Tuesday, July 1 we went to the beautiful home that Kevin’s dad rented for the reunion. It was huge! Marble floors, granite counters, an amazing view. We lucked out and got the mother-in-law’s suite. We had a nice bedroom with an adjoining bathroom which we shared only with Aunt Wendi, and there was also a kitchenette and living area that the boys used as a playroom. It was really ideal.
Here’s the house and you can get a feel of the view we had.
Here are all the grandsons eating around the bar.
On Wednesday, we went exploring. We drove around the canal to a town called Hoodsport and then up to a dam that made Lake Cushman. It was beautiful. I’ve taught Ricky a song about 3 little fishies that swim in a dam and he thought it was great to actually see a dam and look for the 3 little fishies.
We were the only ones on this quaint lake. The boys had a great time wading and throwing rocks. We left the swimming suits in the van–sorry for the semi-nudity!
I guess Billy is saving rocks for later . . .
This sign was posted at the lake and we thought it fit Ricky’s shirt perfectly.
Here’s Kevin with the boys and his folks in front of the vacation house.
That night we packed a couple hundred hygiene kits for a humanitarian project. The next day was Thursday and started with an awesome thunderstorm. The house just shook with the thunder and lightning flashed. It really was exciting, but a bit scary for those of us not fond of thunder.
Once the storm cleared, Kevin and I went to the nearby marina and rented a couple of kayaks. I don’t have pictures from that yet (we used a waterproof disposable camera) but it was perhaps my favorite part of the whole trip. We paddled around the canal, floated within 10 feet of bald and golden eagles, enjoyed the serenity of being the only people on the water, and it wasn’t a hard paddle at all (which I was a bit worried about). We would have loved to stay out longer, but it was getting close to dinner time and Billy hadn’t been too thrilled about us leaving him in the care of Aunt Wendi. Kevin’s dad was waiting at the marina when we came in and got a couple of pictures for us.
That night there was a family talent show. Billy was already in bed before it began, so we performed with just Kevin, Aunt Wendi, Ricky, and I. I brought my Boomwhacker tubes (they are each a tube that plays the sound of one note when struck) and we performed a few songs. The easiest place for me to help Ricky strike with his tube was his head, so there were a few jokes about child abuse while we played.
Afterwards music was played and the kids danced around. Ricky was getting tired and silly. For some reason his shirt was a great place to store this ball and this is the way he chose to smile at me.
Friday was the Fourth of July. We went back to that little town of Hoodsport (think one room doctor’s office in a trailer) for their street fair. They were the friendliest people and I’m not sure they see a lot of children. Everyone commented on how cute our boys were (and, well, they are) and most everyone was walking a dog. One woman asked us if the boys were twins! It was fun to stroll around looking and then we got shakes at the local ice cream joint. The boys had to share a shake, but we let them each have their own straw!
With so few kids around, Ricky had the firefighters’ bounce house to himself.
Billy looked cute chilling as we drove back to the vacation house.
Kevin’s grandparents came up that afternoon so we had some family pictures taken. Here they are with their great-grandchildren. Billy and Jackson weren’t so keen on standing alone or letting anyone hold them, so their dads are holding them up in the background.
And to end this lengthy travel log, part 2, here we all are. Don’t we look patriotic?
