Nut Fest!

Aunt Wendy organized almost 90 people for our family reunion official picture.
More family members were able to join us for parts of the day or evening but unfortunately, were not there for the picture!

I think I speak for everyone when I say that our family reunion EXCEEDED my expectations!
It was great fun from the pizza party ice breaker at the hotel on Friday night, the morning activities on Saturday of golf for some and the museum for others, the main event on Saturday afternoon and evening, and the after party luncheon at Mom and Dad's on Sunday afternoon.

The Club provided a fantastic space for us to gather and mingle.

Official Nut fest t-shirts provided a uniform of sorts!

Holly's creative genius really made things beautiful! She designed and provided gift bags for our out-of-town guests at the hotel, brought table coverings, centerpieces and fun toys for the kiddos.

Green plastic swag cups with our Nut Fest logo were also her idea. They were great for drinks and used as favors.

Corn Hole outside was enjoyed by the youth,

and an improvised play corner kept the little guys playing happily together.

We devoured 18 feet of fresh submarine sandwich for lunch.
 BBQ pork...

chicken, and hot dogs with all the sides...

made for a tasty dinner.

My cousin Greg prepared and presented a very nice family history of our ancestors and from what county in Ireland they originated.

As a tribute to my late Grandma F., we had a huge game of Bingo that pretty much everybody played!
Next was a Talent Show with jokes, and musical talent. The little girls wowed us with "Let It Go" from the movie "Frozen". We then had story-telling of poignant anecdotes from the past. My cousin, Terry brought a cassette recording of my Great-Grandfather singing "Danny Boy". This, he recorded in a little booth on Coney Island. That man could sing! Counting his recorded voice, there were six generations present.

I think that most of the grandchildren attended  (and those who had to work wished they could have been there!).

We had not only my mother's family but also my father's family in attendance. One set of folks found out that they and folks from the other side of the family, regularly shop in the same grocery store in New Jersey!
There is no doubt that it is a very small world! My Aunts and Uncles and cousins came from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Florida,West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. Three different parties drove over 800 miles to be with us. Our goal while planning this was to get together to enjoy a HAPPY occasion, with all the participants standing vertically in the room!

We ended the evening with a home video that someone had the foresight to record of my Grandmother F. giving a kiss to each and every member of the family, including every child that attended her 80 th birthday party about twenty years ago in Ohio.Who could have thought to record all 10 minutes of that? It is so beautiful to see. The caption underneath read "With each Kiss, a Blessing"
At 10 pm, all of our relatives helped us to pick up, put the tables and chairs away, and clean the building.
That all became part of the fun!

For lunch the next day, before folks had to leave us and get on the road, we had lunch at Mom and Dad's, and ate up most all of the leftover food. It was an absolute pleasure to work with my whole extended family on this wonderful Family Reunion. Many thanks to everyone (including so many out-of-town folks) who donated their time, talent and treasure to make it possible for everyone to enjoy a weekend of family time together!