Sixty and Ninety

Our son Donn is exactly 30 years younger than John. Well, almost exactly: John's birthday is August 2, Donn's, August 1. (I tried to hold onto the baby one more day, but babies keep their own calendars.) The two usually celebrate together -- but 2013 was a special milestone.

The "cake" is always watermelon!

Thirteen of us gathered at Lake Cumberland State Park in Kentucky. There was a cabin for each of the four couples and a separate one for five grandsons -- all in their 20s, with different concepts of bedtime from the older generations'.

Our 6th grandson had a summer college course in Portland, Oregon, and none of our three granddaughters could join us: a priest-to-be settling into her new parish in Brooklyn, NY (see "Priest in the Family" blog,) a new baby in Atlanta (blog coming!) and a nurse at the bottom of the vacation pecking order at Brockton Hospital in Massachusetts. With me on the sofa in our cabin are John Scott and his wife Raena, and Donn with wife Patricia.

Raena and our daughter Liz proud of the party they and Patricia managed to pull off in this remote setting. The three daughters somehow assembled decorations --candles, crowns. party plates and napkins -- and snacks, salads and breads while...

the three sons grilled chicken and steak on the charcoal grill just outside. Liz's husband Dana heads out with chicken breasts.

The birthday boys.

Lake Cumberland is a water sport paradise. Dana handling the rope while the boys took turns on an inflated raft. Later he joined the five 20-somethings diving from the roof of the catamaran.