Eva (Neufeld) Fehr turned 80 years old on September 1, 2019.
It is also her 62nd wedding Anniversary. Eva is Larry’s mom. Birthdays like this are celebrated with great enthusiasm up here in this community. I remember them talking about it last September when I visited Larry up in Hague. There is 69 immediate family from Eva down to the youngest great grandchild(5 weeks old)! I knew then I would have to be here for her birthday.
It worked out well when I retired early from Sonoma State University in June. My daughter Jill had come up last July to visit with Larry’s family and me. I asked her if maybe she could come up for the weekend. She lives in Gilbert, Arizona- near Phoenix with her super handsome boyfriend Riley. She said she would do her best with school and work, it would be a short weekend.
My good friend Michael from California said he’d like to take a vacation up here and I asked him to come the same week. The more the merrier! Most of Larry’s family lives close by his hometown of Hague. His two sisters have moved out of the area. Betty his oldest sister lives in Austin, Manitoba and Marion his younger sister, lives in Hanover, Ontario. Friends and family were traveling from all over to make the celebration.
Marion (Mitch) arrived early with her two sons, Arman and Amman. They spent almost 2 weeks here visiting. Michael came for almost a week and Jill and Riley were here for only 2 days. Unfortunately they missed the birthday party as Riley had to work. We did pack in as much as we could in those 2 short days. Larry and I took, Jill, Riley and Michael to golf in Waldheim the day they flew in. We had a blast playing until dark.
The next day we were up early to drive to Rhona Lake. Darryl (Larry’s older brother) and his beautifully sweet daughters Selena and Chantelle were boating up there. Darryl has a cabin near the lake and we had an amazing time. Larry, Micheal and I tubed behind the boat in a 3 person tube. Darryl was not able to dump us and gave us one hella ride! We did some kayaking and tried the stand up paddleboard too, Darryl was a generous host and fed us all day with BBQ’d hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken. I was shocked how much Riley can eat! We had a great fire to roast marshmallows for S’mores and to warm up after being in the water. The sun only peaked out a few times and the temperature was mild- not hot.
Saturday was a big day as most folks had arrived for the birthday celebration that would take place the next day. All family members were needed at the Town Hall at 9am to make the food for the party. I unfortunately had to miss helping out as this is when I drove Jill and Riley to catch their 10am flight home. They had to take 3 planes to get here and 3 back home. They probably traveled more hours to be here than they got to stay. But I was so happy they could come for a bit. It was great to have a little piece of my family here too.
When I got back to Hague, everyone had finished preparing the food. They all went to Eva and Pete’s home for dinner (Lunch). I was able to figure that out after I had walked to the Town Hall and found it empty. Eva and Pete have a cozy 2 bedroom condo one block from Larry’s house. It was packed with so much family when I got there. They had 2 tables in the living room and people overflowing outside in the backyard. It was just a bit overwhelming when I walked in. Michael seemed to be mingling with Larry’s family very well. I met so many people in the matter of an hour that I knew I was going to have a hard time remembering all the new names. What I took away from this dinner was the amount of Love permeating the room. I watched Eva’s face as she smiled and served her children, their children and their children. I was able to experience 4 generations and was welcomed in like family.
We went back to Larry’s house on the next block. Courtney, Greg and Josie were going golfing and invited Michael along. Since Michael is “Cousin Age” he was made an honorary Cousin and left with them. Larry and I sat in lawn chairs under the awning of the Airstream with Mitch, Betty and her husband Abe and visited. Some of us participated in adult beverages while they talked about the Softball game. Larry mandated that all family members were to meet at the ball field at 1pm the next day. I’m family so I get to play.
I had to pull out my gear from the Aristream. We are taking our ball bags and jerseys on the road. I hope to get invited to play when we are traveling. We jumped in the back of Alex’s truck and headed 2 blocks to the field. We arrived to about 35-40 folks ready to play or watch.
Derrick ( Larry’s nephew) was a team captain as well as Larry. We lined up to be picked for teams. Michael was Derrick’s first pick. I didn’t get picked until the fourth round and Not by Larry either! Larry’s team had 13 players an ours had 12. The extra folks were put in the outfield after the base positions were filled. It was amazing to see 23 members of Larry’s family out there to play a game. I have to say it was one of my best days up here. Plus my team won!! I got 3 good hits, made some plays at second base. This was Micheal’s first time playing softball and he did great. A couple of singles and the greatest catch in the outfield for a rookie……..he caught Larry’s ball. Ha Ha Ha
After the game, Larry’s daughters Courtney and Amanda came to the house to get ready for the big birthday party at 5pm. We had some beer in the backyard and snacks. Courtney and Larry were the MC’s for the program at the church. We also had supper and cake! The pastor spoke to almost 200 family and guests about Eva and what makes up a really great mom. They had some music by Pete’s uncle Ben. Eva was so happy and looked beautiful in her Red shirt. She went to every table and thanked everyone for coming. She told me she wore the Red shirt because it was a symbol of love. She’s really a very lovely lady and I am grateful and fortunate to have met her. It was a wonderful evening. Larry was super handsome too.