The Cousins!!!

We arrived in rural Pleasantville Tennessee the afternoon of July 1. We set up our mini home on the lawn behind Marcus' mom's house, surrounded by trees. It's quite a lovely spot. We were able to plug in to electricity, making us the only ones with air conditioning, as Melba's broke right before we got here (the new one should get installed right before we leave).

The boys had been anticipating their visit with the cousins since we left last November! The reunion was ALL THAT! Marcus' sister has 8 children, ranging in age from 27 to 10. Our boys seem to melt into that passel of children, and what a great experience for them! With a family that size, there are plenty of chores, and our boys have chipped right in (although perhaps not totally without complaint). We have spent a few hours at the CSA garden project that the family is running, we have chopped and frozen tons of bell peppers from the garden, we have trimmed horses hooves and treated horses wounds, done lots of dishes, mowed lawns, washing cars in the rain, to list a few of the chores we have been doing while here.

For fun, there is a plethora of things to do! Daily swimming is in the creek. There is a swimming hole nearby that has a rope swing, a makeshift diving board, a little slide, and a good tree for jumping out of. The kids go there every day at least once to swim and get cool. There were the fireworks that started July 1st here and we still have a few left. There was canoeing on the river at night, playing occupation and other general games, but mostly, there was enjoying the company of family!

We had a bonfire and roasted shish-kabobs on bamboo sticks for the fourth of July. When it got dark enough those of us lacking in a sense of adventure, sat in chairs and watched while those with an abundance of adventure lit off various things that whizzed, crackled, sparkled, screamed, flew, banged, and lit up the sky. Aside from a few misfires that came all too close to the spectators, it was quite fun! Derek asked me the next day if we could come here every year for the fourth of July. I had to burst the poor boy's bubble and inform him that we have booked Hawaii for next year's July 4th festivities. I hope he can survive the disappointment!!

Canoeing on the river, was quite an adventure!! With such a large family, there is much coming and going, and it is hard to get everyone together. We had planned a late afternoon trip, but by the time we were all together and fed and ready to go, we set off around 7pm. We had a row boat, a canoe, and a very small sail boat, sans sail. There were 11 of us. Most of us piled into the back of the pickup as we drove to our put in spot. When we got there, the water was warm, and the scenery was beautiful! Of course there were the usual antics with the young ones; splashing, tipping, falling in... Once we got going, many of us took turns swimming along in the water. It was a great way to cool off! As dusk approached, so did the bats!! They fluttered overhead, dipping close occasionally, to check us out. The fireflies made it look like there were little twinkle lights set up in the forest. The night sounds were LOUD, with the cicadas, and the frogs singing in chorus. At one spot we could hear a frog in a culvert. It sounded so funny as it echoed loudly from its spot, like it had a mic for a solo! We saw several Great Blue Herons quite close as they did their final fishing for the evening. It was quiet up front in the canoe with Katy and I. We could only hear the sounds of nature and the boisterous splashing of the children behind us. Soon, it started getting quite dark, and it was getting hard to see. No one wanted to be on the little sail boat as it kept taking on water and was impossible to get anywhere without more paddles. So, all but Katy, Colin and I climbed into the row boat. Then the pins on the oars broke. There was much giggling and bumping and commotion. By now, it was very dark, and the stars were out adding to the glory of the night. Most of the time, there was enough reflection of the stars on the water, to get a sense of where we were to go, but there were times that we didn't see what we were going to bump into until just before we bumped it! I thought it was quite an adventure, but Colin started getting very nervous. I think he was afraid we would get lost and somehow be stuck on the river forever. We did finally make it to our stopping point sometime around 10ish. By the time we got home it was almost 11!

Out here in the country, children learn to drive young, so they can help out on the farm. Derek took that as a perfect opportunity for a driving lesson. Marcus went with him and they drove around Melba's property. He thought that was great fun! The same day, Colin got stung twice by bees. Poor thing, he was a bit surprised as his cousin had told him bumble bees don't sting, so he caught it, and sure enough, it stung him! While we were there we had several big thunderstorms. During one of them, Marcus went out and washed 3 cars!!!

As I finish up this section of the blog, we have left the cousins and so I can add a few things. The AC at Melba's did get installed on Friday, before we left and it works well! Derek was officially measured next to me and it is a tie. He has caught up to me in height. Also, on Saturday the whole lot of us piled into various cars and headed about 45 minutes to Natchez Trace area for a picnic. We hiked a short way to Jackson Falls where the children slide down the falls on their backsides. It looked painful to me, but they seemed to enjoy it. Miles went from the very top and almost hit his head. After a while, Sheryl suggested we should go before someone got hurt. On our way back down to the trail, Sheryl twisted her ankle on a tree root and broke it! She hopped partway up the trail, Lawrence and Marcus both piggy backed her part of the way and we got her to the car. They went off to find a way to get it x-rayed and we all went back to Grandma"s house. They finally got back around 9 that night, and then (wouldn't you know it) Midwife Sheryl got a call at 3 in the morning to go to a birth. Caroline went with her, and all went well with the birth.

Sunday morning, Mark took the children to the river to swim, while Marcus and I packed up. We got the trailer down in the heat, and left the cousins on our way to our next stop. We felt so lucky to have such fun time with family. We hope Sheryl's leg mends quickly and without problem!