Happy Belated Birthday, Poppa!

We gathered last weekend to celebrate Jan’s dad’s 89th birthday.

It was our third attempt.

We tried in both January and February – but were snowed out both times. We were almost afraid to try again – but thankfully the weather held and both the Minnesota and Chicago Shervheim’s were able to join us for a quick overnight and party.

it was quite the overnight as all three families camped out in the big house, in sleeping bags, surrounded by boxes and with little furniture. The four remaining chairs became a hot commodity, and we discovered that ice chests made great tables when sitting on the floor.

The actual birthday party was held in the Great Room at Poppa and Nana’s new Senior Living apartments, where there were actual chairs and tables!

We celebrated Poppa’s 89 years with cake and ice cream and pizza and presents.

And we listened to his stories.

Like the one when he was invited to Washington DC as an Eagle Scout and presented President Truman with a medallion and met J. Edgar Hoover.

His time working on the railroad.

His military years.

The first time he ate pistachios while stationed in Iran. (He still loves them!)

All our favorite stories.

Three generations together. Laughing, remembering, and celebrating.

Happy birthday, Poppa!

Soggy Christmas Moments

Once again my extended family gathered at my parents to celebrate a very early, but now our traditional, Christmas over Labor day weekend.

But our annual “fun in the sun/last hurrah of summer/Christmas celebration” took a very wet turn this year.

The rains we’ve been needing for weeks finally came. And came, and came, and came!

Those that would normally tent were chased inside every night by heavy rain and strong winds. They found whatever floor space they could to throw down their sleeping bags.

The favorite topic of conversation at the breakfast table was “where did you sleep?”

The brave few who found that they could hang their hammocks up in Papa’s Jim outbuildings answered with “above the table saw and just left of the riding mower!”

It was dry long enough for our annual cookout in the grove of trees and for our traditional sock hop that followed. This year’s dance included glow sticks which added a bit of color to the lightning display far to the south.

But we carefully picked everything up and put lawn chairs under cover before the next round hit in the middle of the night.

The crazy amount of rain did little to dampen our enthusiasm! Instead it provided extra entertainment and excitement! Watching the lightning in the distance, gator rides to the river to see how much it was flooding, and eating lunch in the funeral tent in a downpour all made unique and priceless memories!

Amazingly enough, it was the unpredictability of the weekend that provided the most adventure. When the rains stopped for a short while we all ran outside to enjoy the sunshine and when they started again, we’d gather on the porch to chat or find an empty table to play games.

Honestly, if I could have picked the perfect weather for the weekend – rain would not be included. But I’m thankful that Someone much wiser than I knew it would be the perfect addition to a one-of-a-kind family get-together!

And now we all know that soggy moments can sometimes make the very best memories!

Showering the Bride

When you are part of a large, fun-loving quirky extended family full of inside jokes and crazy traditions, you feel kind of sorry for the young gals who choose to marry one of our boys.

Since we want to make them feel welcome and a part of the family right away, we throw them a one-of-a-kind bridal shower full of family traditions and craziness!

So when Jackie said yes to my nephew Stephen, we gathered the clan and dug out our infamous, homemade and unique Bridal Shower game.

We throw a dice and share memories, or Nana-Shirleyism’s, or embarrassing pictures of Stephen, whatever the space tells us to do.

And since the object is to introduce the new bride to the family, we had to have a space telling us to “Dress-up”! We dig out the dress-up clothes (just like the grand kids have for years at Nana’s house) and we all find something fun to wear.

And I do mean ALL.

Dressing up is a tradition that started in my Grandma’s spare room before I was born.

It is something we take seriously.

Very seriously.

Something else we take very seriously is food.

Everyone cheers when we get land on the “Eat” space!

Then we swoop down upon the table of goodies wearing out lovely dress up attire and fill our plates with deliciousness!

And I do mean fill our plate.

Such pretty food just begs to be eaten!

There is also a space for the bride-to-be to open a gift.

