So Matt's dad's cousins (did you follow that?) fixed up the old family farmhouse and that's where the whole fam-damily gathered for the reunion. This crowd tries to get together every two years, in various locations across the country. We've gathered in Colorado, in Georgia, in Montana, and now here in Ohio. It's always a lot of fun, a non-stop laugh-food-beverage fest that everyone enjoys. The family farm is beautiful, on a picturesque plot of land with a small lake.
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| The farm. Loving the rustic flag made of painted tree branches. |
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| Grandpa taking Violet for a walk... or is it the other way around? Besides wah-duh, Violet's other favorite word this trip was "papap" for Grandpa. |
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| Violet made the family tree! |
There was one point in the day when I got super frustrated that here I was, trying to reunite with some family (or let's face it, get to know them for the first time) and yet the only person I was interacting with was my wild child. After seeing about 87 new faces at once, Violet got super clingy and wouldn't let me out of her sight. And of course, everyone else was off having a merry ol' time, not worried about poor me (I had myself quite the bitter pity party - I even considered asking God to help me make an attitude adjustment, but I was feeling too martyred and whiny to even go there). But all that changed after the pig roast, when Matt's brother Greg and Lauren came to hang out with Violet and me as we ate watermelon in the grass. Violet was much more comfortable with a smaller group and eventually warmed up to Uncle Greg enough to give him a high-five. And I felt my spirits lift, just having someone take the time to seek me out for a visit, rather than forcing me to watch from the sidelines. Eventually I felt a little silly for being so irritated earlier in the day. What can I say? It's amazing what a little sunshine, some roasted pig, and your family can do for you.
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| Violet was so covered in drool and watermelon, we eventually just stripped her down and let her have the run of the place. Check out that belly! |
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| Giggles with cousin Brooke. |
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| Beautiful. |
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| Sittin' on the dock of the bay... |
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| Daddy gave into her plea for wah-duh. |
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| Splish splash! |
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| Ending the evening with family frisbee and long shadows. |
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| Dusk at the farm. |
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| Yeah, I'd say we had a pretty good time! |
Sorry you had a period of feeling "alone in a crowd" Been there, done that myself in such a big group, esp. with a little one They are such a great group of people, and I vote for catering more next time so the grandmoms are free to play more with our great kids and grandkids, as Debbie, Lynn, Sudie, Gail and I spent at least an hour in the farm kitchen doing dishes instead of visiting at the farm!!! I don't even want to think of all the preparation beforehand that they did!!! I hardly said "hi" to Jim and Patricia and family along with a few others. Great pictures!!!
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