Anybody recognize this place? I'll give you a hint: It's in Los Altos, California.
It was a grand reunion, and very fitting for the event celebrated during it: a 50 year anniversary! The forty plus Janis' descended on the lush, quiet city of Los Altos, CA on June 4th and checked into The Residence Inn. I don't think it will ever be the same again!:) The children quickly threw on bathing suits and jumped into the pool. The weather was very mild, but sunny. (If it had been in Houston, ALL Janis' would have jumped into the pool!)
The official start of the reunion was June 5th where we met at McKenzie Park, which was across the street from Grandpa Janis' old dental practice. Heather was the official reunion photographer and she was kept busy at the park with a family picture and smaller group pictures. One of the smaller pictures was Grandma and Grandpa with their grandchildren, which is always a circus act to pull off. (Sr. D took that picture) I had to get a picture of the parents trying to direct their children and help them smile, etc.
It is so fun to have so many children to love and squeeze and hug and kiss and take pictures of! This is Grandma and Nathan.
And it is so fun to have teens that were once the little ones running around, who now are so fun to talk to and listen to and laugh at and with! We took a historical tour of Los Altos, reading memories of Sr. D and his siblings of the different places they knew. (The first picture in this post is of my home on Avalon Dr. where I lived when I met Sr. D) At the end of the tour we got a treat: an Itzit. It is an ultra deluxe ice cream sandwich with oatmeal cookies and the whole thing dipped in chocolate. I diverged from the nutritious diet to gobble a whole Itzit and it was amazing! Itzits were a favorite treat after a long, hot day of working in the yard in the good ol' days. In the picture: Chad, Spencer, Dover, Taylor.
The next day we spent at the beach, more specifically Pajaro Dunes. It was chilly, but fun. Grandpa's brothers, John and Paul came and his nephew, Jason brought a volleyball net and that was the hit of the day! In this pic, Spencer found some huge piece of seaweed and was playing with it like a bull whip.
Evan is a little warmer under the sand. Sweet dreams!
All of a sudden there were tons of birds attacking the water at once, so we assumed it was a school of fish that had just arrived for dinner!
The next day we spent at the beach, more specifically Pajaro Dunes. It was chilly, but fun. Grandpa's brothers, John and Paul came and his nephew, Jason brought a volleyball net and that was the hit of the day! In this pic, Spencer found some huge piece of seaweed and was playing with it like a bull whip.
Evan is a little warmer under the sand. Sweet dreams!
All of a sudden there were tons of birds attacking the water at once, so we assumed it was a school of fish that had just arrived for dinner!The other highlights of the reunion were a movie night, a reception in honor of Grandma and Grandpa and a tribute at lunch on Sunday. I didn't get any pictures of it, but Heather did and I can't wait to get our CD!
The movie, which I put together, was a big hit thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for taking such great pictures over the years and also for the videos they both took and had converted to a digital format. They also consented to being interviewed on video by Allaire and gave the family such a treasure. The movie was also a big hit thanks to Allaire for doing the interview. It was such high quality! Thanks also goes to Heather for taking the wonderful picture of Grandma and Grandpa! And finally, Sr. D spend hours technically supporting me in the endeavor. It never would have made it to movie night without him waving his magic wand, or whatever he does to fix all of my mistakes, or the program's problems.
The reception was put on by Uncle Roark and Aunt Rebecca and it was a fabulous affair! Invitations were sent out to long-time-no-see-friends and there was lots of hugs and reacquainting. I even got to see my long lost friends Connie and Laura Moore! Grandma and Grandpa got to cut two cakes and feed them to each other. What a wonderful time!
The tribute was short, but full of love and emotion as each of their children talked about some part of Grandma and Grandpa's legacy that was important to them. Then they were presented with a picture of Christ and the sparrow, as well as two pictures of them that Aunt Rebecca had had framed. The reunion/anniversary was definitely an event to be remembered!!!
Just a couple of videos:
3 comments:
Wow, wow, wow! I loved seeing pics of this event on Heather's blog too. It was a spectacular event for sure! Congratulations to Damon's parents!!
And I didn't recognize the house I lived in for 5 years. Once you mentioned it, yes, I totally remember the trees and what each of the windows went to, etc. But hey, I was 11 when we left, so it's been a while since I'd seen it. ;)
It was fun to see some pictures of the Janis reunion. We really enjoyed seeing a preview of the wonderful movie you and Damon produced for the reunion. You should win an Academy Award for your effort! It was fun to see a picture of our old house in Los Altos. Congratulations to Joel and Vivian for 50 years together and for having such a great family!
I liked that video too. I thought it was excellent!:D Emily told me you had a fantastic time in Calif. I did not recognize that house which you probably know why.
~Julie:)
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