Tag: family trip

the very favorites

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And yet in all of the festivities, these are the very best moments of all.

Morning coffee on the porch, everyone greeting the day slow, groggy-eyed holding warm mugs and snuggling.

Brothers bent over tackle box.

Auntie feeding nephew.

His little round tummy and bright happy eyes.

Sisters in a row, catching up and catching wind in their hair.

Sibling date (sans our kids!) in the town of Watkins Glen, getting pizza and Ben & Jerry’s and the most delightful little yarn store.

Walking the marina together.

Tubing and wakeboarding and running the boat until it ran dry.

Campfire gatherings in the evening, knitting and talking and playing guitar.

Squirt guns and barefoot bike rides and bubbles.

The boy coloring all over his body and face during nap time, “Line Man” as daddy declared him.

Mom and Dad stealing away for a tandem kayak in the whipping sun and wind.

Nap time watercolor quiet.

All the babies sleeping soundly under quilts.

Early morning glory in the sky and last sunsets set aflame with 4th of July fireworks.

All this glory, all these holy ordinary moments, hemmed in by sunrises and sunsets.  Morning and evening, days ticking by, and us trying to squeeze from them every last drop, us trying to savor this never-to-be-repeated now.  These are the very best moments of all, the ones we almost miss, the ones we pass over.  It’s all good, but these are my favorite.

(Other trip posts here, here, and here.)

 

origins

MarthaKimball3 Comments

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These are among some of my favorite pictures from our New York trip.  What special times they were, filled with a lot of significance for this family.  One of the goals for our trip was to see Brandon’s family’s roots, the places where his parents grew up and met, the schools and streets they walked, the trails they frequented.  Many of these places are also the soil for Brandon’s earliest and happiest memories.  For years I have heard stories of all of these places–what a thing to be able to visit them and to watch the next generation running through these familiar fields.

So one day of our trip we spent hiking Watkins Glen State Park right by Seneca Lake, climbing through the moody canyon.  The pictures speak for themselves, don’t they?  It was gorgeous and when we finished a huge downpour threatened to fall, so we made it out in perfect time.

Another day we drove to Breesport, NY and drove through the rolling country roads to the big yellow house where they spent their first years as a family, caretaking for a big abandoned asylum.  This house holds some of their happiest days, the house with the pond and a white duck named Ellen, who came when Brandon’s dad would call and laid eggs for their family to eat.  The swing set they played on and the sloping hill that is perfect for sledding.  From there we went onto Elmira, seeing Brandon’s grandparent’s home, visiting with them there, walking the grassy trail behind their house to the creek they caught crawdads and splashed in.

I count us fortunate to have been able to see and share these places with Brandon’s parents and grandparents while we still can!

a love worth traveling miles for

MarthaKimball1 Comment

DSC_0270DSC_0183DSC_0174DSC_0176DSC_0177DSC_0179DSC_0180DSC_0181DSC_0184DSC_0186DSC_0188DSC_0191DSC_0197DSC_0204DSC_0207DSC_0208DSC_0211DSC_0215DSC_0214DSC_0219DSC_0221DSC_0227DSC_0231DSC_0236DSC_0245DSC_0249DSC_0251DSC_0252DSC_0254DSC_0256DSC_0259DSC_0268DSC_0273DSC_0269DSC_0279DSC_0280DSC_0281DSC_0284DSC_0296DSC_0311DSC_0315DSC_0320DSC_0325DSC_0330DSC_0331DSC_0332DSC_0335DSC_0342DSC_0346DSC_0355DSC_0366DSC_0369DSC_0373DSC_0377Our family trip began around the idea of a surprise 60th anniversary party for Brandon’s grandparent’s.  What an incredible reason to gather!   After some health scares and setbacks for grandpa earlier this year we were especially thankful to be able to visit with them and see their home and celebrate their commitment to one another for so many years.  We are grateful for that incredible legacy!  A surprise party was planned for the day after we arrived, and was very well executed, small and intimate and just the closest of family and friends.  The best moment was seeing Gma walk through the door and her eyes widen as she realized over and over all these familiar faces circled before her, before bursting into tears.  So worth it all to be a part of that moment.  She had apparently been telling Brandon’s mom how much she wished she could see all the great grandkids but probably wouldn’t be traveling much now with grandpa’s health concerns.  What a treat to come to her!  We hugged and mingled and reconnected with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, we introduced Gma and Gpa to Philippa, whom they haven’t met yet.  We watched second cousins meet and share toys and play.  We prayed and had dinner together and cake!  Auntie Cerissa had made a special gluten-free cake just for Phoebe, which made her feel so loved.  Afterwards I put my arm around Gma and asked her, “So tell me, what is the secret to sixty years of marriage?”  She quickly responded, “Not keeping secrets!”  And then she passed on a few other gems of advice, reminding me that no one is perfect and that we have to be thankful, forgive, laugh at ourselves, because sixty years is a long time!

As the shadows lengthened, we left the party and took the kids to a nearby little amusement park, just perfect for them.  They’ve never experienced anything like that, so they were filled with glee running from ride to ride with their tickets.  Philippa was obsessed with the “ore-sees” (horsey’s) on the merry-go-round and probably rode it several times over, eventually realizing the ticket was her way in, and just walking up to the gate with a ticket and waiting there until the attendant saw her.  They all loved it and every day after Phoebe and Noah asked me if we could go back.

arriving

MarthaKimball1 Comment

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Earlier in the year Brandon’s parents began talking to us about a family trip to upstate New York (where they are originally from) to surprise Brandon’s grandparents for their 60th wedding anniversary.  We were really excited because 60 years of marriage is a huge accomplishment and worth the long haul to gather and celebrate.  Also, we looked forward to seeing all of Brandon’s roots and having some time together as a family.  Brandon’s dad offered to rent a large home on Seneca Lake that would house us all.  Since it is about a 12-hour drive from home, we decided to split it up into two day chunks.  The first day we drove (and by “we” I mean Brandon.  He let me knit the whole way!) to Luray, Virginia, met up with everyone (Brandon’s parents, brother + wife + baby, and sister) and did a fun tour of Luray Caverns.  We spent the night there, got up early and headed to Seneca Lake.  Isn’t it gorgeous countryside?

The home Dad rented was just perfect.  Absolutely beautiful and with an incredible sunrise view every morning, tucked away at the very end of a laneway situation behind a hops farm.  The kids had been anticipating this for weeks and were nearly beside themselves with excitement to spend a whole week with Baba + Nain (Brandon’s parents) at a lake!  After we arrived, we unloaded and promptly deep-cleaned the entire kitchen (making it a gluten-free celiac safe-zone for our Phoebe girl, such a gift to us!), the kids were out on the water.  Brandon took them all out for a paddle boat ride, and then Phoebe wanted to upgrade to a tandem kayak with Baba before deciding she would just manage her own little boat.  She is pretty amazing in the water, fearless and quick to learn.

The next morning Brandon was trying to sneak out of our room at the crazy hour of 4:45 or something.  He couldn’t wait to go fishing.  I crept out after him and literally gasped when I looked out toward the dock and saw the sun swelling up just ready to burst over the horizon.  I grabbed my camera and nearly ran out to get pictures and take it in.  It was so serene and stunning, we couldn’t help but get up at least by 5 am every morning to catch each sunrise.  It’s dumb, I’m sure–we should have been sleeping in on vacation–but we don’t get to see that kind of glory every day and in our minds, it was worth it.  Every day boasted a different sky, each sunrise and sunset entirely new.  It was pretty incredible and I relished the early morning quiet, reading, sipping coffee, knitting to the quiet sounds of the lake.