Family Reunion and Grandma Turns 80

Whenever I told people I was going to Vermont for a vacation, their first response was usually “Why?” Their second response was usually “Family?” Vermont is a well kept secret beauty. People don’t know what they’re missing out on. I wouldn’t either if my dad hadn’t grown up there.

My Grandma Eleanor shares a birthday with her sister Ellen who is exactly one year older than her. They decided to have a big combined birthday party to celebrate turning 80 and 81 years old. All 7 of her kids, 14 out of 15 grandkids, and all 6 of her great-grandkids were able to come. Pretty amazing since about half of them live clear across the country.

The festivities started at the cute little Pond Ridge motel where all the out-of-towners stayed. Going to Vermont is kind of like traveling back to a different time zone. Everything is very small town country style. For example, make sure you have cash when you go out to eat because most restaurants don’t take cards. They say it takes too long to swipe the card and wait for the dial up internet to connect. Therefore, cash only so the line can keep moving! Also, cell phone service is a a luxury, not a necessity. Sometimes your calls connect, sometimes they don’t. We thought maybe it was just our cell phone service since we were out of state, but when Scott asked my local Vermonter cousin what kind of cell phone service most people had there his answer was “crappy.”

Chillin outside our motel.

Cute little country town with people playing folk music on the street.

After we had ourselves a nice big country breakfast including some pure Vermont maple syrup (mmmmmmm), we headed over to Silver Lake to meet the whole family, wear our matching t-shirts, eat lots of grub, and swim in the lake.

Uncle Kyle restores old fashioned bikes. They are sweet. Boston loved this one and kept wanting to sit on it. Check out the banana seat and horn! I got to take this on a ride through the Vermont country! So fun!

We brought Boston's playpen to Silver Lake and managed to get him to take a little nap! That's him in his playpen way out there.

This uploaded the wrong way and I don't want to fix it, but it's my cousins little 4 year old on a mini motor cycle. It was so cute.

I was a bit nervous to get in the lake since I’m used to swimming in Texas swimming pools the temperature of lukewarm bathwater as opposed to a chillingly refreshing lake, but after some coaxing from my Aunt Karla, I took a running/screaming jump right in to the lake holding both Karla’s and Kristen’s hands. It was probably my favorite part of the whole reunion. I love a good adrenaline rush. What made it even better is that I was frantically trying to doggy paddle to the the side because I can’t really swim and I asked a cousin next to me how deep it was and he said, “Um...I’m standing.” Then everyone got a good laugh at me as I said “Oh” and calmly put my feet down and stood up.

After the reunion I got to go on a gorgeous Vermont run with my sister Kristen. After running in the blistering heat and smothering humidity of Texas for the past several months, I was in heaven. I was ready to pack my bags and move to Vermont. If only the weather was like that year round and they didn’t have such nasty winters. I was absolutely in love with all of the old fashioned houses there with their big porches and huge yards. I was pretty entertained on my run looking around at all the cute houses. Kristen and I even saw two white tailed deer.

That's all I have time for right now, but the birthday party pictures are coming in the next post!