Family Reunion - Happy Birthday Grandma

This year would have been my grandmothers 100 birthday. She died a few years ago and my aunt decided it would be good to do a reunion on her birthday. I shared some of the games we played (and used to play) at the reunion but this is the page where I put all the other stuff that we did at the reunion in case you need ideas. 

I contacted all the family weeks ago and asked if they had any photos or memorabilia that they thought others in the family may want. I was actually collecting if for another reason but it just worked out that we were having this reunion so I could share what I collected. I spent hours sorting and three days at Walmarts across the state scanning what items others had about my grandparents lives and put it all together on a few discs to share at the reunion. 

I will go into that more later but we had a table of memorabilia at the reunion. We had someone read a brief history of my grandmothers life. We had a work station where I set up making copies for everyone and included things people brought that morning. 

We had a few people sing songs that my grandmother wrote and had published. We all sang a few of her songs as well. 

I suggested a bouncy house for the kids as they didn't have a play ground at this park and it was a hit. It always had kids in it. 

We had barbecue catered and the meal was wonderful.  The only issue we had with that was they used a regular power cord and you can't do that with the big catering pans. Check out what it did to this regular extension cord. We almost had a fire and it blew the circuits at the park which made us have to run the bouncy house off a generator. 

There were two volley ball courts and so I suggested some sand toys and they were also a hit with the little children. You can see them building castles here.  The older members of the family enjoyed playing volleyball later.
My cousin hired his friend who is a photographer to take a group picture of everyone there. I was sad that one aunt was in the hospital and another from out of state wasn't there. It may have been the last chance for a family picture of the siblings together. 

They grouped us together in family clusters on a hill for the picture and I snapped this picture as everyone was headed to the hill. Our family is getting quite large and lots of them were missing but it was good to see those who were able to attend. 

One family had a wedding on the other side of the family and several of my siblings had children who were off doing life. Even Princess three was busy working and wasn't able to attend. Partly, that was my fault, thinking I forwarded the invitation when I actually didn't.

I think we should have had better assignments as one family brought in all the speakers, ordered the food, did the set up (with a little help), got the photographer, bouncy house, bought prizes, and did most of the clean up. 

I stayed until everything was cleaned up and by then it was way after dark. I hope we can get into a place in the future where my aunt's family doesn't have to do it all. I did the Bunko Reunion last year (click here) and much of it fell on me so I know how that goes. We still haven't figured out the best way to work that as many are out of town or state and my mother isn't capable since her accident. I'll have to ponder on that one and let you know if I come up with anything that would work better. 

The short list of hits: 

Bouncy house or slide -  Always a hit and we have had them at three reunions now and it is well worth the money to keep the kids entertained. Make sure you anchor them down as we had a wind gust once that tipped over the slide. 

Catered dinner rather than pot luck - There is a bigger cost but it is so nice to have someone else bring all the food and paper goods and do the clean up. Just make sure they have a good power source. 


Information Sharing - It would have been better to have everyone send me what they had or scan them but most people, if they have to put themselves out time and energy wise, they won't share. If you ask to take the item, they won't want to have it out of their site. The best bet is to take a day when you can borrow it in their town and scan it at Walmart. Then, make a disc for everyone to have prior to the reunion. I worked the entire day and got no visiting in because I had to take the stuff to a nearby building once the power went out at the pavilion. Still worth it for everyone to have but lots of headaches for the person making them. 

Family picture - People are fresh when they first arrive but you miss late comers but others have to leave early. I suggest telling everyone there is a family photo near the beginning so everyone isn't hot and sweaty from the games or messy from the meal. Set up a time and a nice place scoping it out before hand. Morning or dusk is better for lighting as we all have shadows from the hot sun. Or have a shaded place or take it indoors. 

Speaker system - Outside and with lots of little children or streets nearby, you will have a hard time hearing. My cousins brought their sound system for their band and it worked wonderfully and everyone was able to hear. They had everyone get up and introduce themselves and give a quick synopsis of their family. It was great catching up with everyone.We used a megaphone in the past but it wasn't near as nice as having speakers and microphones.

