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| Reunion beach balls, thanks to Wendy and Stephanie |
The picnic cookout at the Marriott, Willow Ridge, was an impending disaster as predicted
by the resort staff. It had been raining off and on all week and it poured that
morning. At the last raindrop, I dried off the tables in the pavilion and
gathered umbrellas. Greg pitched his Razorback awning outside the patio doors
to keep the grills dry. Then - voilà- the sun came out .... and the party was on.
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| Marvin |
The family tree converged in Branson (Mo.) from Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota, Florida, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. Click for a link to all of the photos from the reunion.
Uncles Marvin and Pete were dubbed Royalty I and Royalty II, being the princes they are, upholding the Braaksma tradition, and two of the important reasons we are proud to call ourselves "Braaksma."
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| Pete |
Doris, AKA "Vanna," brought her carnival-style roulette wheels for the paddle game. Anvil Paints donated the paddles. Early in the game, Tim won a sentimental thingamabob, designed and made by Uncle Donnie for Minnie some 50 years ago (I'm guessing) in shop class.
Lucky McKenzie took home Karen's prized quilt ... and countless other items!
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| Doris, AKA "Vanna," Stephanie, Alexis, and Lucy |
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| Dalton and Drew choosing their lucky paddles |
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| Tim with Minnie's thingamabob |
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| Doris, working her magic |
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| Lucky McKenzie | |
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Greg, Jeff, and Andy
Thanks to our grill masters, we had a delicious beef/chicken/vegetable kebab dinner. |
The tradition continues. The funnest thing about our reunions is being together. As great party planners will tell you, it's all about the guest list.
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| Pete, Steve, and Marvin |
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| Cindy |
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| Tim and Uncle Pete |
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| Kaylyn and Linda on the Branson Belle |
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| Lisa and Julie, with baby Noah on the way ... in December |
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| David, reunion co-host |
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| Doris, Karen, and Linda |
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Up & Comers: (back row) Ethan, Tristen, Lindsey, Eric, Brett, Ben, Sam, Roy, and Julie
(middle) Stephanie, Drew, Lucy, and Dalton; (front) Alexis and Annalynn |
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| Steve, charming Annalynn |
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| Paging through the albums: Chasity, Karen, Doris, and Pat |
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| Amy, cousin Ronnie Sr., and Alexis with niece Annalynn |
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| Staying mobile, Kaylyn, Stephanie, and Amy |
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Michelle, Mark, Ken, and Tim
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| Pillow fight! Cousins Drew and Stephanie |
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| Cousins Doris and Kaylyn |
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| Julie and Brett |
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Annalynn, Ronnie Jr., Alexis, and Heather
Marvin, Chasity, Frances, Connie, Ken, Cindy |
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Steve won Darrell's Timothy Whale's Rainbow
Shutterbug Melissa
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| Frances and Helen |
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(Front) Ken
(Back) Teens, licensed to drive, Roy, Eric, Sam and Ben |
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| (Center) Brandt and Erica with sons Ethan and Tristen;( left) Stephanie and (right) Kaylyn |
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| Marvin and Kaylyn, father-daughter dynamic duo |
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| Around the table, Lindsey, Stephanie, Helen, and Ethan |
Thanks to Jeff, Andy, Greg, Eric, and Ben, the SWAT picnic team, setting-up and taking-down the grills, awning, and tables in a flash!
The End
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