The ND farm comes to MD!

My mom's grandparents were immigrants who homesteaded in ND, & their farm--still in the family--has been sort of a Mecca ever since, w/folks visiting on & off through most every summer.

However, last week Maryland had a little farm flavor when Uncle Paul visited from AZ w/3 of his daughters--Kristina & Kaitlin from TX (not only teenage sisters, but best friends) & Sarah from NJ (getting her PhD in Literature from Rutgers). It was great to see Shelley with 3 of her sisters! Aunt Barbara joined us as well, dropping off cousin Kelby for 4 weeks of volunteer work at RVR.

The Ranch was the setting for our belated celebration of Mom's birthday, followed by a refreshing dip in the pool. (Thank you, Jon, for marrying Courtney & adding some COLOR to this bunch!) Love the shots of Sarah w/Anna, and Aidan & Courtney w/their COOL goggles!

Jon was delighted to be in the company of fellow red heads Kristina & Kaitlin, respectively, & below is the birthday girl w/some grandkids amongst the teepees of Arrowhead Woods.
There are 2 versions of "Happy Birthday" because I wanted the most footage of the most people. One is the singing version, and the other our attempt to play it on dollar-store party blowers, which is basically an a-tonal screech-fest. You may want your mute button handy.

Finally, Uncle Paul's back flip--mighty impressive!

Thank you, Uncle Paul, & Kennedy cousins, for coming to MD to make memories and deepen our connections with one another! There will be more posts to come with other pictures from your visit. :)