Family Fun
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Well, I am certainly not going to win the nurse Florence Nightingale award! Less than 24 hours after C’s major knee surgery to repair his torn ACL and meniscus (soccer accident) I set him up with a bedside table of snacks, ice packs and a colorful assortment of drugs and packed up the car and skipped town with the kids. He didnt complain and probably got more rest and recoup time with our brood out from under foot….or under crutches in C’s case.
We rented a lake house with a dizzying headcount of 30 other family members to gather for Easter weekend and celebrate my grandfather turning 90!! Thats 13 cousins. 13 siblings and spouses. My 2 parents and 2 grandparents. It was chaos. It was loud. It was exhausting. But oh so much fun crammed into 48 crazy hours together!!
Oh, and did I mention the food? We ate.
And ate.
And ate!!
Im pretty sure I gained those last 8 lbs. I was going to allow myself this pregnancy all in this past weekend. Each of the couples took a meal. Basically it ended up being an eat-a-thon. By the time pancake breakfast was cleaned up, someone else was in the kitchen cooking up a fabulous Mexican Fiesta for lunch.
Future sister-in-law Kerry introduced our family to a true souther Low Country Boil. Such fun and so delish! She’s officially voted “in” to the family! Kerry and Adam will wed in August. The third family wedding of the summer.
This weekend, Adam and Kerry pulled Izzy and Britain aside and gave them gorgeous blue jewelry boxes containing sparkly necklaces and earrings. An invitation was extended to be their flower girls in their wedding.
My girls are floating on a cloud dreaming of pretty white dresses, accompanying a beautiful bride, and dancing the night away in their pretty new bling!
We played fishing with gummy worms on wooden poles.
So stinkin’ funny to see the kids and uncles battling over a relay to see which team could catch the most “fish”.
The lighting inside was terrible for pictures…oh well! You get the idea.
The lake provided a great outlet for the abundance of energy that 13 kiddos can generate.
The cousins paddled their hearts out on the boats and swam like little fish till their lips turned blue and the parents pulled them out.
Grandpa at 90 years young with a full quiver of grands. This man is remarkable. He rode a 4 wheeler at Thanksgiving and was hoping to take a spin on a jet ski if we’d been able to locate one this weekend. Think it was a blessing for him to have almost the entire clan gathered in celebration of his remarkable life! We watched a documentary movie that he was interviewed on recollecting his experience in WWII. He’s a hero and we’re so proud of him!
Pretty remarkable to have no injuries the entire weekend. We do think we may have identified a little “shellfish alergy” after Evie threw up the entire night following her first introduction to shrimp. We wont be trying that again any time soon.
Recouping on Grandenny’s lap by the lake. Not too shabby!
We all got a little kiss of sun and a healty dose of vitamin D!
After consuming half a dozen peeps and handfuls of chocolate malt balls on Easter morning, no one felt much like cooperating for a picture with mom. Funny thing, I have a picture of me in Evies exact stance one Easter morning when I was about two. Crossed arms. Pouty lips. Glaring at the camera by a stuffed bunny in my smocked Easter dress. Wonder where Evie gets her cooperative spirit?
Happy Easter Friends! Thanking Jesus for the cross. For His sacrifice to bring us hope through new life in His glorious resurrection.
What a fun, fun weekend! I’m glad you all had such a good time…and NO injuries!? Even better!
Looks like a wonderful celebration and FULL of family. Making special memories and the blessing of getting together in such a special way. You look fabulous for being soon to deliver. Glad you got to participate in this event. Hope C is on the mend!