And even some of those are unique and full of funny stories.

Like this vintage cheer leading outfit that has been a gag gift within the family for 30 years or more. This sweet gal was such a good sport!

It was such a honor to bless her with gifts and laughter and traditions!

Welcome to the family, Jackie! You fit right in!

A First Ever Family Tractor Ride

My family has some pretty deep rural roots and we were able to tap into those roots last weekend with a first ever Family Tractor Ride.

My Uncle Delbert furnished the tractors – a whole yard full of vintage ones in orange, and red and green.

And we furnished the drivers – 3 van loads full!

It took a few minutes for everyone to find a tractor, for the experienced drivers to give a few basic instructions to the rookies and for everyone to take a practice lap around the outbuildings.

Then we headed them down the driveway! We had a quite a line up of tractors of all ages with drivers of all ages heading down the blacktop! A little slow at first – until the rookies discovered “road gear”.

Of course my mom got in on the action! She drove “Grandma’s Tractor” – the one my grandma used when she worked in the fields with Grandpa.

Pedro took to driving that tractor like a natural! He got himself a shiny red one and spent the morning grinning from ear to ear!

Dagmar wasn’t going to be left out of the action either! She got to drive a shiny red Farmall that matched her sunglasses – and loved every minute!

Those of us who were too young to drive – or to scared to try – rode on a hay rack complete with our very own sound system! And yes – I was on the hay rack with all three of my sisters – who were also too scared to try. (But then – somebody had to chaperone those kids and take the pictures!)

We drove our parade of tractors seven miles from my uncle’s farm to my folk’s place where we parked them and took a break for lunch.

Then we fired them up again – and headed off down the road.

Young. Old.

Aunts. Uncles. Cousins.

Family.

Remembering a simpler time. Honoring our past. Connecting with our rural heritage. Making memories.

And having a great time!

So much fun that when we finally got back to my uncle’s farm, most of the drivers hopped off the tractor they had been on and hopped on another to test it out!

Dad’s let the younger ones have a turn at the wheel in the safety of the barn yard.

And even I got up enough courage to get behind the wheel!

Thanks to my brother Tim – who made me do it and then did all the shifting so all I had to do is steer and clutch and brake. 🙂

It was an incredibly fun day!

Thank you Delbert – for helping us make a memory that we will never forget!

Iron Chef 2012

This past weekend my entire family gathered at my parent’s house for our yearly “Remix”. This unique family celebration came about because we were all in need of a weekend full of laughter, lots of sugar, and little sleep somewhere between our Christmas celebration at Labor Day and our annual camp-out over the 4th of July.

Since we invented the holiday, we decided to invent our own traditions too – and thus our annual Iron Chef competition was born.

The secret ingredient is announced in advance and everyone is welcome to bring as many entries as they wish.

This year’s secret ingredient was cereal.

As always, there were many amazing entries –

But I had a favorite.

My sister Sandy’s kids went above and beyond to create a masterpiece. Surely you remember the Rice Krispie sculpture of William Tell from three years ago?

This year they made a giant cereal bowl out of cereal complete with a cereal spoon!

But that’s not all!

Oh no! These kids decided that a special bowl needed a special cereal – so they invented 2 kinds.

The first was Uncle Rod’s Adventure cereal. Uncle Rod loves cereal. Especially sugared cereal. Since his favorite part of the cereal is the toys inside – they decorated an empty cereal box and filled it with plastic baggies full of plastic adventure toys!

But the second kind of cereal was my all-time favorite. Why? Because they named it for me!

It even had my picture on the front!

But the best part was what was inside!

I opened the recycled cereal box and pulled out a plastic bag that looked like it was full of Cheerios. But – as I kept pulling, I discovered the cereal was just a disguise.

The bottom of the bag was full of mini chocolate candy bars!

One of the kids called out, “Because Aunt Melinda is always hiding her chocolate!”

Those kids know we too well!

Not that I would ever dream of hiding my chocolate at the bottom of a box of organic cereal! 🙂

But I did keep the box – just in case!

