After lunch, the men and boys were swordfighting.
(Only the male mind could come up with such an idea:)

Josiah apologetically explains that you are not actually allowed to kill your opponent.

The fight for the bridge begins...

...reaches its peak...

...and the winning side drives the enemy off the bridge.

No one thinks that little guy should help.

Defiance and determination.

Three against three.

Two against one - no fair! they're ganging up on my brother!

Mr. Einwechter substitutes as photographer while his sons fight. Now I am positive that photography runs in that family's blood.

The first of our two traditional games.

The ball is going the wrong direction and we just all stand and gawk at it.

No, I am not as naive as you might think to post a picture like this.
I was about to delete it when the fancy that this is how a volleyball game
might appear to the ball, struck me.

Choosing teams for kickball - the second annual game.

Plain n' simple: the field as seen through the wire.

Up to kick.

Go sis!

The same thing that was going on in the previous photo.
Call it repetition if you want to.

The spectators - as much a part of the tradition as the game itself.

Mrs. Einwechter, our faithful scorekeeper.

I can reuse a caption!: "Go sis!" (She made it across home plate.)

The prize for dirtiest clothes would have to go to this young man.
In the words of his sister, "I couldn't believe he was going to wear white
pants to the church picnic!"

Things you find sticking in the ball diamond's fence.

Evidence of thirst.

When Dad is distracted by his blackberry and when he has captured
the kick ball, we children know that the end is near. :(

Farewell!
~Carmen~

A Farewell Party for our Aunt

Greetings!

My Aunt Gloria recently left to go to Thailand for four months on mission work. The Martin family had a farewell get-together the Sunday before she left. Having just started my blog, I was more conscious than normal of the need to take photos. It must have been rather noticeable because, at the end of the evening, my one aunt inquired how many pictures I had taken. My uncle, who is a mathematician, estimated correctly that I had taken around two hundred. I know that to some of you that doesn't sound like many, but it produced some incredulity among my relatives. Here are a few of those two hundred.

The men socialize (or listen to Dad talk;-).

The women look at photos...and socialize of course!

Looking at photos is certainly a big part of a Martin family gathering.
It's a great way to keep on top of each other's lives.

One of the great things about digital cameras is that they have a screen. A pocket-sized photo album! (Well, only if you have a pocket-sized camera--I'm determined to find good points about my camera!)

All right, it isn't just the women who enjoy photos:)!

Caught raiding the candy dish.

Keon - one of my great Canadian cousins

1 cute + 1 cute = too cute

One of my and Candace's favorite pasttimes at Grandma's house is
looking through her Taste of Home magazines, getting ideas for new
dishes and longing to be able to cook as well as some of the featured chefs.

The whole crowd.

This is the second time that potato chips made it on my blog

in a total of three photo posts. I don't even care for them very much.

(The plain, that is; seasoned chips, such as Sour Cream and Onion,
are a different story altogether!)

A birthday boy.

Jesse found the attention disconcerting. The poor fellow was about
to melt into tears when...

...the sun suddenly broke through the clouds.
Maybe being two won't be so bad afterall!

Fans giving their congratulations.

I wondered out to the trampoline (always a place of activity)
to find a variation of the game "Mother May I?" underway.

"Seth and Adria, you may take one giant step."

Mischief

Will he catch me if I take one extra step?

I noticed that Christian was very fair and liked to keep all his ducks in
a row. I never did get the point of a game in which the "itter"
decides who gets to win.

Barefeet Art

Watching the video that I took of our Grandparents' hot-air-balloon ride.

Enjoying the footage of Dad's hat flying out the window!

Rook - a Martin family tradition and my favorite game (yes, even

better than Set or Dutch Blitz)!

Gloria a great Rook player.

The winner of the evening.

The proof that what I say is true (and the proof that
my penmanship can be very sloppy).

Clayton bidding Gloria farewell.

Actually, Candace informs me that he was recounting, in vivid

detail, how our pet rabbit "languished and died."

Dad giving his youngest sister last-minute advice.

Goodbye, Gloria. We are missing you!

Farewell to anyone who made it this far.
God Bless!

~Carmen~