![\"7](\"http:\/\/gallery.me.com\/webpoet73\/100217\/EllingFamilyReunion2009_048\/web.jpg?ver=12498764810001\")
5 of the 9 brothers and sisters and spouces<\/p><\/div>\n
There was pink, purple, yellow, red, blue, orange, green, etc. and we drew yellow…).\u00a0 Those of you who know me… know that I am not really fond of yellow shirts.\u00a0 (Turns out, most of us “yellow shirts” didn’t care for them, either…).<\/p>\n
We got to the hall a bit earlier than most folks.\u00a0 In fact we were like only the 2nd and 3rd yellow shirt there… (Dana’s Aunt Diane was the other and she was an organizer…).\u00a0 Soon enough, people started coming and coming and coming… there were upwards of like 80 to 90 people at this gathering.\u00a0 Pretty impressive to me.\u00a0 Some came from AZ, WA, GA, OH… pretty spread out, I’d say.<\/p>\n
It was well organized.\u00a0 There was a list of acitivities and times on a card in front of each table…<\/p>\n
First was meet and greet… well, did quite a bit of greeting.\u00a0 It was a little overwhelming for me.\u00a0 But they all welcomed me with open arms, so that is a good feeling.<\/p>\n
Then, we had a prayer (both in German and English.\u00a0 The Ellings are of German heritage.\u00a0 The Molendas are Polish.\u00a0 What a match! ;))<\/p>\n
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![\"Mike](\"http:\/\/gallery.me.com\/webpoet73\/100217\/EllingFamilyReunion2009_002\/web.jpg?ver=12498754490001\" "\\"Greeting\\"")
Mike gives us a welcome and family history<\/p><\/div>\n
Next, some family history and happy birhday to Aunt Alma who will turn 90 soon…<\/p>\n
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![\"Danas](\"http:\/\/gallery.me.com\/webpoet73\/100217\/EllingFamilyReunion2009_024\/web.jpg?ver=12498758970001\" "\\"Alma\\"")
Dana's Aunt Alma - 90 years old<\/p><\/div>\n
then a little family trivia for bragging rights and the right to eat first, which was quickly revoked to go in order by the tables… either way, we were going to eat.\u00a0 It was a big “pot luck” style buffet.\u00a0 It was highlighted by some “beef barbeque” minus any barbeque sauce!\u00a0 Anyway, I had plenty to eat including many deserts.\u00a0 Can you say, “sugar high?”\u00a0 I knew you could.<\/p>\n
After lunch, we headed outside for some family group pics.\u00a0 Lots of people in similar colored shirts… \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
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![\"The](\"http:\/\/gallery.me.com\/webpoet73\/100217\/EllingFamilyReunion2009_033\/web.jpg?ver=12498761130001\")
The Yellow Shirts... Family of Dana's Grandfather, Rudy<\/p><\/div>\n
Then, more socializing and games for the kids… we probably spent about 2 hours just chit-chatting.\u00a0 Until it really was time to go.<\/p>\n
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![\"Chit-Chat\"](\"http:\/\/gallery.me.com\/webpoet73\/100217\/EllingFamilyReunion2009_074\/web.jpg?ver=12498770950001\")
Chit-Chat<\/p><\/div>\n
We went back to Dana’s Aunt Jill’s house (where we stayed) and got ready to go visiting… we went to visit her Uncle Dennis, who is pretty funny.\u00a0 Then to visit her great Aunt Wilma, who I liked very much.<\/p>\n
After going to visit her family (and one day, my extended family, too), we went to Pizza Hut and ate before heading home.<\/p>\n
All of the pictures that I took are on my MobileMe Gallery<\/a>.<\/p>\n This was a day late, so part 3 will be a day late as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We got up and relaxed for a bit and eventually got ready to leave.\u00a0 We had to don our yellow shirts… (there were 9 brothers and sisters including my fiancee’s late grandfather… so, each brother\/sister and their respective families wore … Continue reading