’15 Aug: Reunion and Ca-Or-Wa-Or-Ca

August 6

We’ve made it to our destination – Gig Harbor, WA.

August 7

We got up this morning at Lucas and Betsy’s and were off early for SHOPPING. We had done some shopping yesterday and then, since we are trying to get food for 24 people for 5 days, shopped and shopped some more.

As I write this late into day two someone has gone to the store many times already for items on the list and forgotten and items that never made it to the list. I can see into the future…more trips to the store.

Night one, Pizza Night!

After dinner we went on a trek around the property and it really was very cool. At one point we had to make it across a crevasse from one steep and slippery slope to another.

The boys lent many hands. I needed three…one for each arm and one to push.

Darryl, Lona, Lucas

On the way back from the walk the kids discover a huge blackberry hedge. Huge enough for a blackberry stuffing session and so so many more we are going to be stuffing ourselves with blackberries for days.

Chrsta, Lilly, Darryl, Xander

Angela’s.

This was the blackberry hedge near the pond with gallons and gallons of blackberries and around the property, in almost every direction actually, there were more more more.

Trevor, Darryl Charis, Lilly, Anya

Angela’s.

Rome, Lilly

Lona’s.

Charis

Darryl and Angela…Hi!

And there’s MORE. All the kids took turns going for a boat ride on our pond.

Xander, Rome

Betsy’s.

Charis, Xander, Lilly

Having fun!

Rome, Xander

Travis, Lainee, Cali, and Jack hadn’t made it yet – they arrived well past midnight and I was long gone sawing zzzs by then.

Darryl’s, picture and sculpture, one a day for a year, one unbroken wire, day 133…www.facebook.com/365wires

August 8

Good morning! Betsy led us in a nice long good morning stretch. That feels good!

Hot tubbin’ with all the kids, and Trevor.

Cali, Anya, Charis, Trevor, Christa, Lilly, Rome, Caleb, Xander, Jack

He’s eating our apples!

Everyone was trying to catch a fish. They used bread, cheese, even carrots.

Cali

Lona’s.

Caleb, Jack, Lilly, Rome, Lucas, Xander, Trevor, Lucas, Christa, Anya

Lona’s.

Caleb, Anya, Rome, Charis, Lilly, Cali, Travis

WOW. We had blackberries for lunch! The kids went out and picked them all. WOW!

Lilly, Jack, Rome, Xander

The girls playing a rousing game of Uno.

Anya, Lilly, Charis, Cali, Rome

Lucas is coaching Lilly in the finer points of Guesstures, a charades-like game.

Go Lilly!

Lona will NEVER forget how she was Robbed, ROBBED I tell you, when she lost the grip on one of her cards.

Jack is Mr Flyswatter, King of the Flyswatters, Flyswatter Extraordinaire!

Jeff was persistent in his efforts to catch a catch-and-release fish and in fact succeeded later in the day with a piece of cheese for bait although the release portion of catch-and-release might not have been wholly successful which called a halt to any more fishing.

The kids are off for a round of geo-caching with their trading trinkets in hand.

Charis, Lilly, Anya, Cali, Jack, Xander, Rome

Angela’s.

Geo-caching can be a big adventure!

Angela’s.

Heading back to the car empty handed this time.

Beth, Janice, and I took a leisurely stroll around the woods and beautiful it was.

More fun in the pond.

Night two, BBQ Night!

Lucas, Windy, Travis

Lainee and Jack out for a row.

There were evening games of course and much hilarity followed by the bedtime distribution of light whirly things from L&H for the amusement of the young ones, Caleb being not so entirely young as he is off to college at the end of this vacation.

Darryl’s, picture and sculpture, one a day for a year, one unbroken wire, day 134.

This reminds me that I don’t have any pictures of all the rousing games of pool and the even more rousing games of Horse, a pool table game created up by Caleb and played every day with vigor and enthusiasm by all.