These are just some things to think about if you are going to be doing a reunion. Plan it all out in advance and take a run through it in your head from decorations to clean up writing down anything you may need. Bathrooms and extra paper is a must when you have a large group gathering. Also, name tags help with children you may not know. 

Hope this helps you. It was well worth the effort! 

Reunion Part 1 - Fun Group Games

REUNION GAME STATIONS:

 1. SHOOTING ROCKETS

They actually used an air compressor to shoot off the rockets that the kids decorated and made. They put them on PVC and used that as the frame to tape up the paper around it into a cylinder and they put foam in them to stop it up at the end and then shot them off with the compressor. 

I have seen it done with a pump and then release valve but the compressor made it easy and they would go higher so it was good. 

If you didn't have electricity, the pump and release would work better for camping etc. We have taken that type of system camping many times and the kids always have fun making the paper rockets and decorating them. 

 

2. ESKIMO BLANKET

This was really fun for the smaller kids. It is called Eskimo Blanket because they used to do this in Alaska. It was done by the Eskimos. The older kids and parents flung the kids into the air. 

It is a special blanket however that has hand holds sewn in on all sides so I wouldn't do this with just a blanket or someone's hands may slip causing injury. Each child got about four or five throws and all were smiles. (Some were after they were off the blanket!) 

3. AIR HOCKEY

This was a full sized air hockey table size that they used hockey sticks that were shortened to play "hockey" but it wasn't on air. The older children enjoyed this more than the younger kids. as you can see here. Even some of the adults got in on the action. 

  4. BOCCE BALL

You probably know this store bought game so I'll skip to another game.

5. THREE-LEGGED RACE

This was fun and Princess one and Prince one were excited to do this race. They used duct tape to secure the legs but only used one piece. This was difficult to keep their legs together especially on the people who weren't even in size. 

I would suggest that you use ties or at least two places to secure the upper and lower legs together as everyone was excited to do this but there were a few scraped knees in the bunch after it was over. 

A potato sack race may have gone over better here but they did have fun. 

6. BAT SWING

This is a softball on the end of a string and is for batting practice. I am not showing it because it wasn't that big of a hit as only one person can play at a time. It is really fun to do but not as a group game. 

7. DOUBLE BALL LATTER

This is also a store bought or made game that is really popular and  so I am not including photos here but it was also not something that lots could do at the same time. The other games were more popular but I am just including everything that was on the list to give you ideas.

8. SAW DUST TREASURE HUNT 

This was a HUGE hit with the kids. This was something we did at our family reunions when I was a child so I suggested it when I was asked on game ideas. They got $60 in coins and some small toys and stuck it in saw dust. We used to do it in a hard sided baby pool but they just used a tarp which in many ways was easier to clean up. 

 

When we played it as children, they would allow children to go by age and would throw more toys and money in each age group but since our reunion wasn't as big, they just had the kids go at the same time. 

They kids loved it and they gave every child a gallon zip-loc bag at the beginning with their name on it and they got prizes for every thing they participated in and would add it to the bag so that things weren't left all over. It worked well and we knew where everyone's prizes were and  the kids loved it. 

 

9. WATER-BALLOON TOSS

This was a HUGE success and the adults even liked doing this. My princesses and several cousins spent hours filling balloons and putting them in coolers. When I asked Princess Five what her favorite game at the reunion was, she said "The water balloon toss." When it was time to do it, they had towels and everyone had a partner and two holding a towel across from them. The foursome that got the furthest apart without breaking the balloon won the game. They had enough for them to do it several times over. I was working on some other projects and didn't get any pictures of this game but EVERYONE was playing. Even the old timers got involved with this. I wish I had finished all my projects before hand so I could have enjoyed the events more but more on that later. Princess Two said that this was really fun for her and she thought it would become a water fight but since prizes were involved, the kids were really trying to make it work.

 

10. TUG-O-WAR

This was a big event as well. As you can see by the pictures, the kids LOVED participating in this. They had most of the little kids on one side with some big anchors in the back and then more teens on the other side. 

I had kids on both sides and loved everyone on both teams so I was cheering for everyone. As you can see, the competition got heated and they were really pulling with everything. 

It was fun for everyone and I would say it was a success. They purchased many types of non-chocolate candy cases so that everyone could get a sweet prize and then went to the dollar store and purchased lots of toy prizes and each child ended up with lots of candy, money and at least one toy prize. 

