Family Reunion at the Cabin...July 2010

"You don't choose your family, they are God's gift to you."
~Desmond Tutu~




A few years ago, the Winterton clan decided we were all getting older, and starting to live a little more on borrowed time.
We also decided it was time to do some family bonding. The goal is to get together every other year.
This was that year and everyone made it. Considering no one lives in the same State, and the really odd ones don't even live in the same country...this is no small feat.
I am so glad everyone feels the need to enjoy a week together.



Lyle's siblings trying hard to smile for the camera.
Lt. to Rt. Patty, Lyle, Sue, Jim, Rick...missing-Lynn, the youngest. He was there, but left before we were thoughtful enough to take pictures.


This look comes much more naturally.



Lyle's siblings are very "purpose driven". They are all much happier when they are productive.
They aren't the kind to want someone to wait on them, but rather they do the waiting upon.
Lyle decided a little cabin service project would be needed (remember I said purpose driven).
He's been wanting a flag pole up at the cabin, so the men bravely went into the woods--which was conveniently 10 feet away from the back door, and cut down a dead pine tree.
It sometimes it takes a village to get the job done, but it was well worth the effort.




Old glory is up and waving. In fact she's up so high you almost need binoculars to see her.


We do allow the single nieces and nephews to crash our party. Kind of makes us feel younger knowing they want to hang out with us :)
(We're gonna miss you next time Emily!)



Bathing beauties without the bikini's...Sue, Patsy and Kris.



Patsy, giving the "don't mess with this Grandma look."



And Rick.
I have to say it was a two way tie for Best Wearing of the Cowboy Hat.


Cabin couch potatoes...Lyle and Patsy.



Due to to many memories of canoe tipping last reunion, we all piled into one big raft, stayed dry and let the men do most of the paddling.


We have a talent night that has minimal effort combined with minimal talent.
Patsy broke that tradition by upstaging the rest of us with a beautiful quilt she had made for the cabin.


I would call this floating geriatrics.
We were constantly screaming "Go slower!!" Notice there is no wake. Not bad, considering the one in the middle is in her 70's.


The macho man contest. I don't recall a winner being declared, but its obviously Lyle.


Hotties in the hot tub!lt to. rt. Patty, Patsy, Kris, and Mary


And then there's the hard part to partying...parting and saying goodbye, til 2012!

Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one." -Author Unknown

July in October

"People don't notice whether its winter or summer when they're happy"
~Anton Chechov~



I figure if we can have little crafting events called "Christmas in July" I can start my own procrastinators blogging event along that same line entitled "July in October". With that said here's a few images from July.


Starting with the rest of our stay in So. Pasedena with Carrie and Eric.


Krista and I trying to stay awake after they dimmed the lights at the planetarium.


Dad and Grandpa putting the finishing touches on Henry before he is blessed.


4th of July decorations in the neighborhood park. I would live here if the homes weren't all over
2 million.

Missing Chapters of My Past Life

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June."
~Al Bernstien~

I am way overdue for a blog post, and since this is my journal/life in pictures I've got some catching up to do.
I will start with June, and hopefully in the next week not get too distracted to catch up through Sept.
May and June is the big transfer time with the military. Our branch probably lost 50% of its members. Fortunately we had more move in this year than what left.
Tracy and her family (she's in the middle) got their new assignment to Louisana. She was the branch R.S. Pres. and her two dedicated counselors (Moi and Vanessa) decided to take her to lunch two days before she left for the U.S.
We started out happy and carefree....

Tracy was driving my car back to her home after lunch. Little did we know that is illegal in Korea, until she bumped into the car in front of her.
No big deal, or so you would assume since there was not a scratch or dent on the car!
We thought, no problem, and we can all go on our merry way.
W.R.O.N.G.

Lets just say that for not a scratch or a dent on either car, when you have an accident in Korea things can get complicated. The korean princess that she hit, insisted on a trip to the hospital for x-rays and a Dr.'s exam, the military police had to come and get involved, both insurance companies showed up, one of the managers from Lyle's company drove 90 min to make sure matters didn't get out of hand, two nice guys~one is standing there in the pink shirt~were in the car behind us and stuck it out the entire time to help to translate, a group of school girls, several old people and other random people all got involved. 100 bucks and four hours later, and it was
finally over.