August 9

Good morning…and the adults awaken to a dorm-wide pillow fight. It was the smaller kids vs Caleb and Xander. Caleb and Xander had themselves barricaded in the game room and only came out for sneak attacks.

Then the smaller kids hatched an underhanded and entirely clever plan. They sent Jack up to the door who pleaded ‘let me in let me in and it can be the boys against the girls’ so Caleb and Xander opened the door and all the girls poured in on the attack.

Fun!

Christa’s.

It was Pancake Morning so the kids went out again to bring us blackberries to go with the pancakes.

Rome, Anya

As soon as we cleaned up from breakfast everyone started packing picnic lunches…

Travis’s

…and we were off to a local reenactment event. We rode back and forth across this bridge a few times – it’s especially handsome while you’re on it too.

Hudson Bay Company Fort Nisqually, built in 1827 as a base for the fur trade.

The reenactment was so well done and so not crowded – we had a very good time!

A view of the compound from one of the watch towers.

Here come more of the folks dressed up for the reenactment. Love that little privileged sneer. Good job.

Travis’s.

He makes me look small!

Travis’s.

The kids howled and cheered at the Punch and Judy show.

Christa’s.

Cali and Christa, dressed up for fun.

And more!

Lunch!

Here is Caleb undoing his gummy bear graduation lei much to the delight of all the kids.

Angela’s.

We broke up into three bands – geo-cachers, walkers, and driving arounders. And a fourth group, me, who went to the store.

Lilly, Jack, Rome, Anya, Cali, Charis

Travis’s.

The geo-caching group.

Beth’s.

A view enjoyed by the walkers. I don’t have a picture from the driving arounders. Anyone?

Back at the house this view made me stop on the long driveway…Stop…Take My Picture!

More.

Night three, Taco Night!

I hope someone has a picture of Taco Night.

Christa taking a break from medical journals for a little Louis L’Amour.

An epic foosball competition has been raging and I see no end in sight.

Travis, Trevor, Caleb, Darryl

Hot Tub Hands!

Darryl’s, picture and sculpture, one a day for a year, one unbroken wire, day 135.

August 10

We again had the pleasure of Betsy’s stretching class this morning followed by Travis teaching us all a grappling move that was a total kick (kick…ha!). I have the name of the move but it’s in the car so I’ll write it soon!

I think this was bacon and eggs morning with the four trays of baked bacon slabs which were yumm yumm good.

Christa, Caleb, Travis, Jack, Xander, Beth, Trevor, Charis, Anya

Bye Jeff .. we are all so glad you could make it!

Angela’s

The Thrift Shoppers! Almost everyone came home with an exciting treasure.

Lona, Charis, Lilly, Windy, Rome, Anya, Cali

Travis’s.

The kids just loooved paddling around on the pond. They came and went entirely on their own, making up games, leaving each other on the raft or on the shore, taking turns rowing…we are all Tom Sawyer up in here.

Travis’s.

One of the many gorgeous peaks you can see on the flight into the Pacific Northwest, and another great view of our pond.

The girls went out in search of just the right sticks for a round of s’mores…

Cali, Lilly, Anya, Charis

…and look what I came upon – Xander teaching Jack how to sharpen the s’more sticks with a pocket knife.

No, Jack did Not cut himself and cover the wounds with duct tape. He put the duct tape there ‘for later’.

Lucas made us a most splendid magic show. The kids were gaga…

…and cried out Lucas’s signature abracadabra – Presto Bismol!

Lucas, Rome

Night four, Pasta Night!

But we never did get to do s’mores for one reason and another, one reason being Travis Black, Cookie Monster!

Darryl’s, picture and sculpture, one a day for a year, one unbroken wire, day 136.

August 11

After our always happy help-yourself breakfast (although we did have Pancake Morning and Bacon and Eggs Morning) we got arranged for our Mystery Theater Performance. Everyone had parts and it was great fun.

