  We were all here (except Daniel, who is on a mission) for James' and Tammy's wedding, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and James' birthday.  Here we are on Christmas morning.  My mom and Craig were here for the morning.  Santa came and filled people's stockings.  Other than that we had a draw and each person picked someone to get a present for.  It was simple in terms of the amount of gifts exchanged, but was very relaxed and fun to be together.  We were also happy to get to talk to Daniel (Elder Meiners).  The last time we had heard his voice was Mother's Day.