 
I think next year, the children will definitely want to come back to the reunion as it was fun for them all. I will post about some other things we have done or that we did for the reunion as well in my next post but this ended up being a long post but I am finally feeling better and hope that the worst is over and I can get back to living.

Relaps at the Game

I wrote this for Wednesdays post but not feeling well, I dated it for Thursday. I am just going to leave it and not actually post for Wednesday since I missed it. I am feeling a little better today but still not up to par. 

Here is what was supposed to be posted for Wednesday. I have to say that I read and reread it about 20 times and was so tired that I don't think I ever did get it reread all the way. Finally, I just decided to post it but obviously, I wasn't feeling well and didn't notice I dated it for Thursdays post. 

Wednesdays Post: I haven't been able to do much of anything the past few days. It is really frustrating not being able to get to the stuff on my "list" but I went to coach Princess Five's game today as the other coach moved three hours away and I almost fainted while coaching third base. I was doing better but today the headache and aches are back and I think tonight the cold sweats had a fever in there somewhere. I think I have been trying to do to much. 

I even destroyed the puzzle I had almost finished. It was hard for me to do that as I like to finish things but I forced myself to do NOTHING tonight and hope I start feeling better tomorrow. Sorry about the lame post but I think several things came together last week that started me wearing down. I was staying with my friend in her new fifth wheel trailer and I FROZE the first night and got no sleep and was literally in a ball most of the night with my feet under my chest. That, and then going to my mothers who has had pneumonia.

The last straw was not getting sleep for the two days after that. It really shouldn't be kicking me in the backside like it is but I have a horrible headache again and feel like I haven't gotten past it yet. I am supposed to go out of town tomorrow but if I don't feel better, I am not going. 

Fixing the Seam on a Suitcase

Over the years, we have had lots of travel with the family being as large as it is. It is inevitable that we would have some issues with suitcase seams. 

Sometimes, it is not on the seam but a tear from something at the airport or when it was being moved from plane to plane. 

I have had to fix several suitcases. I learned from the first that just doubling or tripling the thread doesn't give enough strength to the case to work.

In order for the seam (or tear) to hold, you need heavy duty thread. The cotton threads you would use for tatting or crocheting is too soft and will tear easily so you can't really use that either. 

You can buy heavy duty thread at any craft supply store or sometimes a shoe repair place will have some. I had it in brown but I figured it wouldn't make any difference to the case if I used the brown. 

Princess Two used this case this last weekend and said it had a tear in it.

When we both arrived home from our travels, she showed me the tear. It was actually the seam coming out of the bottom of the zipper around the corner. It is sometimes easier to sew if you can stabilize the area with some safety pins. I was lucky that it wasn't from being pulled or torn, it was just a seam coming out so I was able to sew it without much difficulty. 


You can double the thread if you choose but with this little bag, it was fine just using one. There is a piece of thin plastic on the inside of the seam. If you
have a thimble, it is best to use it when pushing the needle through the plastic as it will sometimes be difficult to get through. If I don't have the thimble, I will sometimes use a pair or scissors and push the needle through with those. I actually have used the side of the plastic or wooden spool of thread to push it through. That is what I used today. 

You can see that I am pushing the needle through with the thread. It doesn't take long but saves you from having to purchase a new suitcase. 

Once you have stitched all the way through the ripped or unused portion of the case, pull it through and do a few knots as you don't want it to pull apart or break when there is stress placed on the seam when the bag is packed.

Recouping From the Reunion

I had a very busy week this past week and was all over the place as were the girls. I had two hours sleep one night and no sleep the next night. It has been years since I pulled something like that.  I went to my mothers as I passed through town to fill up her pill containers. She has been quite sick and was on antibiotics. Between visiting her with her and my immune system being tired from no sleep, I caught something. I have had a killer headache all day, went to church this morning but couldn't even stay for the first hour as my body started to ache and my throat hurt etc. 

I came home and went back to bed and ended up sleeping until three. I had no energy today and sat working on the puzzle I have had going for a few weeks. So many times I have been tempted to just put it away but I remember why I don't do puzzles. I can't stop working on them. 

