Meneely Reunion

It was a beautiful weekend for the Meneely reunion this year!  We tried to stay outside as much as possible.

We had a weenie roast at the old farm.

George Meneely's great-grandkids....or at least the ones we could round up for a picture.

And his great-great-grandkids.

Weirdos.

When we first saw Soren (the girls' second cousin) Olive said "Who is that?"  Then by the end of the weekend, they were best buds.

Lauren's boyfriend made his first reunion appearance.  Which is a big deal.  My aunt once said you shouldn't bring someone to the reunion unless there was a ring...so obviously we teased them relentlessly about marriage even though they just started dating.  Things *may* have been posted on Facebook.  We even made him eat gooseberry pie (a Meneely tradition).  Luckily he had a great sense of humor and took it all in stride.

The best part of a reunion is always dessert.

Okay, the best thing is really the playground.  Growing up, it was the coolest playground I had ever seen.

I have so many memories of this slide.  It makes me so happy to see my kids enjoy the same stuff I did when I was their age.

This girl is just like her dad.  She climbed up here herself.

Hannah was really looking forward to the reunion this year.  I asked her what she liked about it, thinking it was the playground or unlimited desserts.  She said "the people."

Meneely Reunion

 We had a busy Saturday with two soccer games and a birthday party.  I was ready to skip the Meneely Reunion on Sunday just so we didn't have to travel.  But when I talked about it to the girls Hannah said, "We HAVE to go to the Meneely Reunion!  We never miss it!  We get prizes and Olive and I get to draw the names!  And there is all the good food!"  With that much excitement, I couldn't say no.  So off we went.  And they did indeed get to draw the names for prizes.  And they each got the prize they really wanted (silly string).

Fun with SnapChat

Jump!

Hannah has been jumping on that since she was a fetus.  Here she is when I was 3 months pregnant at the reunion in 2008.

For me, the best part of the reunion was always playing with my cousins.  And now my kids get to play with my cousin's kids: Liam and Soren.  Love.

Grandma has the best crazy face.  Could someone please turn this into a meme?

As usual, it was a great time and I'm glad we made the trip.  It is always good to see family.  And it is really special to go to a place where I had so many memories growing up...and now I get to watch my kids make memories in the same place.

Meneely Reunion

Well, we went to Chillicothe again. This time for the Meneely reunion. Last year at the reunion I was 3 months pregnant, and now here she is! Of course Hannah was a big hit. Most of the extended family had only seen her in pictures and they loved seeing her smiles in person.

While we were in town we saw all of Hannah's grandparents and great-grandparents. I think it is important for her to grow up knowing her family and our goal was to make it back to Chillicothe once a month for that purpose. But after being totally exhausted from a long week, then running around seeing everyone on the weekend, then back to work again...we're doing some rethinking! Maybe once every 2 months will be sufficient and we can try to entice the grandparents to come see us with cute Hannah pictures. :)

Pictures from the reunion:

Every year they have ridiculous door prizes, and this year was no exception. Here is the bounty won by us and our cousins. Notice Steve and I opted for the practical soap and light bulbs, while others chose more frivolous things like a pink elephant and corn candle (ahem, Flat Jason and Marissa).

Unrelated to the reunion, but totally cool...I got to feed a deer! It was Tom and Marsha's neighbors' "pet" deer.

Meneely Reunion

Our epic weekend continues... after the zoo run and school carnival, we drove to Meadville, MO on Sunday for the Meneely Reunion.  Yes, we are crazy.  What is worth driving 2 hours there and back in one day?  Family and a good park. :)

 

Hannah was in a grumpy mood, so I suggested we should all take an angry picture...
 

 Aunt Marissa, Hannah, Grandma, Olive, Megan, Uncle Casey, Uncle Justin, Grandpa, Steve

 

 

 

 

Her response to "Where's Sisa?"
 

 

 

 

 

 

Men in Stripes: my Uncle Dennis, his son-in-law Jason, and grandson Soren.

Check out how much the girls (especially Olive) changed from last year's Meneely Reunion.  And if you are really bored: 2010 and 2009 and 2008.

Meneely Reunion

It is Meneely Reunion time again!  Check out how we've changed since last year.

It was Casey's first reunion, so of course he was in awe of the amazing prizes.  Here is the combined Meneely/Schad/Stapp/Kerr/Prewitt bounty:

Hannah tried her first gooseberry pie...and liked it!  Here she is being silly for the crowd.

Hannah and Grandpa playing in the park.

John, Jason, Amanda (and fetus), and Lauren.  Why is she so sad?  Because she missed the reunion.

Boys riding horses.