The Fourth of July Party - 29 Years

We had a fantastic Fourth of July party this year, our 29th. This tradition started at the first holiday after we bought Tall Timbers in Ludlow, Vermont and has continued at our present home, The Wood (as in the Hundred Acre Wood) in Shrewsbury. We had most of the older generation with us; Russ and Marty Wolf, David and Leslie Silverstein, Dick Bond and Debra D'Arpa, Larry Barns, David Wood, and Susan and Doug Youmans. The next generation was well represented as well; all three Wolf girls, Jenny, Julie and Molly, Scott Silverstein, Teal and Luke Barns and on the Fourth itself, Leslie Smith and her husband Rob. A new and delightful participant was Jeff, Julie's new boyfriend. Suzanne Barns didn't come for the Fourth but had a visit with us the day before. Missing and very much missed were our children, Josh, Zoe, James and Sean, as well as Andrew and Jessie Bond, Brent Silverstein and Tom Youmans.

Our Fourth of July weekend is centered on friendship,
and of course, food. Larry and Dick made buckwheat
blueberry pancakes one morning.

We poured over old photo albums of much earlier Fourths,
before Molly here was even born

Jenny (left) was a baby at our first Fourth of July
 weekend, then came Julie (right). This is Jeff's first.

Molly, Scott and Luke (our youngest second generation)

Teal sang for us on two evenings - lucky us

Here she is with Jenny and Luke laughing at baby photos

Lingering over dinner - Dick, Debby, Larry, Jenny, David S.
and Leslie

Julie and Luke making coffee

Leslie cooking up a lot of chicken

Larry and Dick at the barbeque

Debbie and Jenny get the vegetables ready to grill

We didn't eat the whole time. There was some serious
hula hooping going on.

And we hiked on the AT/LT as well as back country roads.
Despite the fact we were at Spring Lake swimming every
day (sometimes more than once) and zooming around on
several lakes in Russ's boat, I don't have one picture of
either.

But it's true that a lot of these pictures are of us cooking
or eating. And for dessert (among other fabulous ones)
Teal's Decadent Chocolate Cake with Salty Toffee was a
stand out.

This was taken on Friday before some of our group had arrived. Here is David W., Dick, Scott S., Debbie, Leslie, David S.
Teal, Heather, Doug, Larry, Russ and Susan

Spring Lake Revels

Nick and Daniel try to ride the same float to no avail.

We'll need to get a smaller paddle for Cookie, but Nick
and Daniel are managing quite well.

Two floats are better than one!

Maya was the only one who managed to
ride the Dinosaur without toppling over

That's Shira hiding under the pretty hat.

Tommy loved playing at the beach while Nick and Daniel
canoed in the distance

Jonathan wasn't too sure about the water this
year. He is only 2.

But he loved watching all the action around him

Zoe, Scott, George, Tommy, Nick and Heather

Tommy, Nick, Daniel, Cookie and Maya

Daniel and Cookie

Cookie, our gymnist

Daniel stayed upright on the dinosaur only on the dock

Cookie time for Cookie and all the others

A brief moment of peace on the Sea Star

Daniel waits for a ride on the dock from Nick.

Jonathan brought his dinosaurs to the lake

Zoe and Tommy in a serious mood

Scott and Daniel

Grammy and Shira

Family Fun at The Wood

Tommy, Nick, Daniel, Arielle (Cookie) and Maya

Cookie is my Sous Chef - here cutting up apples

Nick starts each morning with some hot
chocolate and whipped cream

We did some trail work clearing a path in the woods.
George, Daniel, Cookie and Tommy lift a tree out of the way.

Scott uses the chain saw to cut away fallen trees

Archery was a favorite pastime. Here Daniel
aim at the bull's eye

George bought a special bow for Cookie
and she became quite proficient. Nick was
already very experienced!

Cookie's Newt!

Jonathan walked some of the way but was glad to get a
ride back with George and Zoe

Grandpa made chocolate ice cream for desert and everyone
loved it. Here Shira looks on enviously at Jonathan's
bowl.

We played lots of games! Here Daniel playing chess with
Michal. Nick and Maya also played chess with several
of the adults. 

Sorry probably took the prize for the most played game,
with Carcassonne second. Here George, Zoe, Tommy and
Nick play while Grandpa looks on.

There was also time for a good book as Zoe shows here.

Cookie inspired Grammy to get outside and paint. She's
using colored pencils and watercolors here.

Maya did some drawing too and helped Grammy with her
Acrylics.

Jonathan looks very intellectual with
Grandpa's glasses.