On Friday morning, August 24, 2012, Al and I met Matt Best’s 10:05 train in Lancaster from New York City, and he drove us to visit his family in the Rochester, NY area for the weekend. We arrived about 4 PM in Spencerport, in time for a nap for me, and then a happy hour in David’s gazebo in view of Janet’s lovely garden amid tall trees.

Their usual delicious dinner followed, with lots of stories and laughter, and a good night’s sleep.

On Saturday morning Matt drove to Penfield to give his sister Jill Staggert help with some projects she had saved for him. David and Janet took us by the scenic route along Lake Ontario, where we watched beach volley ball and holiday crowds on merry go rounds. Al’s encounter with a stray beach ball proved inconsequential, and the relief on the young man’s face was priceless.

We all had a great lunch with Jill and Dave and sons Ben and Jacob. Ben turned 13 this month and is going into eighth grade. Discovering algebra last year has greatly increased his interest in school, and he is doing very well. Jacob is almost 10, and will be in fourth grade.

Jacob is making a CD for the musician Dad of his friend next door, and shows interest is so many varied directions, including golf, skate boarding, and woodworking with David.

We had a great time by the pool, and I got a chance to swim my 20 minutes of laps.

It is hard to describe the satisfaction I feel spending time with four generations of our family, especially in their home settings, watching them  grow and develop new talents and interests.

On Sunday we had massive breakfasts at Brockport with David and Janet before Matt returned us to his Aunt Kathy Raffensberger’s home and a 7:30 train back to NYC. Al and I returned to Willow Valley, exhausted and delighted to be back home, but grateful to all of David’s family, especially Matt, for a fabulous weekend.

On Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Al and I enjoyed a memorable lunch on Nancy and Gary’s patio with Elly and her friend John Thomson, a classmate at Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC. They were on their way to northern New Jersey to his parents home to fly on Friday morning to London for the fall semester at Georgetown’s Center for Transnational Studies.

On Sunday, August 19, 2012, Rachel Lassman brought Henry and Dillon to Lancaster for a brief visit and to pick up Gussy, their dog, after their vacation in Toronto. I got a chance to swim with the boys at the Cultural Center pool, as it takes one adult per child at 5 and 3 years of age.

After swimming we had the usual ritual of snacks in our apartment. Nancy had kept Al company while we swam, and listened to many of Al’s old stories.

Henry and Dillon had a chance to play with their Rochester cousins, Ben and Jacob Staggert,  on the way home.

At 5:52 AM today Jaime Lassman sent the following e-mail:

Through a lot of effort on Amy’s part and very little on mine, Reed Samuel Lassman was born this morning at 2:42 A.M.  He is big!  (8 lbs 10 oz, 21.5 inches long)  Amy is recovering and sleeping, I keep staring at Reed.  He has lots of hair and some impressive bruises on his head from labor.  I’m hoping the bruises go away and the hair stays.

Al and I are delighted to welcome this handsome, healthy looking boy, our tenth great- grandchild and seventh boy, to our family. When Nancy forwarded it to me I said Jaime did not need to worry about hair, and sent her these photos:

On Sunday, August 12, 2012, Anna and Mike Himes brought Ryan, Molly, and Leela to Willow Valley for a visit. We had lunch

and afterwards the usual looking at my photo books. We showed Leela how the new Providence Park looks from our balcony.

They had to go back to Macungie early to stop and buy a new computer for Ryan because the old one died last evening.

On Monday, August 6, 2012, Elly Bennett had dinner with Al and I, the first we had seen her since she returned from Brussels, Belgium, and completed her 12 week summer internship with Cleery in Washington, DC.

She plans to get back to Lancaster before she leaves on August 24 for London for the beginning of her third year of law school.

On Friday evening, July 20, 2012, Nancy and Gary Bennett had dinner with us at the Cork and Cap to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their marriage on July 16, 1982.

We are so please to have them come to Willow Valley for their regular Friday evening dinner and update on the activities of their busy family, but this was a special event.