Ohio Family Time

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Nanette Harter

After the wonderful family time in Maryland, I drove to Ohio with Dad and Jane to spend more time with them and visit Ohio family. The days seemed to fill themselves very quickly. I got to see the great-aunts and cousins on dad’s side. Max and Janet hosted a Kreischer gathering and I got to see all my uncles, their wives, and many, many of my cousins and their kids.

Van Wert has a free summer concert in the park on Friday evenings. The week I visited was the first concert of the season and it was perfect weather to enjoy the outside venue.

I got to visit with both my Grandpa Harter’s remaining sisters: Great-Aunt Evelyn, 96, and Great-Aunt Ode, 102. They both still live alone in their homes but are visited each day by their kids. Dad tries to get by to see them a few times a month and I always visit when I go back. Dad usually meets his cousin Max and a group of other (semi) retired farmers for breakfast at 6 am on Saturday morning. I opted to skip the morning ritual and instead we visited Max and Ginny at their home one evening.We also had lunch with family friends Glenn and Kay LeMar in Lima one noon.

Dad puts out a bird bath and bird feeders in their yard. We could sit at the dining table and watch them drinking and bathing. The robins really seem to enjoy splashing around in it. Dad has to fill it about twice a day. The birds enjoy the feeders he puts up for them too and I tried to do a little photography of them. I especially liked the colorful Golden Finch.

Dad is active in Venedocia Lion’s Club which is very service oriented. One of their service projects is building handicap ramps for those in need. Dad got called to help with one while I was visiting. I went along to help and documented the process. It was interesting to watch the experienced hands build it up so quickly. I served as “gopher” (and photo-journalist).

My Mom is one of thirteen kids. Mom is the youngest of three girls in the family and once her sisters were married and her mom working swing shift at a factory, she felt she got stuck with lots of housework because the many brothers claimed that was woman’s work and wouldn’t help. I think the brothers have all been better educated by their wives since! I was very happy to get to see all my remaining Kreischer uncles and their wives, plus some of my other aunts, during my visit. I also appreciate my many cousins who worked in a visit with me between their vacation plans and their many children’s summer activities. It was definitely a packed week and I enjoyed seeing everyone.

$Dad and Jane at Bob Evan\'s$

$Flowers on Max and Ginny\'s porch$

$Robin at bird bath in Dad\'s yard$

Family Time

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Nanette Harter

Harter group Our family gathering for Madison and Dennis’ wedding in Maryland was the first time in seven years that the whole family had been together. I was trying to remember the last time my siblings and parents were together and Pamela reminded me that it was when we were all in Ridgecrest and helping the Levy’s pack for their move to Maryland. I can’t believe it was seven years ago that they moved! Time really does fly.

We converged on the Levy household mid-week before the wedding to help with the last minute wedding setup and enjoy some family time together. I was able to sync my flights and flew on the same plane as Mom and Pamela from LA to DC. Not only got a head start on our catching up but made for convenient airport pickup!

Melanie had the rehearsal dinner at their home and we worked together to prepare the meal. When it was time for lunch, the Harter clan sat down all together.; it was just like old times. The weather was lovely summer conditions the entire time and made outdoor gathering very pleasant on the Levy back patio. We also had time for a family morning walk along the Indian Head Trail, an old rail line converted into a biking and walking path.

Setting up for the reception was also a family group activity. Melanie did an amazing job pre-planning everything and then coordinating the whole event. She was pulled in several directions those last few days. Will took off work a few days and handled a big load including the outdoor wedding set up with the help of Will IV and friends. Madison and Aunt Nicki finished off the boxes that held the guest favor gifts. We all enjoyed being active and participating in Madison and Dennis’ big day. And I especially enjoyed all the time I got to spend with my parents and siblings plus extended family.

Madison and Dennis’ Reception

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Nanette Harter

Congratulations

Madison and Dennis Shelton celebrated their union with their family and friends following the outdoor wedding ceremony at a reception in La Plata, Maryland.

The Happy Couple

I will let the gallery photos share the story of the joyous celebration and I wish them much love and happiness in their new life together.

$Bride and Groom\'s Chairs$

Madison and Dennis’ Wedding

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Nanette Harter

The joyous couple: Madison and Dennis Shelton Madison Levy (my niece) married Dennis Shelton on May 19, 2012 in a beautiful outdoor ceremony set in a lovely garden in La Plata, Maryland. Madison is the daughter of Will Levy III and Melanie (Harter) Levy, and sister to Will Levy IV, of Waldorf, Maryland. Dennis is the son of Teresa Shelton, who flew up from Florida to join them on this special day.

The Levy/Harter side was well represented with relatives coming from Ohio, California and Hawaii. Grandparents, Bob and Jane Harter, and Audrey Campbell, uncle Warren Harter, and aunts Nanette Harter, Pamela Beamer, and Niceole Levy arrived a few days early to celebrate and help with the festivities.

Below are some of the wedding snapshots while we await the professional photographs. I apologize for not knowing the names of Madison and Dennis’ dear friends who helped make this day special. (Reception photos to follow.)

[As always, click any thumbnail on the website below to open a larger image with description and then you can use the side arrows to move forward and backwards in the gallery.]

Sophie visits Quentin and Vajra over Christmas Break

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Nanette Harter

I am catching up with pictures from a few months ago. Over Christmas break, Sophie spent two weeks on Maui visiting her mom and brother. She is currently residing in Portland with her dad. Vajra had their two weeks packed with fun filled activities and outings. Neil and I practically had to get scheduled in to get to see them 🙂 Actually we had several great outings with them and they made a Christmas delivery to us!

Sophie and Quentin came bearing gifts of homemade Christmas cookies and live fish to add to our fresh water tank! They bought us a pair of Rosy Barbs which they named Dasher and Aqua. They are the only ones of our 16 fish that have official names. We sometimes call the Spotted Green Puffer “Lil’ Piglet” or “Jo Jo” depending on what he’s doing. The namesake Jo Jo is a parrot belonging to Neil’s aunt who is content to playfully amuse himself for long periods of time. And the Spotted Pictus Catfish is sometimes “Mr. Snuffle-up-aguss” when he’s frantically sucking up all the food he can lay his whiskers on. Aqua is currently pregnant (so full of eggs her sides bulge out) and Dasher follows her around attentively ready to fertilize the eggs when she is ready. He seems to want her to hurry up with that, by the way. We don’t have any hope of little fish babies because there is no nursery section in the tank which could protect the eggs or hatchlings from the other fish.

While Quentin and Sophie were here, they got to open their Christmas gifts from us, Quentin’s dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents. There was much more excitement about that than watching how the fish settled into their new home! Imagine!

Sophie loves the water. Vajra set up an above ground pool in the yard for the Christmas break which they played in several times a day she said. There was also lots of beach and ocean time. As a special treat, Vajra arranged a night at the Wailea Marriott so the kids could play on the water slides and in the adventure kids pools. We visited them for an afternoon so we could play on the water slides too. We all had a ball.

For a fun outing I took them to the Maui Golf and Water Park which has two Hawaiian themed 18 hole miniature golf courses and water bumper boats with spray blasters. Guess what was the hit! We made it through about half a golf course before Sophie lost interest. The bumper boats are in a large pool with two waterfalls pouring into it. We all got some good spray blasts at each other and Vajra caught on film the kids giving me a real soaking.

Sophie specifically requested to visit the aquarium. Quentin has been there “a thousand times (he says with a dramatic sigh)” and has no interest in going anymore, but of course he wanted to come too when he found out I was going to take Sophie on one of her last days here. We all had a great time exploring and moving from exhibit to exhibit. What a fun visit!