Anna Himes’ family planned to come to Willow Valley last Sunday, but Ryan’s football event took priority, so she and the children came on Tuesday, August 20, instead.

Ryan started football for the first time this month and is on the Junior Varsity team. He will turn 12 on November 19, and had his orientation into 6th grade last week. He is especially interested in computers, and is looking forward to the Computer Club that is one of the many extra-curricular activities offered in his new school.

Molly will be 8 years old on September 26, and will be in 2nd grade. She is part of the girl’s field hockey team.

Leela turned 5 last June 13, and had her kindergarten orientation last week at the same school Molly attends. She will leave at 12:30 PM and return from school at the same time as Molly. She is learning to be a cheerleader for the Kindergarten football team.

Anna is chief scheduler for all this activity. Mike travels quite a bit now with his new responsibilities at Air Products, and Ryan informed me that he now has an office with windows and a lab instead of his old cubicle. It was so good to hear all these updates to life in a very active family.

After lunch they had a great time in the North pool while I watched.

They still enjoy the small rituals that are part of every visit.

Refreshments consist of root beer and small pretzels and Cheerios which they each take in a small bag for the ride home. They look at the pictures I entered in The Pictorial Record of the Best Family 2013 since the last time, many of which are of them. Ryan showed an interest in the booklet from Andy and Meghan’s wedding in Yosemite in 2011, perhaps because we are all looking forward to Geoff and Amanda’s wedding on September 1.

They left about 3 PM because they had to get home in time for dinner at 4:30, then football and cheerleading practice.

They are all growing up so fast! Every visit from family reminds Al and I how fortunate we are to be able to participate in their busy lives.

On Friday, August 16, 2013, Michael and Rachel Lassman brought Henry and Dillon from Scotch Plains, NJ, to Lancaster for a last visit before school starts this year. Nancy Bennett used Saturday as an opportunity to freeze summer corn for Thanksgiving dinner, a tradition in her family. I helped to husk more than 5 dozen ears, with help from Rachel, Henry, and Dillon. Michael steamed the ears for 3 minutes, with Henry using the alarm on his iPhone to time it, and then cooled them quickly.

Nancy cut the corn off the ears and packed it into plastic bags.

Rachel cleaned the bags and dated them. Dillon was wherever the action was.

Saturday was also Reed Lassman’s first birthday, so I was delighted to copy from Facebook the photos Amy posted of the celebration.

On Sunday afternoon Michael returned to NJ for some work that needed to be done, and Rachel brought Henry and Dillen to Willow Valley for a swim.

Henry and Dillen drew pictures for us before leaving for Baltimore to visit Rachel’s parents.

It was a very satisfying weekend for all of us, especially for me. I remember my Grandmother Styer coming to our home on Earl Avenue in New Holland to help me freeze corn almost 60 years ago.

Elly Bennett seemed happier and more relaxed on Wednesday, August 7, 2013, when she had lunch with Al and me here at Willow Valley than any other time I can remember.

She and Jon Thomson completed their New York State law exams last Wednesday after receiving their JD degrees from Georgetown University Law Center in May. We discussed her evaluation of the last three years, and the end of her long academic career. She is ready to start new life in the “real” world.

This weekend she will conduct a wedding ceremony on the Massachusetts coast for a couple she introduced several years ago. She and Jon leave on August 13 for a well earned vacation on one of the Bahia Islands off Honduras where they plan to learn to scuba dive, returning August 25.

Elly had just turned 5 when Al and I moved to Willow Valley on July 26, 1994. We have enjoyed watching her grow “in wisdom and stature”, and she is the last of our 9 grandchildren to complete their educations. It is the end of one era and the beginning of another for us, and we feel so very fortunate to have lived such long and fulfilling lives.

We were delighted on Friday evening, July 26, 2013, when Matt Best called unexpectedly that he was coming to Lancaster and could have dinner with us.

He was on vacation and had been traveling with his English friends, Ed and Roz Clark and their two sons, six and nine. We had a fun evening hearing about their adventures. He is still enthusiastic about the possibility of joining the Peace Corp in January.

Suzy and Fran, Andy and Meghan Talarowski arrived Saturday afternoon for a very welcome visit.

Of course we talked about the new baby expected December 24th, and were glad to hear that all seems to be going well. Meghan has been working since February with the department chair on a book to celebrate the centennial of her landscape school to be published in November. She is doing the research and graphics. She is also volunteering with several playground projects in the Philadelphia area.

Andy had a business trip to NYC last week, and he and Meghan got a chance to see Matt while there, but not together. Matt took Meghan to see his Governors Island project on Tuesday, and he and the Clarks took Andy to a baseball game later in the week. Andy has another exam in his actuary society in October, and with one more next spring will be finished with their requirements for associate.They are still very happy with their new/old house, but will be glad when cooler weather arrives.

Suzy is recovering from shoulder surgery five weeks ago, with one more week living with restrictions. Fran is enjoying the summer break from teaching.

On Sunday, Anna Himes arrived about 11:30 with Leela and Molly from Allentown for Sunday dinner with us.

Mike and Ryan were on a Boy Scout camping trip to Cape May. We had our usual play time in the court yard, this time featuring our duck family.

Swimming at the Cultural Center showed the progress the girls are making this summer.

Leela enjoys swimming laps with Anna, and Molly and Anna had their own version of water volleyball.

Suzy sent me an e-mail with a photo taken on July 5 of 8 of our 10 great grandchildren.

God said,” Be fruitful and multiply”, so we did.

Jill posted on Facebook this week a photo of the other 2, Ben and Jacob Staggert.

Also on Facebook were photos of the Lassman Disney vacation last week.

For additional photos see www.jacklassman.com or www.reedlassman.com

We are blessed to have so many family members who brighten our days with visits and news and photos.