Troyer family reunion 2014

 Good evening, Family!
I guess about the only time I ever write specifically to my family is when we are planning another reunion :)
I'm delighted to say that this is the case again, and I'm so looking forward to being with lots and lots of you. Don't you think there's just a little something EXTRA special about our family? I sure do! I can't think of another crowd that I'd rather spend the weekend with. So please make your plans to come, and we'll make plans on this end to put everyone up and feed us all. Love you guys lots!

On Sept. 5th. and 6th. we are again planning a Troyer family reunion for as many of you as can, or want to come.
 I’ve reserved Pickett State Park’s group campground again (the same place we were last year) and the plans are to arrive on Fri. afternoon for our first meal and leave on Sun. morning.
The group camp will accommodate up to 144 people. It consists of six bunkhouses, two bathhouses, and a large dining hall and kitchen. You need to provide your own linens for single bunks, and towels and wash cloths.
I’ll take care of food prep and paper products. The cost is very reasonable. There will be a $3 per nt./Per person charge for the camp, and then our food expenses.
 I’ve already heard from several of you who plan to come and I would like to hear from lots more. Please let me know if you can make it so I can plan accordingly with food. Please let your families know about the arrangements since I only have a limited amount of addresses.
Blessings to all of you…..Rose 
  
3100 Muddy Pond Rd.
 Monterey, TN 38574
hm. 931-445-3743 or: cell 931-544-0097- Call or text
or  horsts@twlakes.net

Pickett State Park
4605 Pickett Park Highway
Jamestown , TN 38556-4141
Office: 931-879-5821

When you reach the park office just continue about 1 mile further on the same road and you will see a  sign for the group campground on the right.

New Year's eve. 2013

Our year as youth leaders ended nicely with a New Year's eve. party. The house was full, the snacks were great and the activities were fun.
One really neat thing we did was choose teams to decorate gingerbread houses. At the end there were 4 judges who graded the houses by a point system according to creativity, neatness ect.

the 5 finished houses

First place was taken by Matt, Damaris, and Derrick and Sherry

 

 

Second place went to Kathryn and Betsy and David(notice santa's sleigh on the roof?)

The judges are deliberating and considering, while the contestants anxiously wait :)

                                                              A gift exchange game.....

 

Music and sharing goals for the new year....

 

And no youth meeting is complete with out some friendly rivalry.....go Austin and Tim!

 

 

zoo

It's been years since we took the children to the zoo. That doesn't matter a whole lot to the older ones, but poor Dennis! He needed to know what zebras and tigers and elephants look like :) We chose the Nashville Zoo and had a gorgeous fall day to leisurely stroll through it.

 

 

 

 

 

One part of the zoo is a historical homestead. We enjoyed seeing their gardens and slave quarters

and reading the stories along the way.

 

 

 

And as always....being together is most important....

 

 

 

 

Fall, 2013

 

Isn't fall a lovely time of year? If only it wasn't a harbinger of cold and dreary winter days. :(

Here's a few pictures Damaris took of our fall activities and scenery.

 

The boys did a lot of target practice with their BB guns. Teddy is almost always shadowing them when they shoot
because he LOVES to hunt sparrows.

Here's our neighborly milk cow

end of season tomato vines...

This is Nate in his ultra light almost skimming our tree tops.

hunting persimmons...

the reward of the hunt...

and a sunset filtered through the garden and trees

Dora

When we were in Indiana to visit Jess and Jordan last time, they sent another kitten home with us. The boys named this little black and white kitty Dora.
She was so tiny when we got her, but it didn't take long for her to start drinking from a dish.
The children fell in love with her and she spent as much time inside as out.

 

At first both Clara and Teddy were VERY suspicious of her. She won her way right into their hearts it seems, and they now let her snuggle with them any time.

 

Clara and Dora

Teddy and Dora

 

 

Dora the explorer

 

 

Chattanooga

 The children and I had a lovely little trip to Chattanooga together this fall.
 It may seem like a "when the cat's away the mice will play" type of thing, but it really isn't. It's just that when Martin is gone on some trip or other, we miss him so much that we need to console ourselves with a little adventure :).
 So this time we left right after Damaris came home from work and drove to our motel. We ate a leisurely supper together and the boys swam in the pool for a while.
 The next morning we got up bright and early and took the little train up the steepest railway in America to a city overlook.

 

After that we went to the aquarium and Imax theatre. Other than the usual fishy pictures, here are a couple more unusual ones.

 

Betsy petting a sting ray

Kat - delighted with a butterfly on her arm

We can't go to Chattanooga without strolling over what we call "the walking bridge" to the fountain and carousel on the other side.

no vehicles allowed...

Looking at this last picture with only 5 children posing, is a sober reminder to me that our "in house family numbers" are on the decline. Despite all the fancy rhetoric that tries to say, "you don't lose a daughter, you gain a son", ect. the practical truth is that our family is getting smaller.

The lesson that I learn from that is very clear:

We have such an incredibly short time with our children. I want to seize the moments and make lots of memories.

 

 

 

 

The volleyball court

Several years ago Jake kindly allowed the church to construct a volleyball court on his property right beside the church. The young people faced frustrations with the fact that they weren't always able to use it if there had been a lot of rain. Also it was only big enough for 1 net, which was frustrating at times with the population explosion of youth around here. Anyway the young guys got permission and started to cut down trees and run drainage pipes. They took trips with trailers and brought in river rock and generally worked hard. It took participation from more mature men, though, to finally get the job done. Hats off to young and old who participated and made it happen!

those who watched the cement truck as hard as they could...

 

 

..those who got their boots dirty and backs sore...

 

...Those who watched diligently...

 

and brought food for the hard working guys...

 

and baked for fundraisers which brought in about $1,500.00..

We all worked together, and that is half the fun right there  :)