The 2021 Norquist Family Cider Bee

 My brother Hank moved to Idaho, and his kids live on the east coast, but he and Cindy still drive his pick up truck to Yakama and bring the apples to the family apple squeezing party.

Hank's two sisters supplied the rest of the tribe this year, gathering at my nephew Ben's house near Winlock, WA. 

First we have coffee and doughnuts and visiting. I forgot to take a picture of the doughnuts. I was busy eating and talking. 

Then we get to work.

Get the apples out of the bin. Where are those kids we used to get to do the job? I guess they have minds of their own now. 

Wash the apples and quarter them. Ready for the grinding and pressing in the cider press. 

Ah, there's some of those kids. They got tall. Andy and his sons, Lars and Oliver.

There's Hank at the crank. 

Father and son: Jake and Tom on a perpetual coffee break. Time for conversation catch up.

Cousins: Katie and Jill

Siblings: Laurie and Hank

Cousins: Irene and Heidi. Heidi was in charge of straining and bottling the cider. 

Father and son, Troy and Hans, and center, Ben, our host. 

Apples go into the hopper to be crushed.

Crank down the press to squeeze the juice out of the crushed apples. 

Larson just enjoyed cutting, intricately. 

The last apple! But still more squeezing to do. 

Mother and son having serious conversation - about geology. 

The Chief Inspector. Heidi passed quality control. 

Of course we ate - well. And of course I did not take photos of the food or the eating. I was busy, eating and talking, again.

As we were finishing up in the afternoon Katie organized group generational photos. 

The kids: All but one of Laurie's grands and one of mine.

Heidi, Hannah, Irene, Hans, Nathan, Oliver, and Lars. Mia and Isaac are away at college.  

The kids with grandmas. 

The old folks; Cindy. Hank, Laurie, Linda, Tom

The middles: Coral, Troy, Jake, Katie, Jill, Ericka, Ben, and in the back, Andy.

In loving memory of our mother Violet, who is pictured here at her last Cider Bee in 2011, our sister Ilene, who we lost this year, and Arnie, gone now close to two years, who was husband to Laurie and father and grandpa to most of this gang. We miss them as we carry on our traditions.