Wall to Wall Family

The last few weeks have been filled with back-to-back, wall-to-wall family time.

I’m talking far-away family. This was drop everything and savor the moment family time.

First there were cousin adventures here on the farm with kitties and hammocks and games. Eating mulberries from the trees, throwing rocks in the pond, and chasing chickens fun.

And then, we had one last family reunion at Poppa and Nana’s house before they moved into a senior living apartment. All of my husband’s siblings and almost all of our children gathered to remember times past and make new memories.

Cousins, friends from birth, had one last time to hang out in the basement family room they claimed as their own, to play games on the hill in the front yard, to look through toys and books and take home treasures from Poppa -Nana’s house.

Three generations for one last time at the “big house”.

We filled those walls with laughter!

So many memories.

Locations may change.

But love remains.

And all is well.

Gathering of the Clan

Labor Day Weekend means one thing for my family – The Kamp-Out at Nana and Papa’s.

This gathering of the clan is a highly anticipated last hurrah of the summer.

Three generations.

Massive amounts of food.

Very little sleep.

The coffee flowed as fast as the conversations.

Laughter rang out as stories were told and memories made.

We took our hammocks to new heights.

And welcomed new friends from bonny Scotland.

Who arrived as strangers and left as family.

Dear people who laughed with us and found such joy in learning our traditions.

And fell in love with our sweet corn.

And us.

And we with them.

We played games.

Went wading in the river.

Took endless rides on the Ranger.

And just sat in the sunshine, watching the littles.

Remembering the days when it was our babies who were enjoying Papa and Nana’s house.

And cherishing the fact that another generation gets the same opportunity.

We took our annual trek to ”the Rock”.

And posed for the annual picture.

And learned that a vuvuzela will attract all the cows in the neighborhood.

It was a sweet time.

A weekend full of precious moments with people we hold dear.

A true gathering of the Clan!

Flying By…

Is it just me or did June fly by?!

Wasn’t Memorial Day just yesterday? And now we’re planning July 4th activities!

I can’t believe we’ve already celebrated Anna’s birthday with presents and family and cheesecake!

“Cheesecake Gobble gobble Cheesecake, Gobble Gobble cheesecake. Cheesecake!”

And Father’s Day.

Which began with a boomerang on the roof, progressed to a kite in the farm pond and ended with bottle rockets and Roman candles.

I’ve spent hours digging out the garden and was surprised to see plants! Real vegetables growing despite the unconventional planting and absolute neglect!

It’s a miracle!

Nate’s band had their first big concert! They did a great job and drew a really nice crowd!

Look at him playing the electric guitar!

And just imagine the great story it will be if they ever get famous and can say their first big concert was on the stage behind Frosty Trete Ice Cream in Bedford, Iowa!

My parents came for the concert and stayed for a visit. We played games, went shopping and had a great auction adventure!

Two of my sisters came for a day! We filled it with talk and laughter and games and shopping.

And eating out. Of course.

I shivered in sweatshirts, sweated in tank tops and huddled in the basement waiting for the storm to pass.

I’ve hung loads of wet laundry in the sunshine and taken them in smelling of fresh air and blue sky.

And was awestruck by the site of billions of fireflies – like twinkle lights bedazzling the sky as far as the eye can see – shining so bright it was hard to see where the stars ended and the fireflies began.

I’ve heard the bobwhite quail, read books, and visited multiple greenhouses.

I’ve laughed at antics of adolescent chickens.

And repeatedly stepped over the baby kitties who have decided to live on the back step.

So much life was lived in the last month!

I guess that’s where June went – in big events, special moments, quiet joys, and the wonder that is found in every day life – if we look for it.

Improv Night and Birthday Oscars

My family got together last weekend for our yearly extended family camping trip.

One of our traditions is an Improv Night – when we entertain each other with skits we pull together at the last minute.

Each family brings an unmarked bag of 10 random items that we distribute one evening. Each family is then given about 15 minutes to pull together a skit using those items.

The results are hilarious!

This year – however – was different. But I didn’t learn that fact right away.

You see – my siblings used our annual Improv Night to surprise me for my 50th birthday. (I should have expected this – since I have a history of surprising my siblings on their 50th birthdays!)

I was very active in speech and drama in high school and have always been a bit disappointed that I was never given a lead role in any of the high school plays.

So this year – my family gave me the lead role in each of their skits.

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They just didn’t tell me.

After the kids and I did our skit – which was a true improv – using the special bag full of random geriatric items they gathered for us – I was called on to act in every other skit.

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Skits that were written in advance, with appropriate props and – not surprisingly – were full of family memories and embarrassing moments for yours truly.

There were certain “This is Your Life” kind of moments.

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And some wild “I can’t believe they are making me do this” kind of moments.

Each skit was different – I was handed a prop or a costume or both and given a few instructions.

16 06 18-M500- 32-6 (1) And I winged it.

Acting my heart out to tremendous applause and wild laughter!

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And when the final skit was over – they had me walk the red carpet and handed me a plastic imitation Oscar for my performances – before spraying me with silly string.

Because they love me.

I guess.

Hollywood here I come!

Or not.

After a career like mine, it might be time for retirement.

Camping Out

We had our annual family camp-out last week-end.

Some things were just as they always have been.

Same place. Same cabins.

Same crazy cousins.

Lots of food. Lots of laughter. Lots of bugs.

