Mark may be having issues with the time change, but Aunt Grace doesn’t seem to have a problem with sleeping in late too. We didn’t see them at our house until we were nearly ready to head out for our trip to Quarry Lake.
Going out to the campground wasn’t specifically in today’s plans until this morning; when Violet suggested that today would be a great day to spend there when Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie had the day off and could go with us. By the time Aunt Grace and Mark came over, we had another big group going along, including the rest of Jake’s family; Jenny, Tim, Patrick, and Scott. That meant that we had extra work to get done this morning; and Violet and I pitched in to help out so that Mom could still get most of the weekend pre-cooking she had planned for today finished while we took care of some laundry, cleaning, and getting nearly everything except the picnic ready for our play afternoon.
Our little caravan left town by eleven; and we had our little camp set up at the edge of the beach by a quarter to twelve. Everyone was ready to cool off by then, so we went swimming for nearly an hour before the adults started getting lunch ready. Rowen and I stayed with Mom, Alicia, and the twins; and Aunt Grace, Mark, Miranda, and Jacob mostly played with us while the teens, Rebecca, Jenny, and the rest of the boys played on the slides and out on the big diving rafts in the middle of the lake. I’m not sure if Jake and Dillon were asked to help out or not, but they spent more time than usual with Michael, Tim, Patrick, and Scott; though Michael and Tim had some other friends to hang out with for most of the afternoon too.
Since we’re at the picnic lunch part of today’s recap, I’d just like to make a little note that we definitely need to invite Miranda and Jacob to more Quarry Lake trips – and book them on their days off. Jacob makes the best picnic foods in the world! Between his contributions and the Olde Bakery treats, it’s a wonder that we didn’t all just sink to the bottom of the lake when we went swimming again after lunch. Aunt Grace was complaining about what all of those calories were going to do to her, but all of those protests are just a little unbelievable when you look that hot in a bikini both before and after the meal. Mark wasn’t the only guy to tell her that either – especially if you include some of the blushes and averted eyes from some of the younger boys in response to some of those comments.
The boys in our group must not have been the only guys thinking about girls in swimsuits today. Even though they were coming up on one of the busier month-ends of the year, Dad and Aunt Leanne blew off work early, and came out to Quarry Lake to spend the last hour or so with us before we needed to get home again. Getting to spend that time with them was great with one little exception – Aunt Leanne jumped right into matchmaker mode.
I know you’ll never read this Aunt Grace, and I’m glad you thought that her efforts were both amusing and some deserved payback; but you weren’t eleven when we nudged you and Mark together. I’ll remind you of this precedent some day when you’re kids are my age. It should be interesting to find out if you still feel the same way about pre-teen matchmaking.
Fortunately, Aunt Leanne had a time limit, and Michael went into hiding with Tim and some of their friends shortly after her first attempt to shove us together; so hopefully he didn’t get razzed too much. The Stones, Stephanie, Violet, and Dillon were all staying later than we were, so we only packed up about two-thirds of our day camp when it was time to leave. Having Dad and Aunt Leanne with us helped with the transportation back home again; and Dad took Alicia, Patrick, and Scott home with him while Aunt Leanne came back to town with Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, Rowen, and me.
We were doing another barbeque, but at our house this time. Rowen and I had our last ball practice of the summer before the big game this weekend; so we were eating early too. I would have loved to be there for the big after dinner walk and talk, but Rowen and I went to our practice; and it was still cool getting to hear all about it later; first while everyone talked about it back at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam’s house, and then from Ethan and Ehlana when they did a telepathic story time with me before we put them to bed. They were very, very happy about how everything went with Aunt Grace and Mark.
I’m sure that there will be a few archive entries about this, but I’ll add my two cents too.
Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Mom, and Dad eased into what they wanted to talk to Aunt Grace and Mark about. They walked out along River Road, and started telling their cousin and best friend about their plans for the research lab and medical center showing them where the two buildings were going to be built. I’m sure you can guess that Mark in particular was interested in how Uncle Adam was planning on juggling a research job with his doctor duties; though he was definitely floored by the answer. Thanks to Ethan and Ehlana’s bedtime story, I know exactly what he looked like at that moment – an expression that Aunt Grace duplicated when she was advised that they wanted her to become the CEO of the new research company.
The rest of their walk included a return trip along the river with the turnaround point approximately where the new residential part of Witch Falls was going to be built to accommodate the extra people that would be living here as the lab – and other new businesses – got up and running. They took another look at that from Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s back yard too; though Aunt Grace and Mark weren’t told everything about that part of our future plans. That much information might just scare them off – or have them sure that we’re all certifiably nuts!
I walked home with Rowen before moving on to join my family next door, and by then; they were relaxing in the living room. After getting a cold drink; I joined them there, and mostly sat back and watched the show. Aunt Grace and Mark both had a lot of questions, and it’s a good thing that we have a fairly brilliant group putting our plans together; or we wouldn’t have been ready for that – and even with all of our preparations; they both had some very useful opinions and suggestions. We didn’t expect either of them to jump into a decision this big – especially since Ethan, Ehlana, and I know we won’t get their answers until later this Fall.
They’ll both have to give up a lot to come here. It’s a bigger move for Mark, but Aunt Grace would be moving away from her parents; brother and sister-in-law; and nieces and nephew even if this is home for her too. Their jobs would be quite a bit different than big-city hospital medicine for Mark; and going from blue-collar manufacturing to high-tech bio-engineering research for Aunt Grace. From their perspective, when all they’ve seen are empty fields to go with the plans they’ve been told about tonight; maybe they’ve already been told enough to think we’re crazy. I guess we are asking them to make a leap of faith, but that’s not always easy to remember when some of us know just how great their future is meant to be.
By the time that Mom and Dad took Ethan, Ehlana, and I home, one thing that we could be sure of was that Aunt Grace and Mark were definitely interested in our offers; and opened up a possibility for a life together that they’d never have even dreamed about before now. I’d call that mission accomplished!
After a day of sun and fun, I’d also say that it’s time to call it a night – especially since I’ve been working on my computer for nearly two hours since climbing into bed with Mandy. I’ll be helping Mom again in the morning, but have the afternoon off to play again; and Grandma and Grandpa will be home in time for the dinner at the Inn we’ve waited to take Mark to until Miranda and Jacob were back from their days off. The biggest part of our future plans tasks for this week is over now, but I’m sure we’ll manage to keep the fun going for the rest of the summer – all six days of it.
Live from Witch Falls; this is Cassie Proctor, signing off!
