On Saturday, June 16th, Chad attempted to surprise me for my 40th birthday.
He arranged for a group of our closest friends to meet us at Jubilee State Park near Princeville.
Back up to Thursday. I was gone all evening and when I came home he told me he decided we were going to stay overnight at his parents after our family gathering on Friday, then on Saturday we were going to go bike riding at Jubilee State Park. I was instantly suspicious that it had something to do with a surprise for my 40th birthday. Why you ask? We always discuss plans so it is out of character for him to make a decision of this nature without consulting me. I was still delighted and the only thing that would have improved upon the day was that it could have been an entire weekend together.
It all started with these 4 men. They took a trip together in their single days and then Matt (far left) had them in his wedding party. Bruce (far right) and Elizabeth were married in February of 1997, Matt and Dana were married in June 1997, Chad and I were married in October 1997, and Ben (second from left) and Katie were married in February of 1998 (I believe).
I think our first gathering was in January of 1998 while Ben and Katie were engaged. After that we got together about twice a year, usually spending the night somewhere and staying up late. Eventually we had so many children that there was too much chaos to be enclosed somewhere for so long and it was hard to enjoy a good visit while trying to maintain order. Now it works best to get together when the children can play outside and we can visit in peace and quiet while still keeping track of what the children are doing.
Back Row ~ LauraLee & Chad, Ben & Katie, Elizabeth & Bruce, Matt & Dana
Sitting on top of the table ~ Joshua, Andrew, Julia, Jubilee, Caleb, Mallory, Elijah, Jonas, Libby, Heidi, Micah, and Maria
Front Row ~ Megan, Lexi holding Paige, Jolene holding Jeremiah, Laura, Sarah, Marissa holding Aubrey, Jared, Javan, Corbin, Seth, Matthew, and Jesse holding Johanna.
Now I will list the families with their children if you want to know who everyone belongs to.
Chad & LauraLee – Jesse, Javan, Jared, Jolene, Jubilee, Jonas, Johanna, & Jeremiah
Ben & Katie Endress – Corbin, Marissa, Maria, Malory, Elijah, Libby, & Aubrey
Bruce & Elizabeth Endress – Matthew, Sarah, Laura, Andrew, Julia, & Heidi
Matt & Dana Knapp – Lexi, Seth, Megan, Micah, Joshua & Caleb (twins), & Paige
We have an average of 7 children per family. 
I have a lot of close friends, but none so close as these. We have been getting together for nearly 15 years and have poured our hearts out to each other whether good or bad. We laugh and cry, bless, listen, empathize, encourage, and most of all direct each other to find our strength in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the guidance we find in His Word – the Bible. I love each and every one of these people with all my heart and would do anything for them. I am so thankful God has blessed us with such a great group! It is always a time of great refreshment!
I have begun to call our group the K.E.E.P. group. We must KEEP getting together! The acronym stands for each of our names.
- Knapp
- Endress
- Endress
- Plattner
Sarah made my cake! Thanks Sarah ~ you did a GREAT job!!!
The younger girls played with chalk.
We learned a new game. It’s called Drip, Drip, DRENCH!
It’s like Duck, Duck, Goose except you need a circle of hot children and a cup of water – with a refill bucket.
Instead of saying Duck, you Drip a drop of water on each child’s head and instead of saying Goose you DRENCH the chosen one with what’s left in the cup!
Drip!
Drip!
DRENCH!
We used the water sparingly because we didn’t want to use up all our drinking water, we’d probably use more water if we had it.
Elijah and Joshua playing football.
More drenching.
The Dad’s played sports with the older children.
Paige and Aubrey
Kick the Bucket
I realized after going over this post that I didn’t have any pictures of the Moms!
I looked back through my pictures and this is the only picture I have of the Moms together. It is actually a picture I took because Johanna wanted me to take one of her but if you look in the pavilion you can see the other Moms!
