Lieberfamily Reunion

After 8 (9?) years and probably twice as many additions, the Lieberman family finally reunited!

The newest generation- ages 18 months to 22 years

Thanks to Facebook and my cousin Greg, about 2/3 of the gang across three generations miraculously gathered on a cool October Saturday at the Barefield Recreaction Complex in Pottsville for a day of fun, with my Nana and Pop-Pop no doubt watching over us from heaven.  Greg couldn't have picked a more perfect venue, with a large covered picnic/grill area to house all the food without which no Lieber-family reunion would be complete:

The covered area also included a few TVs for watching all the college football of the day, including one very exciting ND game.  It was so much fun to cheer on the Irish with my uncles and cousins, and especially to watch them beat Stanford in the last seconds of the game!

The venue also had a giant fire pit, which proved to be clutch as the day went on and the temperatures outside continued to drop.

It took a while to get that fire going, but once we were in business, it was s'mores all around!

Kaier and Gwen having a snack

The best part though was the athletic fields-- football, horseshoes, volleyball, and basketball!  I have never seen so many kids across so many ages run around outside for so many hours-- without a single soul stopping to pick up a phone or a tablet.  It was awesome.

Joergen and Colin catching up on the astroturf :)

And with all the kids occupied on their own, the adults actually got to have real conversations!  

Nana with her sister Anne and brother John

It was such a fantastic day, and we all agreed this needs to happen once a year!  (Seriously guys, let's make it happen!)

We stayed over night that night at Aunt Anne and Uncle Jim's house in Barnesville, which was about 20 minutes away and saved us from the 2-hour drive home.  We had never been to their "new" house (um, they moved in 2003...) and were so grateful for their amazing hospitality.  Homemade strawberry shortcake, and a bottomless glass of Bailey's?  OK!

On Sunday morning after church and brunch at the golf club, we decided to drive through Mahanoy City where Nana grew up and I spent so much of my own childhood.  It had been years since I'd been through town!  I had heard that they were tearing down the old Kaier's Brewery to build a community park, and even though the brewery had closed well before I was even born, I wanted to at least see it one more time.  So much of our family history is owed to Kaier's, and I think the park will be the perfect way to use this bittersweet place.