Brunch Pictures after June Wedding By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

Hello!

I thought I would put in a few more pictures of the Kinsellas as we gathered together for my son Brian's wedding.

The day after the wedding, as people prepared to drive home, they stopped in at our house for a bit of food and conversation.

Visiting in on the East Coast, by Sue Kinsella

Uncle Harold

Uncle Harold, Uncle Jack, Aunt CB

While visiting my Mom and Dad ("Aunt CB and Uncle Jack") at the beginning of July, we stopped in to visit Uncle Harold and took him out to lunch. Gordie Mills, Kathy's husband, arrived in his truck to drive Uncle Harold to the restaurant in style. Kathy joined us there, along with Annie and her granddaughter, Olivia, whom Harold calls "Olive Oyl." I thought Uncle Harold looked grand and we all had a great time together.

Olivia

Mom, Kathy, Gordie

Uncle Harold and Dad

Annie

I am adding in some pictures of Mom and Dad from when they were in Massachusetts at their grandson Brian’s wedding, as we can never have too many pictures of our ‘family elders’. And, since we got to see Uncle Harold and his great grand-daughter, Olivia, I also wanted to showcase this picture of Mom and her great grand-daughter, Leah.

Hope everyone has a terrific summer, filled with great family get-togethers, laughter, and good weather!

Mom and Leah

WHAT are those Red Sox doing now?!--Aunt CB and Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack, Aunt CB, Julie, Sue, Pat,Glenn

Visiting With Julie By Sue Kinsella

Julie Lochner Riber

Julie and Sue

I got a phone call from Julie Lochner Riber in early June a few days before my son, Alex, was to graduate from high school.

“How about if I hop on a plane and come join you for Alex’s graduation?” she asked me. “I could stay for the weekend.” Julie’s husband, Wes, is working a new job at Frontier Airlines, where they get travel benefits. Wes’s comment, as I hear it, is that he gets to keep working so that Julie can go play. Given how hard they both work together on their additional remodeling business, I’m not sure either of them gets to play a whole lot. So I was delighted to have Julie come visit us.

One of the particularly painful aspects of being a single Mom is that there is no one with whom to share all the day-to-day pride and joy and crazy stories about your kid. Not being able to share the good may be even more painful than having to slog through the bad alone. So to have Julie come share the excitement of Alex’s graduation with us was a wonderful gift.

She arrived on Thursday and looped into all my errands to get ready for the graduation next day and the celebration picnic I was planning. We got the car washed, bought groceries, and then Julie made coleslaw when we got home. Next morning we got up early, dressed up, then drove to a grand old theatre in downtown San Francisco for the graduation. Of course it was wonderful, and then we headed to a park on San Francisco Bay, near the Golden Gate Bridge, for a picnic with Alex’s dad’s family. The previously cold, rainy and overcast weather cleared to a beautiful sunny day just for us!

Over the weekend, we transported Alex to his graduation parties and I took advantage of Julie’s legendary cooking skills by requesting that we (mostly she) make a lemon meringue pie – one of my favorites – with the abundance of lemons I had from a friend’s tree. Mmm-mmm-MMM! Breakfast for the next couple of days!

On Sunday, Julie, Alex and I went to a state park near us (one California is threatening to shut because of budget woes) and spent a delightful couple of hours wandering the trails. This park happens to be where I took Alex for a picnic on Mother’s Day when he was just one year old and he spontaneously burst out with his first words – “Happy Baby! Happy Baby!” A wonderful Mother’s Day gift, indeed! We used to go there often and pretend it was “our” ranch, waving to the pilots of small planes flying over from a nearby local airport.



Alex and Sue

Julie and Alex

In ancient times, the park was the site of a Miwok Indian village. Then, when California was still part of Mexico, it became part of a Spanish land grant, then was given as a wedding gift to a landowner’s daughter in the mid-1800’s. She traveled the world and brought back all kinds of exotic plants to create wondrous gardens around her adobe home. The remnants of the gardens are still there, 150 years later.

In more recent times, the Grateful Dead moved into the adobe house for a few years. Once when I went there when Alex was much younger, I found records strewn throughout the house. But a fire tore through not long ago and now it’s ruins. We poked around the house, the gardens, the ranch with its dairy barn (Julie and I agreed it looked just like Wendell and Joyce’s) and the remains of buildings like the blacksmith’s and ranch hands’ salt box homes. Then we wandered up to a recreated Miwok village and sat on a welcoming tree branch that I’m sure I remember being much higher when Alex was much smaller.

There are rumors that Julie and I might be pushing 60 around now but, as you can see, we’ll still always be Crazy Cousins!

