Just a month late. Right on schedule to talking about my family’s get together at a nearby lake. It was drought, drought, drought until my family decides to spend time outdoors. And then rain (which because of said drought, we couldn’t complain about). In fact, it held off for most of the weekend and only really hit hard on our drive home.

We arrived in the dark, walked into the guest house and I immediately ate half a box of cookies my sister brought. Because, you see, she gave me a compliment on looking as if I’d lost some baby weight. That in of itself gives me the right to shove my face with sweets. Hey, I’m on vacation. Even if it’s in my own neck of the woods.
So because we couldn’t see anything pulling into the drive, we weren’t able to see the great lawn area fit for a volleyball king.

We did take advantage of the semi-screened in porch, though. We didn’t see the little holes in the screen until the next morning when I wondered how my ankles could have been eaten alive just on my walk into the house. Ah yes, the mosquitos probably chewed their way through it in hopes they could keep me from continuously talking about my backahe. So finally they shooed me in, but as I was settling into the a/c, a scream was heard on the porch. Does someone else have a backache too? No, E was telling a story and right in the middle of it, a grasshopper landed on her chest. The scream was so brutally high and loud, the grasshopper could’ve been the size of a gremlin. The one with a mohawk. Oh we laughed so hard, but E was not ready to laugh at herself and quickly took to her room.
The grasshopper was forgotten the next morning and out we were again. I wish we had a screen in porch.
M wishes he had a lake. To each their own.

After a quick breakfast, we got dressed and headed down to the lawn for a game of volleyball.

For as much as I complained about my back, it took only one ball about to touch the ground for me to lunge and plie and genuflect my way to not let it drop. Seriously, I thought I was on the Olympic team. And somehow we only got Bronze. Whatever.

We also hung out on the dock. At one point the kids were debating about getting in the water. So Uncle R took off his pants (yes, he had swim trunks on underneath) and charged down the dock to jump in the water. I was so proud of him in that moment. When you’re a kid, there’s nothing better than one of the adults getting on your level. That’s all it took for them to follow him in. All except little K, who would run run run and then stop at the edge. Run run run and stop. That is, until we saw lightening and hollered at them to get ouf of the lake. No, that’s when K jumped in. Stinker.
So as thunderclouds threatened us, we spend the majority of the day lounging on the lawn. I think my dad was up in the screen in porch reading his lastest book. I always say I’m going to read when I go somewhere, but I never make an effort. I wish I did though, talk about relaxing..

R showed cousin W her graham cracker.
And then out ran Kim Kardashian as her mom called her. Big sunglasses, swimsuit, places to be. I sincerely hope paparazzi were no where near for what was about to happen. 

After seeing R given a superman lift, my sister A decided to give it a spin.

Everyone avoided eye contact.

Yet we couldn’t take our eyes off of L doing her latest stretching move. The last time we all camped out together, I swear L showed us about 30 different yoga moves. It may have been the spirits in her glass that loosened her up, but all I know is that it was a long and intense workout. For us. From trying not to laugh. She never broke a sweat.

So in honor of that memory, she graced us with her outstretched legs’ presence once again.

Talk about legs. Look at those rolls!

Sigh.

She must have heard me.

Before we left, we got together for some group shots. If this photo doesn’t capture how Ruth is grandpa junior, I don’t know what does. Now, when she wakes up, her hair is all tosseled giving her a mad scientist look that I always associate with my dad. There’s one photo in their basement with him holding up a string of fish and the biggest grin on his face. Looks like R got that gene.

And then one of the whole gang, including those of the four-legged kind.
Good times!