Silly skits. Long hikes. Creek wading.

And of course – building the traditional dam.

But this year we added some things.

Like a jumbo-sized Bananagrams on the lawn.

Works both your body and your brain. Super fun!

And we celebrated a niece’s upcoming wedding with a British high tea, complete with hats and gifts.

But the most exciting new addition –

We had not one, not two – but three new babies to play with!

Yes, three!

The third generation to join the fun.

Savoring the moments and making sweet memories.

Family.

VBS

This year’s VBS is now history.

What took weeks to plan and prepare for – was over in the blink of an eye.

We had drama.

And laughter.

And suspense.

And lots and lots of trench coats.

And we had music.

And silly games – both inside and out – because of course we had rain.

We did crafts.

And got snacks from a crazy snack lady person.

And had an absolutely incredible group of volunteers – including some amazing teenage helpers and actors.

But most importantly –

We had lots of precious children who heard about the One True God.

And that made every detail worth it.

Summer Memories

The weather is changing.

We’re digging out jeans and hoodies.

Math books replace video games.

Suddenly fall is here – the apples and pumpkins and pears are ripe.

But wait a minute! Where did summer go?

What happened to all those amazing blog posts that were floating in my head but never quite got written?

Like the one when Pedro and his sweetie went to the amusement park and he was so twitterpated that he forgot to secure his almost new iphone.

They found it in several pieces under the Tornado roller coaster.

That was a costly mistake.

Or the amazing posts about all my garden produce.

Green beans. Zucchini. Yellow squash. Cucumbers. Sweet corn. Melons. Tomatoes. Peppers. Kohlrabi. Lettuce. Radish. Broccoli.

And the one about my flower garden. Yes – I have a flower garden! With beautiful flowers that make my heart happy.

An actual garden – not just planters. And the sweetest rain gauge ever.

But those posts never got written.

And now summer is over.

Gone in a whirlwind of work and play.

Loads of laundry on the line.

Yummy meals on the grill.

Miles of lawn mowing.

Adventures with friends.

Hours in the garden, planting, weeding and harvesting.

Making memories with family.

County Fair then State Fair.

Hundreds of jalapeno poppers.

Good books on a hot summer afternoon.

But I blinked and it’s over.

Gone in a heart beat.

Packed to the brim and running over.

But it was all good, my friends. Really, really good.

Last Hurrah of Summer

We had one last hurrah of summer over Labor Day weekend.

One last weekend together with my family before the activities of the fall sucked us into it’s whirlpool.

My parents. Siblings. Spouses. Nieces. Nephews. Cousins.

Family.

Three generations under one roof.

Filling every minute. Squeezing out every bit of fun.

Tubing down the West Fork with cousins – twice.

Eating.

Hiking to the rock – twice.

Eating.

Laughing till our sides ached.

And eating some more.

Sitting on the porch watching the storm blow in – feeling the changes that were surely coming.

Remembering the past.

Relishing the present.

Anticipating the future.

Making hot sticky memories to enjoy all winter.

One last hurrah.

And the Cousins Came

It was another big week here at Windy Ridge!

The cousins came.

A whole slew of them.

And boy did we have fun!

How about a hotly contested monopoly game that lasted 4 days?

No clear winner was ever named.

And fishing every day.

And catching enough fish for a fish fry – which we cooked outside because the weather was absolutely amazingly awesome.

One night Poppa took the entire crew in to eat at the pizza place where Pedro works – and Pedro got to make pizza for us all.

A lot of pizza.

We might have embarrassed him a little. 🙂

And then we had ice cream. Because we could. And it was good.

We celebrated two birthdays – Pedro’s 18th and Dagmar’s 20th.

We ate our first sweet corn of the season, had hamburgers on the grill and then sat in lawn chairs watching the sun go down and the stars come out.

Sweet.

It was a week of long conversations and loud laughter.

Walks through the pasture and time at the ponds.

Glow sticks and frisbees.

Stomp rocket and ten hits.

Of remembering shared memories and making new ones.

And it was very good.

Summertime

After a wet cold spring , we were all kinda wondering if summer would ever get here.

It did. This week.

And not just the weather! (Which is really hot and humid…)

We had our first guests of the season – 2 of my sisters, one soon-to-be-niece-in-law, one niece and her bff. (best friend forever)

Can you say shopping?! At a thrift store of course!

Pedro wasn’t here – he spent the week house sitting for a friend, leaving Buddy as the lone male in a house full of girls while Jan was at work.

So of course the the electric fence charger got knocked down in the mud, the entire fence was down, all the cows got out, and the water tank sprang a leak.

Oh – and we had a baby calf!

We miss you Pedro. Come home. Now.

We planted two more rows of sweet corn, two more rows of green beans, and lots of herbs. Still no weeding though. Maybe next week…

And we enlarged my flower bed!

Okay – so it may not be the flower garden of my dreams – it is twice as big as last year!

Baby steps are still progress. 🙂

Don’t you think the wire fence adds to the charm and beauty of the scene?! Not. But it is a necessary evil to keep the silly chickens and cats out until the flowers get established.

Speaking of cats – we also had our first litter of kitties for the season. Still haven’t found them though.

And to top it all off – we’re packing for our annual family camping trip.

There’s just something about sleeping bags and Hershey bars and bug spray that says “Hello – it’s summer!”

Oh – and did I mention that it’s hot and humid?