Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

The Saturday before Father's Day, June 14th, was the one day when everybody would be here at the same time. The original plan was to have a communal breakfast before all heading out to watch the Rodeo Parade starting in downtown Livermore at 10:00 am.  Afterwards we would have a photo session. That was the plan.

Frank went early and picked Alex up from St. Denis. I cooked up a ton of sausages and made pancakes, wolfing some down before dashing out to pick up Maxine from her 10:00 am flight that had been rebooked from the one with a post-parade 2:00 pm arrival. Vivian shifted her schedule, waking up and nursing later so she and Carrie did not make an appearance until after most of us had eaten. They opted out of the parade.

We ate in shifts. However do they get those family bonding photos they post in all the outdoor living magazines with extended families happily gathered round the table simultaneously, photographed in scenic back yards in places like Cape Cod, Dallas, San Diego, etc.?

Sausages anyone? I made a double batch of pancakes and kept 'em comin' off the griddle.

Alex is wearing his M&M shirt sent to him by Robin from her business trip in Las Vegas.
The babies did not seem to phase him. He took Vivian and Autumn in stride.

Autumn is wearing a bib I cross-stiched for her mom Robin back in 1980.
It is pretty stain free for having been used by three kids and being 34 years old.
A good housewife and mother is knowledgable in stain management even if it isn't the 50's!

At least the men folk managed to sit down to breakfast all at once.

Jeremy, Robin, Autumn, Frank, and Alex all headed out to the parade. The weather was warm but thankfully not god-awful hot and they found a seat in the shade. Alex, in particular, enjoyed the crowds and the general hub-bub. Someone walked along the parade route handing out a lollipop to each child. Alex somehow helped himself to several out of her hands. Then he proceeded to eat them, all at the same time. Jeremy was a good sport in sitting next to Alex but he did give Alex the nickname Mr. Sticky. Jeremy took a shower and changed clothes when he got back to our house. Too many body parts were sugar coated to just rinse each one off individually.

They found a shady curbside spot to watch the parade.

Alex was excited about something!

Notice the trifecta of lollipop consumption perfected by Mr. Sticky.
Tootsie Roll should consider him a candidate for their advertising campaign.
Betcha Can't Eat Just One! Oh, wait. Lays Potato Chips already has that slogan.

Sunglasses in hand and binky in mouth, Autumn is enjoying the parade on Grandpa's shoulders.

Our original plan may have gone a bit awry in that all could not be spectators of the parade, but the good news is that all were present, fed, and happy for the post-parade photo session in our back yard. We were not foolish enough to attempt a photography session in a formal studio. We asked our good friend Alan who has marvelous undersea photography experience from years scuba diving to take some pictures. What great job he did! Not just in taking the photos, but in down-selecting a bunch with which he demonstrated a skill I never knew he had in cropping, color enhancing, contrast correcting, etc. We thought we were getting an extra pairs of hands so we could all be in the photos at once and we got a bonafide expert in the field! Here are several different combinations of people in photographs.

The Chambers' and the Oxenfords
Diane, Alex, Frank, Dan, Vivian (2 months), Carrie, Jeremy, Autumn (20 months), Robin

The ladies Carrie, Diane, Robin and
the little ladies Vivian (2 months) and Autumn (20 months)

The ladies seem to be having a lot of fun without the menfolk.
Top -  Maxine     Second row - Carrie, Diane, Robin
Left - Vivian     Upside down - Autumn

Frank holds the very photogenic granddaughter Vivian (2 months).
I hold the very wiggly granddaughter Autumn (20 months).

Saturday after the photo session Robin and I went to a meeting of my local quilt guild at which nationally renowned quilter Alex Anderson gave a presentation on the design of quilt studios. We came away with some good ideas, especially for Robin who has just moved into a large house with a room to be dedicated for her sewing and quilting. Frank took Alex back to St. Denis. Dan, Carrie, and Jeremy went wine tasting, taking Vivian and Autumn with them. Robin caught up to them when she and I returned from the quilt guild meeting.

Wine tasting Saturday afternoon. I think Jeremy is taking the photo but where is Autumn?

Saturday night was to be date night for the two couples where they would leave Autumn and Vivian with us and go out for some adult time with each other. Frank and I are out of practice, especially with two kids under two at the same time. Autumn was initially unhappy at Mommy and Daddy leaving her but I put her in our big bath tub in our master suite and splashing away soon made her forget all her cares about being "abandoned". She talked away a mile a minute to me telling me "cup", "water", "splash", and my two favorites because of her sing-song intonation, "Uh, oh..." and "Oh, no!". After Frank and I coaxed her out of the tub and managed to keep her in one spot long enough to dry her off and put pajamas on her, I sat on the edge of the bed, held her in my arms in the darkened room, and rocked her a bit. She drifted right off to sleep. I even was able to set her down in the crib without waking her and leave - something that Robin and Jeremy sometimes find quite challenging.

Technically this picture was from Wednesday night but it was so cute and
I didn't get to take one of Autumn Saturday night so I included it in this post anyway.

We were glad that Maxine's flight had gotten in early and that our friend Vickie came over so we had extra hands. They sat with Vivian and talked to her in her bouncy chair while Frank and I were with Autumn. Vivian smiled away at them. Apparently at one point Maxine and Vickie started talking to each other instead of to Vivian. When they heard "Hey!" from Vivian in a rather indignant tone they each jerked their head around in surprise. Had they not reacted simultaneously at the sound you would  have thought it had been imagined. But it was real. They both heard it. Vivian had spoken!

Great Aunt Maxine enjoys Vivian while her parents were out to dinner.

Vivian was not wailing but she fussed a bit until her mom and dad came home. We found that laying her on the changing table where she could look up at the lights and kick freely soothed her more than holding her. This changing table position also had to be accompanied by singing to her. She especially liked Swing Low Sweet Chariot because Dan sings it to her but we discovered her tastes also extend to other Negro spirituals such as I Saw the Light and Amazing Grace. Although a different genre, It's a Small World, was a winner too. Maxine and I sang to her in harmony. Vivian was an appreciative audience.

The two young couples came home a bit refreshed from their brief time kid free but also a bit tuckered out from the day. Bedtime for the adults came soon after. Saturday had been a very busy day. You will notice there were very few photos taken during the time when the older generation was home with the babies. We were too busy bathing, feeding, changing, dressing, rocking, and singing to snap many pictures! 

The babies started out in their own beds but who knows if they stayed there?