The fun began on Wednesday, July 3, 2013, when Jaime Lassman came to Willow Valley with Jack and Reed about 3 PM for a swim, having arrived at Nancy’s from Lexington, KY on Monday. I did not get any photos because I was too busy swimming with Jack while Jaime and Reed watched. Rachel Lassman arrived a little later with Henry and Dillon, and Henry joined our swim.

On Thursday July 4 David and Janet Best from Rochester, NY joined us for dinner at the Double Tree Resort. We had a good chance to catch up on the news, and then they spent the night with her sister’s family in Leola.

Friday July 5 began with a swim at the Cultural Center about 10:30 with the Michael and Jaime Lassman’s families.

Henry swims very well and is a little water dog with his head under water as much as above. Dillon is not far behind, but needs a little more confidence to be on his own. Jack prefers to keep his head above water, but swims with support. They were a joy for Jaime and Reed and me to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzy and Fran Talarowski arrived about 1:30 and we visited awhile before we joined the rest of the family at Nancy and Gary Bennett’s home for a wonderful afternoon of talk, good food, and the joy of being together.

Janet and David learned about Suzy’s recent rotator cuff operation.

 

 

 

 

 

Elly introduced her law school friend, Jon Thomson, to Becky and Dan Shirer.

 

 

 

 

Our two Mikes helped Dillon start his picnic dinner while Gary barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.

 

 

Rachel Lassman, Ryan Himes, Jack and Henry Lassman, Dan and Evy Shirer, and Cayle joined Dillon for the great pot luck picnic. Nancy, Barby, and Al preferred to eat inside, where it was much cooler.

Becky Shirer and Anna Himes joined them later for conversation.

It was a tremendous pleasure for me to watch eight of our ten great-grandchildren interact with each other. Reed was a center of attention wherever he was.

 

Here he is with Leela and Molly Himes, Jack and Henry Lassman

 

 

 

 

 

Geoff and Amanda, Suzy and Rachel watch.

 

 

 

We took portraits of two of the families:

Barby and Paul Ruskin’s family

and Nancy and Gary Bennett’s family. Amy Lassman was missing because she was saving her time off for the Lassman cruise to Disney World later in July.

It was a truly memorable family occasion, and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying each others company. We look forward to the next family event, Geoff and Amanda’s wedding on Sunday, September 1, in Ambler, PA

 

On Sunday, June 30, 2013, Matt Best came from New York City to Willow Valley to have dinner with us.

He was very enthusiastic about one of his new job possibilities. His present job as Program Manager for Capital Project Development under the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the Bloomberg administration expires at the end of 2013. He is considering teaching secondary science and math in the Peace Corps for two years. He has always been interested in an international experience, and this could be a step in that direction. We are delighted that he is excited about his new opportunities.

We went back to our apartment and had a delightful several hours talking about many things.

Last week I found a box in our storage room that Al had brought back from his office at Sperry New Holland in December 1981 when he retired after almost 40 years with the company. In it was information about his year as president of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers in 1979-1980, especially his trip with fifteen ag engineers to China in August and September 1979. Al had a good time explaining to Matt about the experience, and I enjoyed watching Matt learn about this high point of Al’s engineering career.

Matt had visited with Nancy and Gary Bennett earlier in the morning, and left us to go to Allentown to see Anna and Mike Himes’ family. We are so glad that he takes time from his busy life to give us an opportunity to be a part of it.