Then there was that mysterious, wicked spider that bit me during the night and scarred me for life.
So when life gets tough, the tough go to...L.A.!

Krista and Tyler came as well. See that white skin on Tyler. His skin color matched his beach towel by the end of the day. No sun screen plus one hour of nap time on sand equals pain and suffering to the blond-haired-blue-eyed type.

Grandpa Lyle teaching Lillie the fine art of burying yourself in the sand


By far the most important event in June occurred on the 4th.
Henry Eric arrived, and we all showed up to celebrate!


He's adorable and has got a lot of the Walker genes. He's in the top 2% in his height and weight. I'm sure that's not coming from our side of the family.
Hank the Tank is what his dad calls him.
Henry decided to skip being a newborn and doubled his 8lb birth weight in about 14 weeks.

Lillie is at such a funny age. She is two and speaks Spanish (thanks Dora), knows her alphabet, and is showing off the loot she got from Korea. Those are luggage tags hanging from her arms, but the Korean visor is my personal favorite.

We managed a trip to Disneyland with my sister. I'm pretty sure I took pictures, but I have no clue as to what happened to them, and we also spent time in Hollywood.
It felt so good to be home with family again!

Beijing...The Great Wall

"The Great Wall of China, as it is called, is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful monuments ever made by mankind. Stretching approximately 6,700 kilometres from east to west of China, the Great Wall snakes up and down across the undulating topography, like a gigantic dragon."

Souvenir shopping

Lovers Great Wall graffiti.

Me trying to not look to exhausted on the 4k walk UP along the wall (ok, some of it was down hill but there were a lot of stairs and climbing to get up that mountain)

some one dressed this Budha statue. I thought it looked like he was wearing a shower cap.

People buy these locks and hang them on the chain at the Wall as a remembrance of their visit.


Weekday crowds. Lots of tour buses... I'm glad we didn't show up on a Saturday!

This is day one of my trip to Bejing in May 2010

We Love Family visits...

Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~Benjamin Disraeli

I am a little slow in getting pictures posted, but still savoring the memories of two great weeks with our girls and their spouses coming to visit us in Korea. Here are some photo's of a few of the things we did. Lisa and Krista posted some photos on their blogs as well...

Dinner with Dr. James Lee and his wife Anna.
He is one of the Directors for the company and works a lot with Lyle. He got his PHD in the U.S so he and his wife speak great English.!

My kids looking really excited to dig in...actually it was steak with all the Korean trimmings and even Lisa liked some of it.

Lisa and Krista pondering enlightenment no doubt, at the Buddhist temple in Gumi.

Nate also pondering...or showing off those $20.00 shoes he bought in Sangju

Lunch in Seoul with one of the advisors to the Chairman, Mr. Cho.
Best Chinese food I think I have ever eaten, and someday we will forgive the girls for letting their crab go to the garbage. Mr. Cho gave the girls jewelry boxes and scarfs and "Woongjin" ties for the guys. (Oh and the color pink has no gender in this country...it is worn by both men and women.)

Temple day in Seoul.

Nate wondering if he should spend his hard earned money on a one-of-a-kind hat from Korea.
(In case your wondering "dong bang" translated means..."south room". Don't ask me why you would want to put that on a hat!) He didn't buy it, but I think I detected some regret later on that he hadn't made the purchase.

Cherry blossom time! (Notice how I have learned to flash the "V" sign~true Korean photo-posing style)

So many grasshoppers...so little time to eat

Free samples anyone?
Fried or raw, a hopper still tastes the same. Nate said his was too juicy, and Mike isn't hiding that "I think I want to barf" look on his face either~yuck!

Peeking in on a Buddhist cemetery.

Jejiksa temple grounds.


Me and the girls trying to make Buddha a bit more modest. (He looks like he's enjoying it just a bit too much.)

Post lunch jet lag. The advantage of having your own room to eat in, and eating on the floor is it makes taking a nap so much easier. Lyle didn't have jet lag, but that doesn't mean he won't nap with the rest of them.


Haeundi beach, in Busan. A bunch of foreigners jumping on the beach created a bit of a spectacle for some Koreans who also started taking our picture! We have high hopes of being in the next travel brochure.

Stay tuned...there's more to come!