Then the plan was to take lunch to the beach and have a surprise activity for Anya whose birthday was the next day but everyone was feeling it for staying in, this being our last day so we did our…

…Surprise! Happy Birthday Anya!! there at the house.

Eleven years old. Why, I remember you when you were born.

Dragonflies were everywhere most more lovely than this one but at least he was sitting still.

Enjoying just another one of the dozen places to sit.

Betsy, Darryl, Beth, Angela

Freesbie! and with Christa and Caleb leaving here to go straight to college…some ULTIMATE Freesbie was required.

Oh no! Lilly! She got stung twice!

Finally FINALLY! I’ve been gazing at our pond hour after hour and day after day with wide longing eyes. I reeeeally wanted to swim in that pond but I couldn’t bring myself to be the first.

Travis! Yay Travis! Travis did get out without swimming though because he said it was so cold he couldn’t breathe. Not a rousing recommendation.

And as Hartley said, like lemmings (that’s Caleb doing a flip)…

Betsy’s.

That’s meeee.

…more and more jumped in until we had a regular pond party going. I can’t express sufficiently how totally entirely completely utterly happy I was that swimming in the pond actually happened…

(the arrow points to ME. I can’t tell who else is in the picture but many had a go, even Rome had a ride on Caleb’s back and Cali jumped off the board three times.)

…although I did need two big guys to help me get out!

Lainee’s.

Then we ended the day with Lona leading the gang in a rousing rendition of Rinky Dinky Doo. I’m putting her version below. The Boy Scouts of America have a different version…:

“Me hand on meself, what is dis here
Dis is me hat-racker, me mommy dear.
Hat-racker, hat-racker, dinkey dinkey do,
That’s what I learned in the zoo.

followed by:

Sweat-boxer; Eye-winker; Nose-blower; Food-gobbler; Chin-chomper; Head-holder; Chest-thumper; Bread-basket; Sit-downer; Knee-knocker; Foot-stomper

And of course the last line: That’s why I’m still in the zoo!”

Night five, Thai Night!

Darryl’s, picture and sculpture, one a day for a year, one unbroken wire, day 137.

August 12

It’s our last morning, people are packing up, and Lilly asked if please she could sit in the big chair for her last breakfast. Sure!

This is Rome’s last breakfast – leftover pancakes heated up in the toaster, syrup and buttery-spread and a good serving of the last round of our magnificent blackberries.

Jack urging forward the banana slug on our front porch.

The first group to leave. Bye Bye Bye Blacks it was SOOO GOOD!

From Travis and Lainee: “Best farewell ever.”

With suitcases piling up in the entry Anya creates stylin’ braids in Rome’s hair…

…and Lilly does up a do for Xander. Someone said that must be a first for Xander but Betsy said he was very used to it since he did after all grow up with a sister.

Then…Thunder…and Lightning…

…and Rain, for a few minutes, and then it stopped and everyone was off. Oh my, what a time we had.

(Someone else took this picture with my camera…who are you?)

Here are all of the wire sculptures Darryl made while we were together and the souvenir button we made for everyone.

August 2

Road Trip! Windy and I motored up the I5 straight into Sacramento for a stroll through the Sacramento Old Town and a night at the Vagabond Inn.

This is Old Sacramento State Historic Park.

This park is located at the edge of the Old Sacramento Historic District. The area was developed as a tourist attraction in the 1960s and is named in the National Register of Historic Places.

It’s very cool and not so much Disney-i-fied as it could have gone, probably because the buildings are more restored than rebuilt and not all the angles are 90 degrees or all the lines so parallel.

They did move some buildings here from other parts of town and demolished the ones that couldn’t be repaired.

We had a tasty dinner on the deck of the Delta Queen on the Sacramento River pulled up alongside Old Town.

Looking back.

The center section of the bridge in the background raises and lowers on cables.

Our state capitol…we’ll swing by in the morning.