July 2010 continued…

 

WARTES COUSINS REUNION – July 24, 2010

My brother Mark, Denise, their son Marwan and granddaughter Matia were the only other Alaskans at our Wartes Cousins Reunion in Seattle besides me.  My mom and both sisters came from Spokane area.  Many others came from all over the Pacific NW and as far east as Denver. My mom was the oldest present at the reunion and I came from the furthest to attend.

The event was hosted by my cousin Barry Rodda and his wife Jan at their beautiful home overlooking the Puget Sound in Burien.   The view was breathtaking and so was their beautifully landscaped yard.  Flowers everywhere drew me like a magnet.  I could fill a large photo album with all the flower pictures I took during the whole Seattle area trip.

 

 

These flowers were just a few samples of ones in Jan & Barry’s yard:

View Full Album

 

This reunion was based on my Wartes grandparents and all their progeny. Since Andrew and Lena Wartes had 8 children, the gathering was big even when many members weren’t able to attend. My dad was 6th of the 8 children and he had 6 children himself.

Just the part of the family chart showing all my parent’s progeny covered a large part of the entire family tree chart.

 

 

 

 

Here are just a few of the many pictures taken during our fun gathering:

                                                                                                                  Sister Merrily getting camera advice from Chris Wartes with cousins Barry and Bill looking on.

 

 

                   

 

More cousins. Such fun was had by all.  The time went by too fast.

 

 

 

 

 

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ORSBORN FAMILY REUNION – July 25, 2010

A reunion of family from Mom’s side of the family followed the next day north of Seattle at a beautiful park in Marysville.

 

 

It was the largest gathering in many years and my first time since a teenager.

 

Mark

Mom

Denise

Teena

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures as we looked through albums and family history and enjoyed the food:

 

Mom and Teena                                                 Mom, Denise and Mark

 

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After the Orsborn Reunion we were able to visit my Uncle Eldon (Mom’s brother), who was unable to attend the reunion.  He lives a little further north in Sedro Woolly, and  I had never been there before. It was wonderful to see Uncle Eldon and Aunt Vera and their interesting home full of amazing keepsakes of every kind.

 

Uncle Eldon, Mom, and me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncle Eldon’s house is a double Geometric dome house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another very special visit made during this Seattle Area trip was to see my college freshman-year roommate, Marianne Henderson.

She is one of the few school-days friends I have remained in touch with through all the years.  It was wonderful to see her, and visit together on her  well shaded deck tucked in between some giant fir trees that also surrounded her whole house.  The greater Seattle area was having a heat wave, so Marianne had been enjoying the relaxing time on her peaceful deck.

 

 

 

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Earlier on the day we returned to Alaska, my brother and I spent a few hours enjoying the sun on Alki and Lincoln Beaches, places we have fond memories of from high school days in Seattle.

 

 

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I made it home to the Colville to be with Jim by the end of July and we celebrated Jim’s birthday a few days late. 

Our summer guests, the two muskoxen continued to be very photogenic as they grazed and slept in our yard.