take a break: upstate family reunion

Upstate New York is one of my favorite places in the world. I have spent a significant amount of my life there and it is the backdrop for many of my favorite childhood adventures. My family goes up every year around Christmastime to visit family, but I hadn't been back in the summer in 6 years.

This summer we had a family reunion in New York, and it's one of the larger ones we've had in recent years. It was so fun to see many of my cousins, who live all over the country (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Arkansas, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, just to name a few places!), bring their own kids to the farm! More than once I had young cousins approach me and ask me to chaperone their frog-catching escapades at the pond or their excursion to the four-story treehouse (I declined frog-catching, content to read my book on the porch, despite these children's assumption that I "[wasn't] doing anything"). 

My own 'dear photograph' at the farm. 

In true VanDerwerken sister fashion, my sisters and I all showed up to our family reunion in stripes and matching burgundy nail polish. Hence, a matching photo for posterity.

Lest you think the farmhouse backdrop and barn setting too idyllic, as my aunt and I set up tablecloths on the picnic tables in the barn, we had to artfully hide the mouse-eaten holes—in storage with other pumpkin patch gear, mice had chewed through the entire roll of gingham vinyl tablecloths! No surprises there.

celebrating my Grandma's 88th birthday!

what front porches were made for

Playing one of many rounds of the game "Bezzerwizzer," which I though was arguably the weirdest name, until I learned of the origin of its name: it's from the German word besserwisser, or "know-it-all." I did have some qualms with the game, as many questions were poorly written and led to heated arguments over the validity of answers. This would probably have happened regardless in a VanDerwerken crowd.

My dad brought prints of family photographs and I helped hang them in the barn. I love my grandmother's wedding portrait so so much and we miss Grandpa V. 

My Aunt Angela was the reunion planner extraordinaire! I love our reunion shirts (which feature the NY hometown and the Yankees, where most of the upstate family's baseball loyalties lie). The first afternoon of the reunion, Angela planned a scavenger hunt, complete with limerick clues à la Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, which took us in groups to well-known spots around town. It was also a brilliant excuse to let everyone while away an afternoon in an air-conditioned car. I was in the all-girl group (sporting our pink bandanas with pride) with Aunts Angela and Cindy, my cousin Amanda, and cousin-in-law Hannah. We did yoga poses in front of one of the stops (the Flood Evacuation Route sign on Prospect and Main) in honor of the yoga class Angela taught the following morning on the front lawn at the farm—shoulder stands and an obligatory plow pose, also a nod to the farm. I love the BARN SALE sign behind us—quintessential upstate NY.

the view from the covered bridge overlooks the old Tory Tavern (which was another stop on our scavenger hunt; also speaking of Tories...)

Right by this covered bridge, there is an area that the local Kiwanis Club made into a park following Hurricane Irene, which caused devastating flooding through the valley, including at the farm. The path leading through the park is lined with wild tiger lilies which have been transplanted there (they grow everywhere on the side of the road). Part of our scavenger hunt was to go and pull weeds for 10 minutes, as much of the path farther down was overgrown. I saved some stinging nettle leaves (yay for foraging adventures!) with the intent to try making some nettle soup, but with all the commotion of the reunion, I didn't end up making any. That's still on my list to try someday!

Another item on the list: go to Amy's and order a large (we shared it).

When I was a kid, in the summer or fall we would go pick berries or apples, respectively, at a nearby farm. I was so excited to pick blueberries, but a late frost killed the berry crop. Luckily, we could still pick some raspberries. I love the photo below with William barely visible through the berry bushes.

Fireflies, fiery sunsets, and an epic game of capture the flag as an homage to old times. Playing with my cousins and their kids was so fun; the cousins' kids were so excited and it was so fun to pass on this tradition.

This post is long and a little scattered, but deservedly so, as this was one of my favorite trips of the summer. This area of New York is very dear to me, and I hope some of these photographs and stories can capture the essence of this special place.