60th Wedding Anniversary plus the 4th of July

For my Grandparents, last September was a milestone few get to celebrate: their 60th wedding anniversary.  Looking at school calendars, sports calendars, and work calendars of their 31 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (and spouses), we hit upon the 4th of July as the best day to celebrate, despite the fact that it was precisely two months early.  My aunt and uncle hosted.


During dinner I asked them how they got to 60 years.  This is what they said:

[OK--I am having difficulty uploading the video.  Hopefully I will get it up here soon. What they said right off the bat was 'just keep going.']

My grandparents and four of their five kids

Cameron, Dani, Conor, Solomon, Alyssa and Bart

The day was gorgeous, as you can see.  Lawn games, the trampoline, and a chance to go swimming kept the youngest generation happy.  They also enjoyed playing with their cousins, young and old.

Our fantastic dinner.

The youngest of the great grandchildren romping on the trampoline.

In the pantry at my grandparents' house is a patch of wall with every ones' heights from about 1988 onward.  We have most of my male cousins under 3' and over 6', my kids as toddlers, all my aunts and uncles (at adult height, of course).  I even think my grandparents are on there somewhere.  My grandfather has said more than once that if they ever move, that is the one thing he'll miss most about the house.  So my aunts and uncles did their best to recreate it.  Here they are unwrapping it.  All the previous measurements were already marked.  We had fun adding a few more.

  

Conor looks like he is about to edge out Uncle Jim as tallest in the family.  At 5'6'' (a full foot shorter than these guys) Conor's sister Ginger and I are tied for shortest among the grandchildren--or maybe I alone hold that title--she could be 5'7'').

GG John, GG Rose, and me

As dusk settled, the kids convinced me to get in the pool (and allow them to go swimming too) Ariadne, Charlotte and I chased after glowing, floating, color, changing orbs dotting the water's surface, a special decoration for the occasion.   Soon it was truly dark, time to get out of the pool    and go watch the fireworks.

Built by the town's mayor in the 1970s, the front lawn had a perfect view of the fireworks.  Ariadne sat on my lap and oohed and aahed, genuinely impressed.  After awhile she turned and asked me 'are they real?' In a childhood full of screens displaying special effects like 3D, interactive apps and 'magic' touch screens, I suppose this was a reasonable question from a 3 year old.  When I told her 'yes' she was awed. At some point one of my aunts commented that they should be for rent, fireworks were so much more fun with little kids.