Memorial Day Weekend

Oh my! What a weekend!

We hosted all of Jan’s family – his 2 parents, 1 sister, 2 brothers, 3 spouses, and their 15 children, plus, of course, the seven of us – for a big 80th Birthday Bash to honor his Mom.

It’s been 1-1/2 years since we were all together last – and the changes were amazing! Those cousins are sure growing up fast! At one point I was inside and heard the kids playing an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee on the lawn.

Those “kids” sounded more like men with their deep voices yelling and making war whoops.

And boy could those kids eat! Seriously. Those guys could pack it in. Bottomless pits.

But not all were forking it in hand over fist. My little ones were also here to provide a little humor and lots of hugs.
Just before this picture was shot, Annie had grabbed her straw and put it into a nearby mud puddle to get a drink! Thankfully Angel Girl got there just in time to stop her.

And of course – my youngest two nephews spent as much time as possible sitting on Uncle Jan’s “twactors” and begging for rides on the 4-wheeler.

And then there’s Katie. She’s one of a kind – that girl. A perpetual motion machine. She was quite taken with my chickens. At one point she found 2 egg shaped rocks by the sand box. She quickly pushed them together and sat on them clucking like a hen.

She and her brother Davy and sister Emie chased those poor chickens the entire weekend. I’m not sure what they would have done if they had actually caught one! 🙂

The kids were outside from sun up to sun down. They climbed trees, took epic adventures, had a water balloon fight, and spent hours on the swings. If the amount of dirt and mud on their bodies and the amount of food they consumed was any indication – I’d say they all had a great time!

I think it’s safe to say that we all did! 🙂

The Farm Bash

We’ve got a big weekend planned!

Jan’s entire family is gathering here for a fun weekend of family time. This big ole’ farm house will be bursting from the seams with people and laughter!

Meals are planned and the freezers are full of food.

The toys are brought down from the attic.

Beds are made and ready in every available piece of floor space!

Every blanket and pillow in the attic is ready to be used.

The picnic tables have been fixed, painted or borrowed.

The lawn is getting mowed.

Tents are being set up.

Games have been planned.

Surprises are prepared.

Excitement is building as our driveway starts filling up with out-of-state license plates!

Let the fun begin!

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!

White Elephant Bingo

Can I share just one more tradition from our Remix celebration? (Boy can we cram a lot of them in one short weekend!)

We had a hoot playing White Elephant Bingo!

The rules are simple.

Everybody brings a wrapped white elephant gift. One person is the designated “caller” – everyone else can play with as many Bingo cards as they wish.

Whenever you get a Bingo – you choose a gift from the vast assortment on the table – or you can take a gift from someone else. Then that person needs to pick another one from the table – or take one from someone else which means that person now needs to pick another one from the table or from someone else which means… well… you get the picture!

It gets pretty wild toward the end as multiple people are getting Bingos at once! We play until someone gets a black-out. Then we take turns opening our “gifts”.

It’s interesting that when you don’t know what’s inside a present – you pick according to the wrapping.

For awhile a nicely wrapped gift with a toy chicken on top was a hot commodity. Lovey (age 5) was thrilled when she ended up with it – at least until she opened it. The tire gauge and fancy bath soaps just didn’t thrill her!

Pedro was pretty excited about his gift – a poster showing airline barf bags from around the world. Yes – I’m serious – barf bags. No – it is NOT going in his room.

It was amazing how often the perfect gift went to the perfect person. My musical niece got a set of old Broadway Songs on cassette. (I hope she knows what a cassette player is!) 🙂

Remember Butter Buns? She got a vintage movie camera – one that actually uses film. I bet she already has it taken apart or has figured out to use it!

Then there’s my nephew TJ. This guy really needs a wife.

I’m sure the romantic super-sized heart candle and the Joe Cool sunglasses will help immensely – don’t you think?!

