Heppner Weekend

We Heppner family usually get together for one weekend in August to spend time together. This past weekend was our annual gathering. Some years we've gone camping, rented a cabin, or stayed in a hotel, but this year, we all stayed in Steinbach.

On Saturday we headed to the farm and had a waffle brunch before heading out to the pond. I did my little pop bottle and menthos demo for the kids, and it worked really well. They thought it was pretty cool. We swam in the water and jumped off the diving board; the weather was gorgeous. For supper we had a scrumptious chicken bbq and then Sam and Mom's birthday cake. The rest of the evening was spent playing games and visiting.

The next morning, we had brunch and then had a sharing and prayer time for us. That was meaningful. We realized that this weekend would probably be the last time we are all together until after we return from Bolivia.

By lunch our family gathering was officially over, but Mom wasn't aware that we had planned a surprise 60th birthday party for her that afternoon. It wasn't until about a dozen people showed up that she realized it was a party for her. She was so surprised (and me even more than we could pull the wool over her eyes; she's pretty hard to catch off guard) and she felt honored. That was the best.

We had the opportunity to take some familiy pictures before kids started to get too tired. But by 7:00 it was time to head home and rest up from the great weekend.