Family Update via Karen and Andy's Wedding!

I haven't yet communicated with the bride and groom  - and don't like my chances for the next few days :). 

So, I'm not going to post any pictures of the bride and groom.  But, we here at Team Henderson do want to officially congratulate Kandy (Karen + Andy) on their sweet wedding.  We had a blast.

Additionally, we can take advantage of their delightful soiree last Sunday to offer up a little family update. 

Did we mention that Hannah's (finally!) back in California?  Well, after having trekked across Europe and most recently the heartland of America with Eric she (and Eric) arrived back home last Friday.  Clearly, my beautiful daughter is no worse for the wear!  And mom is soooo glad to have her back.

Here's a picture of the usual suspects.  It's rewarding to look at a picture like this and realize that we have been so blessed in our lives.  This picture is a fitting juxtaposition of lifelong friends, family and the new.  We take none of them for granted.

And speaking of new ... I don't think we've had a picture of Julie and Evan and baby James yet.  I guess this one should be titled 'introducing baby bump James Winslow'. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know it seems like 2010/11 was/is all about the Logans.  After all, Julie and Evan got married last December, Tim and Barbara in March and now Karen and Andy in June.  Sadly, I think we've plumb run out of Logans to get married.. but let's just say.. they still look like they're all having fun.

Should we call these 'agony and ecstasy?  Or just super cute?

Where will life take us next?

Catching Up

In case you're wondering if we're still serious sports fans... the answer is decidedly YES! In fact, over the last couple of weeks we've had the chance to attend a couple of college basketball games featuring the University of California - Irvine (UCI for short). That's were Brandon is playing on scholarship this year. Yes, we are EATER fans! (the UCI mascot is the anteater)

Now, as a freshman you can imagine the amount of hard work and skill it takes to break into the playing lineup. Knowing that, we've been impressed that Brandon has played in both the games we have attended. Way to go - B!

Here's some pictures from UCI vs. San Jose State - which is just down the street from us. Here's Brandon in pre-game warmups.











And here he is waiting for a break in the play - to go in.











Along with being one of the best natural passers I have ever had the enjoyment of watching - B is a very active defensive player.





























We are excited to spend time with our friends (B's parents) and to get the chance to watch his development and growth as a basketball player at this new level. Go EATERS!

Emily's 25th Birthday Bash

Friday night we were invited to a 1920's party cocktail party in celebration of Emily's 25th birthday. Everybody was dressed to the nine's; many in period clothing. Here's the honoree looking simply gorgeous - and her handsome man.



















The decorations, food and drink were extremely well executed. Emily is an artist and her unique flair was present in the many details observed throughout the evening.

All the ladies got into the spirit of the evening.


































Of course, they can't seem to take a normal picture ;D
























For most of the evening I was helping Hannah out by taking the pictures (using Hannah's camera). But, I did get a chance to be in one of the pictures!












You can see from the smiles how much fun everyone was having.

Many thanks to Emily for letting us be a part of her life and her party. It was a huge hit!

Happy Birthday!

P.S. Thanks to Hannah for letting me snag the photos from her camera!

Michigan Pies

Michigan pies are an integral part of family camp. This year we got to introduce a number of new families to these delicacies! In fact, demand was so high that at one point we even had to have Randy and Eileen run out for more bread. I think in total we went through approximately 6-8 loaves of bread. We made a huge array of flavors. The peach pies, made with peaches from our own tree, were a huge hit. Another favorite this year was peanut butter, chocolate and banana. I had one of those, myself, and they were fabulous. Some of the other popular flavors were cherry, chocolate and marsh mellow, and pizza.

Here's some of the results!

Tim the Photographer

In order to get the Truckee rafting pictures, Tim gave me the memory card from his digital camera. On it were quite a few pictures. Apparently, he doesn't clear off the camera very often. Which is my good luck.

So.. why not pass along a few of his best efforts?

Here's some roses that Tim grew. He has a major green thumb.















And here's some of his tulips. The man can do flowers.















Here's some simply gorgeous nature shots. Gorgeous!





























And here's some family and friends!

Rafting the Truckee

A bunch of us lazily rafted down the Truckee River while in Tahoe. Tim decided to be our nature photographer and captured these pictures of the event. Thanks Tim!

Jon and Rachel:
















































Here's more of our crew; Hannah, Anna, Emily, Taylor, Aaron, Courtney and Blake:





























And here's Tod and Julie.. going through the rapids at the end of the trip.

Games!

Team Henderson and our friends are fierce game players. We love to play - and camp was a great place to hang and play.

Recently, we've been playing the card game Golf - that we initially learned in Michigan. Joanne - you should feel proud - because pretty much everyone in northern California now knows how to play ;D

The undisputed Golf champions are Team Scott. They're all pretty much amazing. Taylor and Aaron focus on consistency; routinely scoring incredibly low scores. Then there's Randy - who at one point was 73 under par (-73!) after just 3 holes! They won every game we played. Kudos to their success.

Hannah also bought a ladder golf game - keeping with the golf theme. If you haven't played before - you essentially throw some balls that are tethered together towards a ladder 'target' - hoping to get the balls to wrap around one of the three horizontal bars.

Now.. one thing you need to know. Having the balls lodge in a nearby tree (check out the very top of the image) is an epic fail.. Jon!



















And.. just in case you're wondering how I (Tod) did in the competitions. Well, check out the following picture. In keeping with our old tradition of 'notching' a picnic table seat for every victory.. you can see that I did okay!

Pier Jumping Pictures

The Pine Lodge pier provided an amazing launching point for jumping pictures. That is, if you are willing to jump into frigid Lake Tahoe. At an altitude of over 6,000 ft and an incredible depth - Tahoe is COLD!! So, each of these jumps is incredible for both its bravery and artistry!


PEER PIER JUMPING!

First up are some group, synchronized jumping pictures. Tahoe pier jumping requires a certain amount of peer pressure to get people into the water... so it wasn't a big shock that the initial jumps were group efforts.

Here's Hannah, Karen, Rachel, Emily and Anna launching!





























While they were in the water - heading back to the ladder up the pier Blake decided to .. drop in. Check out the expressions on the ladies' faces.















Here's another group; Hannah, Emily, Courtney, Karen and Rachel!




















COUPLES JUMPING!

Hannah and Courtney rocking the pier!















Rachel and Emily - holding hands!















And here's Randy and Eileen just before they went in. Bummer I didn't catch that one ;)
















SOLO JUMPING!

Here's a sequence featuring Hannah making a solo jump. This is a 180 with full extension! I particularly love the last image which features Hannah's hair just above pier level.

























































And here's some guys that were at the pier at the same time we were. This was a fantastic jump!






































MOTHER OF THE CAMP OUT JUMPING!

Julie nailed down the mother of the camp out with this effort. Hannah told her mother that she really wanted her to do the pier jump for her birthday. Julie was in street clothes and let Hannah know that there wasn't any chance she would jump in. Unbeknownst to Hannah, Julie removed her shoes, glasses and cleared out her pockets. The next time Hannah went to jump.... well... check out the action for yourself!

Hannah and Karen heading out:















Hey.. wait a minute.. who's that behind Hannah? As Hannah turned around she was shocked to see her mother right in front of her!















And there she goes into the frigid lake!































































All the rest of us were utterly impressed. Here's Julie once she dragged herself and her heavy clothes back to the dock!





























Hannah was so proud of her mom! Julie is such a gamer! She definitely was Mother of the Camp Out!