Buddy was very excited when he ended up with the pirate gift bag – and was even more happy to find it full of Burger King and McDonald’s Happy Meal toys.

Some gifts just keep on giving.

Poor Jan got a brand new how-to golf video (circa 1987) that we had brought the year before!

It’s amazing the fun you can have with a garage sale Bingo game and everybody’s junk!

But then in my crazy family – it doesn’t take much to make memory!

So How Do We Iron Chef – 2011

What a week-end!

We gathered at my parents with all my siblings, their spouses and children for our traditional spring gathering that we’ve dubbed The Remix.

Part of the crazy fun included our annual Iron Chef Competition! This year’s secret ingredient was a Mix. We could bring anything made from a mix – or a mix of things (ie: Chex Mix or Trail Mix.)

I did not have an entry this year – I just didn’t have time. (But it’s okay – that date day with my husband was worth it!)

The kids did though – Angel Girl made a yummy brownie -filled cookie that we found at The Picky Palate that used a brownie mix. Buddy made our favorite Hot Chocolate Cookies using hot chocolate mix and Dagmar made a new -absolutely wonderful – diet busting treat – Caramel Chex Mix. (Yes – I will share the recipe!)

Pedro went a little outside the box and put together a mix of music on his Itouch as “food for the soul”!

He wasn’t the only one that thought outside the box!

Some of my nieces and nephews blew me away with their entries!

There was the winner in the Best Represents the Family category – Sweet Prairie Memories.

This delightful jello concoction (jello is a mix!) recreated out of candy many of the things that the grand-kids love about Papa and Nana’s house.

You can see candy grandkids inter-tubing down the river, Nana playing bear in the trees, the prairie playhouse and Papa Jim on the lawn mower pulling wagons full of grand kids.

Then there was Butter Bun’s entry. (You may remember Butter Buns as my very creative 7 year old niece.) This time she “mixed” food with technology and made the amazing “cake froster”.

The mustard bottle in the middle holds frosting. You can then rotate it around the cake and squirt as much or as little frosting as you desire on your piece. 🙂

Watch for in a stores everywhere!

The grand prize in the Best Use of the Secret Ingredient Category went to my nieces Lexie and Molly for the triple layer cake and pie concoction.

Think “Turducken” meets the pastry world. Each layer is a pie baked with a cake surrounding it.

I’m serious people. Each layer has a pie baked right inside a cake.

There were three layers.

With frosting.

And a mural on the outside in frosting complete with green creepers and a pink pig made out of caramels.

That thing was huge! They had to custom design a carrying case for it out of springform pans, a mixing bowl and duct tape just to get it there!

Talk about creativity!

Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t have time to make an entry – I’m not sure I can compete on this level! 🙂

Those nieces and nephews of mine have just raised the bar for future Iron Chef Competitions.

Rules of Eating

We’re gearing up for a big weekend with my entire family.

A weekend that will be full of fun and laughter – and food. You can’t forget the food.

Not that we will try!

No – we will mark the passing of time by which meal is put in front of us! We see it as a sport that we call “recreational eating”.

We have a “dessert bar” that is open day and night. There’s nothing like a little chocolate brownie for breakfast. 🙂

We’ve gotten so good at this that we have even discovered certain “rules of eating” to avoid gaining weight.

Would you like me to share? 🙂

1. If you eat it off a child’s plate, there are no calories – the child got them all.

2. If you cut your food in half before eating it – all of the calories fall out.

3. Any food eaten standing up has no calories since the effort it takes to stand up counteracts the calories in the food.

4. Any food eaten outside has no calories – they are absorbed by the fresh air.

And finally – they one we rely on most heavily –

5. All food eaten during a meal that is filled with lots of laughter will have no calories because the sound of laughter will wipe all the calories away!

Now with rules like these – I just need to decide what decadent chocolate treat to bring to share!

Cupcakes? Cookies? Brownies? Bars?

New recipe or an old favorite?

Hmm…I wonder what my sisters and nieces are bringing?

It’s going to be a great weekend! 🙂