July Birthdays, By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

Jeff, Carol, Abby and Jonah, Christmas 2010

Mary Lou

We’ll start with Uncle Harold’s family-- his daughter MaryLou Taylor Spear , and Jeffrey Aaron Hauf ( Kathy Taylor’s son) both celebrate birthdays this month. Jeff, on the Ides of July, turns a Magnificent 40—Congratulations!!

Jen

Carol Ann

In Uncle Arnon’s family, Jack Lloyd Taylor ( Arnon’s son) , and Carol Ann Taylor ( Arnon’s daughter) have birthdays this month. Bob Taylor’s children-- Robert "Robbie" Henry Taylor, Barbara Ann Taylor, and Jennifer Taylor all blow out candles in July. Alice Nellie Stitt (Arnon’s first wife), and Jillian Lockwood Wright (Stephen's daughter, granddaughter of Nancy Taylor Wright) are July Birthday Kids.
Robbie and Barb


Dan Maffei

Neil Maffei

In Aunt Leona’s family, Neil Carmen Maffei ( Leona’s husband), and Neil's grandson--Daniel Maffei ( Neil Maffei’s son) are July Birthday Kids.

Lester Wood ( Gladys’ husband) , Chick Wood ( Gladys’ son), and Neal Robert Osterhout (husband of Wendy Wood) all are the Birthday Partiers of the month in Aunt Gladys’ family.


Neal Osterhout

Chic
In Aunt Sylva’s family, her grand-daughter Cookie Jenkins (daughter of Christine) celebrates.

Helen Nase McPeek ( Phyllis’ daughter) is also a Birthday Kid.

Kristin Kinsella Walker

Patrick

Jill and Jen Kinsella

In Aunt CB’s family, Kristin Kinsella Walker ( Tim’s daughter) , Jeanette Dalle Kinsella ( Chris’ wife), Patrick James Kinsella ( Chris’ son), Alison Kate Herdeg ( Pat’s daughter), and Jill Miller Kinsella ( Jim’s wife) all celebrate birthdays this month.

Alison Herdeg

Barry Ronald Taylor ( son of Rex, son of Floyd) has a July Birthday.

In Aunt Ruth’s family, her husband--Thomas Francis Maney --and her son, Daniel Thomas Maney are July Birthdays.

Grandma Taylor
And, last but by no means least, Nancy Ethel Baker Taylor is a July Birthday Girl—Happy Birthday, Grandma Taylor!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to One and All!!

Joshua V. Hart-Wood’s Obituary

Josh and Brandy

Brandy Kapp writes:

“I just wanted to let you know that Joshua V Hart-Wood --Lester Wood’s son, my fiancé, passed away Friday night, July 1st 2011. He was in a severe motorcycle accident down in Belmont, North Carolina and was life flighted to Charlotte NC. My family and I are very heart broken at this point in time--Josh was only 27 years old! I miss him very much and I wish he was coming home. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in life.

I still wasn’t over Chic passing away a little more than a year ago, and I had to do it all over again. I held Joshua's hand and let him go to heaven.

My daughter is heartbroken as well and my 2 month old son will never physically know who daddy was. But, I’ll try my best to make sure the kids are raised knowing how great of a man Joshua was.”

Our hearts go out to Brandy and Emma and little Adin, and all of Josh’s family and friends. Below is his obituary:
-------------------------------------------------
BORN: January 30, 1984
DIED: July 1, 2011
LOCATION: Dorset, OH

Joshua V. Hart-Wood, 27, of Dorset and formerly of Warren, died Friday, July 1, 2011 following a motorcycle accident in Charlotte, N.C. He was born January 30, 1984 in Denver, Colorado, the son of Lester H. and Victoria (Hart) Wood, Jr.

A graduate of LaBrae High School, Josh attended trade school in Sunbury, Wisconsin. A driver for L.T. Harnett Trucking, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, motorcycles, and bull riding.

Surviving are his mother and stepfather, Victoria and Al Brown of Rogersville, Alabama; his companion, Brandy Kapp, with whom he made his home in Dorset; two children: Emma and Adin Hart-Wood; four sisters: Nance Wood Drum of New York, Shawn (Dave) Wood DeLucia of Georgia, Sandy (Rick) Wood Leach of Colorado, and Amber (Casey) Ontiveros of North Carolina; and two brothers: Erik, Sr. (Naomi) of Colorado and Jon (Andrea) Hart-Wood of Leavittsburg. Preceding him in death are his father; a sister, Denise Wood; and two brothers: Richard and Jacob Wood.

Services are 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 8, 2011 at McFarland & Son Funeral Home, with Rev. Rick Oaks of First United Methodist Church of Warren officiating. Friends may call 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday and 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Material contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105.

Arrangements are entrusted to McFarland & Son Funeral Services, 271 N. Park Ave., Warren, Ohio 44481.

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope everyone has a great day today--Happy Birthday, America!

Off to swim in the ocean and then check out the Boston fireworks later tonight.

Pat