I do this every time. I sit thinking and working on it for hours or get involved in watching something and realize that hours have passed and I have a hard time stopping. 

Every girl has told me to put this 2000 piece puzzle away. I haven't had much help on it but Princess Four did do some sky at one point. 

I hope I feel better tomorrow. I had to take lots of stuff to feel better today. 

Have a great day!

Harvesting Brussle Sprout Seeds For Future Use

I planted these last year and since they are more of a cold weather veggie, I left them growing all winter. They actually kept growing sprouts during the warmer parts of winter. I thought that they may continue growing this year. However, I forget that most veggies will go to seed in the next spring. Carrots do this as well. 


They bloomed and started shooting out their pods and you could probably harvest about 2,000 seeds off the four plants I kept growing. When I got the other plants to plant our garden this weekend, I bought a few new plants and I thought that I would show you what the new plants look like and then what they will look like the next season when they flower and pod.


They will get yellow and dry and then you crumble the pod or break it open and then collect the seeds for planting the next year. 



This is what the plant gone to see will look like. Yellow flowers that are kinda like a buttercup. They will also have the spiky pods growing out all over.

My favorite part is that the leaves of Brussle Sprout plants taste similar to Kale and I used them several times throughout the winter. I just went out and pick some leaves off and cut them up and put them in soup. The family didn't know it wasn't kale. They are hearty like Kale but I found them even a bit more hearty as they grew late into fall and early winter. 

Reading up on them to make sure about the seeds, they say that once the pods and seeds are dry, if you put them in an airtight package, they will last up to five years or more. 
 
I am thinking that if I seal a meal them, they may last longer but they may need some air. Maybe I'll try an experiment when I harvest the seeds. I will seal some and then just put some in a baggie and see what happens when I try and plant them next year.

Fixing a Leaky Rain Gutter

You may have noticed on my "To do List" post a few days ago, that I had "clean out rain gutters" on my list. 

I cleaned them out all quite well a few years ago when I got my roof redone. I couldn't believe the pounds of dirt and leaves I took out of them.

I noticed the other day in the back of the house that there are twigs sticking out of the gutters. 

When I cleaned them out, I tried to seal them with caulk. I wasn't the first to try that but obviously, it hasn't continued to work as you can see by the condition of the seams on the gutter. 

I used one of the Mr. Clean wall erase sponges and went to town on the seams, gutter and any rust running down from the nails and for the most part was able to get that messy rusty, red dirt looking stuff off along with much of the old caulk.

I  borrowed an extension ladder from my neighbor and from the top, cleaned out the mess on the inside. I left a little bit of stuff but it would have taken me forever to try and get it all off. 

I went to the hardware store (Ace) and asked them what I should use to try and seal the gutters and two different people suggested this "Felx Seal" as seen on TV. They did say it was a new product and the only other option I could see was a flat rubber seal that has adhesive on it and I would have to have cut it around the nail they used to screw it up through both gutters.

I checked prices at WalMart and they are the same there as the hardware stores. 


I really would just like to buy new and did have an appraisal done a few years ago for seamless gutters but it was really expensive and I figured it wasn't a priority yet. 

I go up and hammer in any loose nails or any loose eves every year or two and also, while I am up there, I prune the trees that grow near the house as I don't like it when they touch the house and rub the gutters or paint. Also in the fall, if the trees are near the house, I get more leaves in the gutters which means I have to clean them out more often. 
 
I cleaned the outside of the gutters, then cleaned the inside of the gutters, scraped off any old silicon caulk and let it dry, I then sprayed an even coat of the "flex seal" and let it dry. I like that it is rubbery and is supposed to move with the metal as it expands and contracts.

The instructions said you can spray a second coat if needed. Because I am borrowing the ladder and I don't want to have to try and clean the gutters and spray more later, I want to finish this job and be done with it. 

It is nice to think that I will have another thing off the "list" and it will be wonderful if the product really works and I stop having leaking gutters. Part of one of big floods I had a few years ago was a leaky gutter with lots of rain and a sink hole. It says to do all the corners and seams. I'm not finished yet but will get it done.

The product says to turn it upside down between spraying uses and let air get into the nozzle. Well, be careful not to spray your roof! Mine now has a white spot. :-)