It's like I told Tori at Mema's.
The more crunched with joy and delight an event is, the harder to post about it. The quantity of events in one week and people in one house summed up to make a trip blurbing over with excitement.
The easy way out would be to post pics, but all the pics I took are on Carrie's camera. As well as my video of the United Cousins practicing for their Thanksgiving play. That option's gone.
Here I go!
Which is what it all started with. I went. We left in the afternoon, so we spent the night at a hotel somewhere in AL, I believe. Then arrived at Mema's at 6:45ish or so Tuesday evening. After a quick supper Mema, Mom, myself, and the vacuum cleaner headed out to ready the bunkhouse. Dad and Papa disappeared, but were discovered basking in the warmth of the wood stove in the shed. :) The Wigs weren't supposed to show up until next morning, but my magnetic personality drew them in late Tuesday night. (Actually, I think certain people wanted to be able to sleep in on Wednesday...)
So Tori and I camped out on the den floor. Normally with all 7 of us girls in there Tori and I (the sacrificial elders ;) end up with our pillows on the granite slab in front of the fireplace. We figured sleeping on the marble slab should give us sweet dreams, but tradition was shoved aside and comfort prevailed. I didn't remember any dreams all week, so I couldn't compare the later marble slab days to Tuesday night.
Carrie and Aaron, the Paits, and the Dersches showed up next morning, so the circus commenced.
The scale of the week was set when I leaned into the laundry room to toss a napkin in the trash and beheld a pan the size of the top of the dryer full of cornbread waiting to be transformed into dressing. We got to chop gallons of celery for the stuffing too. I love being destructive. I chopped up some gargantuon sweet potatoes for Mema too, but Paiton came and took over. Tip: do not allow teenage boys to chop resistant sweet potatoes on a silicone mat. Mema's mat now has nice slits through it. :) I did learn a cool way to cut sweet potatoes though. You just chop into the potato until the knife is stuck so you can use it like a handle. Then you bring the potato up and whack it down with all your might making a tremendous noise. POW. Your potato is split.
That was a horrid description. Sometime I'll have to demonstrate in real life. lol Suffice to say, it's a great stress reliever.
We did all sorts of things besides chopping. Like playing hide-and-go-seek with Gracie. "Now
you go hide on the shed roof while I count to 10!" Or transplanting moss to make lime green carpet under the bridge. Or getting attacked with dirt bombs while invading the UC Club House.
And walking. Carrie and Tori and I went walking numerous times. We sang rounds and stuff while we strolled along. Keeps the bears away. Once we encountered loose dogs, but we just continued singing "the Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!..." and they didn't bother us. No repeats of Jonathan getting swallowed by a dog last summer, please. ;)
I have to get off the 'puter, so I'd better quit.
I'm forgetting somethings importants, I'm sure. Oh. We sang tons of Christmas carols around the piano. And all of us girls sang a special at church on Wednesday night.
AND. We had a marvelous bonfire. Actually 2. Some friends from church came over and we had a bonfire and smores at Mema's. Meanwhile Mema and Papa fled the ruckus to attend a 50th highschool reunion. Then Uncle Jimmy came across the road and informed us that he was starting a bonfire at Granny's, so everyone flocked over there. Jolly fun! Bother. I could really elaborate on this, but I must go.
So we all left Sunday afternoon. And we all lived happily ever after!
