A Tribute to the Chislers

July 10-13 the Chisler family went to Toledo Bend State Park. We stayed in 3 cabins right on the water. The weather, facilities, and water were wonderful!! Friday night everyone got settled in and Nonna and Papa cooked ham, mac n cheese, beans, and fresh veggies of all kinds for dinner. Mom brought her famous Buffalo Chip cookies. Mmm. In groups of 2-5 we explored around the place, walking down to the doc and checking out the water. Aunt Deborah brought all kinds of water guns and water toys. Her, Mom, and my boys played on the cabin porch in a 5 gallon bucket of water, trying out every single water toy. Aunt Deborah reminds me of Mary Poppins: her bag is always full of endless surprises. Uncle Steve put his kayaks in the water, and me and Chris just had to try them out. We didn't go far, realizing others wanted a turn, but we did race back to shore. We won't mention who won the race. Jay and Dee were up next, and I took a turn at playing "paparazzi". (Jon's nickname for Dee because she is always taking pictures).

Saturday Bethany arrived just in time for breakfast. Aunt Deborah, Mom, Me, Chris, Dee, Jay, and Preston took a very early morning hike before breakfast. Nothing too exciting to report there. Uncle Steve rented a party barge for everyone to enjoy, and Nonna and Papa put their boat in the water. A day on the water for everyone. It turns out that the party barge might have waved bye-bye to its partying days. The motor was having trouble, chairs were leaning making you feel you might tump out if you leaned just the right way, and we found some repairs had been made with rusty old nails that were in dangerous places. We laughed it off and had a good time anyways...until our motor kept quitting. We headed over to the marina, unloaded everyone and explained our problems. After several attempts to fill it with gas, and test driving by the owner, we set off to enjoy our boat. It was hilarious, and yes, we did enjoy our time on it. The rest of the gang in Papa's boat did some tubing and knee boarding. Everyone took turns on the water, and we were all exhausted at the end of the day. I think Jon was hurting the worst from being tossed around on the tube. Aunt Deborah and Uncle Steve cooked Mexican for dinner, and oh, was it delicious!!

The highlight of the weekend was Nonna and Papa's vow renewal. After dinner, we walked a short distance and set up a small group of chairs next to a bridge. Chris lead the vow renewal. I videoed, and Dee took pictures. It was an amazing moment in our family history. What a special way to celebrate 60 years of marriage! After the ceremony, we had cake and Uncle Steve passed out gifts to everyone. Thanks Uncle Steve! We all have matching t shirts that have the Chisler and Boyer family crests on them and Nonna and Papa's wedding date. We are all so proud to have them as our example for life-long marriage commitment!

Sunday was spent doing more kayaking, visiting the swimming area, and hanging out together sharing stories and hearing the latest on everyone. It was so wonderful to catch up with Bethany, who is the champion for driving the farthest for the shortest visit! Chris traveled home Sunday morning to go to church...Sunday is the big work day for him. He was able to be back at the cabins for dinner, so he did get to have a little fun. Preston had his first enjoyable tube ride during the afternoon. We were big tubing buddies. I was very proud of him. We finished off the day with hamburgers and hot dogs...and Uncle Steve's famous homemade ice cream!!

Thanks to Aunt Deborah, Uncle Steve, Mom, Dad, Nonna, and Papa for all the planning and effort you put into making this such an amazing weekend!! We can't wait to do it again...

Here's the link for the reunion pics:
Renion 2009 pics

Also, here's the Anniversary announcement:http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2009/0718/lifestyles/024.html