The make-out time with Michael before we
had our nap was worth not getting much sleep for; and I used a bit of healing
for both of us when we woke up so we were both happy and feeling great when we
walked to the lake and did our Tai Chi workout there before returning to our
tents and joining in on the rush to have breakfast; get ready for the day; and
pack up our tents and gear for those of us that needed to get that done in time
for our rides back to town.
Even with having too much to do, Michael,
Tim, Rowen, Dawn, Jillian, and I all managed to be out at the camp entrance
with our gear in time to meet up with Dad and Dillon – our designated
drivers. We even had time to drop off
our gear on the way to church; but Dad drove there because he didn’t have time
for his stops at Rowen’s and Tim’s houses and a stop at home to leave the truck
there. While I was glad to be at church
with everyone; we had missed out on the fun here last night and this morning;
and Ehlana, Naomi, and some of the other girls were happy to fill me in on
their adventures when they could do a bit of that before the service started –
and then again after it was over. It was
already getting hot out by then, so Pastor John didn’t have a long service; and
that worked out for the traveling members of our family because Christina and
Josiah were taking Nicole and Robyn to a half-way meeting point to return them
to their parents – and also have a mid-afternoon visit with Christina’s
parents.
That’s why our post-church time started out
with a round of goodbyes for Nicole and Robyn; though we got to do that at
Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house thanks to the extra time that allowed all
four of them to get changed into more comfortable clothes before hitting the
road. After that, I was on kid control
for a while; Michael was already at the Inn and helping out there by then; and
the parents dealt with getting lunch ready for our entire gang – along with
some bonus friends and neighbors. The
fathers grilled burgers and hot dogs; Grandpa supervised because he wasn’t
allowed to do any work or play with the kids thanks to his broken arm; and the
women dealt with rounding up the cold salads and side snacks – most of them
leftovers or donations. I was with the
kids for the meal too; and then helped out with them while canoes and the rest
of the gear we’d need was rounded up and brought over to the dock at the
Carringtons.
By then, it was really, really hot; so our
canoeing adventure was given a doctor-imposed time limit of one hour. I have so got to get out in the canoes more
often, and I’m reporting that because even though I have canoed past the new
bridge a few times now; it still felt really strange to do that today – and this
was my first canoe ride of the summer to last an hour. I’m not including canoe rides to the park or
downtown when we stopped to play or shop; but you know what I mean. We paddled upriver for thirty-five minutes;
stopped for a short swim; and then paddled back. That exceeded the time limit; but since we
did have one of those doctors with us; he’d approved the extension because of
the cool-down swim time.
Some of our cousins were disappointed that
we didn’t paddle out to the whirlpool, so we will try to do that sometime
before they head home if the weather cooperates; but the shorter ride was more
than enough for all of the younger kids.
Several of those kids needed naps by then; so that was set up for them
either in houses or just somewhere shady and slightly cooler. By the time we got back, Michael was nearly
done the lunchtime part of his shift; so it wasn’t long before he came over to
hang out with me – with us – until he and I both needed to be there for the
buffet-to-close shift. Since the younger
kids had needed a break or naps, we took the rest of the gang for a bike ride
at the park; and really got to have a decent chance to show my cousins some of
the new trails we hadn’t been able to use sooner thanks to the extra rain. That was a nice blast of fun, and so was the
cool-off swim back at the Carringtons; but then I needed to stop at home to
grab a shower and get changed; Michael decided to do the same at his house; and
then we hurried over to the Inn and got to work.
It’s been hot outside today, but that was
nothing compared to the kitchen at the Inn.
I think that I lost four or five pounds today while working that shift,
and while losing a couple of pounds of weight is fairly normal during
particularly hot days; I noticed it more today – and I’d say that pretty much
everyone working the Inn today felt that way by the time we went home at a bit
after ten o’clock. Michael and I had fun
even with all of the too-hot work, and I learned a bit too much about how great
Jenny’s fun with Evan at Quarry Lake was; but there really isn’t any other news
from my work there worth reporting. It’s
a job; we did a lot of cooking and cleaning; and I was really glad to go home
with Michael and jump in the river to cool off once we could do that.
Rebecca, Jake, and Stephanie joined us for
that; and so did Violet, Dillon, Dawn, and Jillian. Mom and Dad just have Dawn, Jillian, and me
here at the house tonight because the rest of our cousins, Ethan, and Ehlana
are all elsewhere – possibly as much to give me a break as it is for Mom and
Dad. Dawn’s loved having Violet and
Dillon to herself – or mostly; since Jillian stayed with her while they hung
out together after getting home from the late buffet at the Inn and helping to
get all of the younger kids off to their sleepover destinations. I guess that didn’t end up being a lot of
time before they came swimming with us; but we had fun together while we swam –
and after that when we sat out on Michael’s back porch with cold drinks and talked
until eleven-thirty or so. Violet and
Dillon led the charge to go home – or inside – and off to bed because they have
to work in the morning, but I was ready to call it a night by then anyway –
even if I didn’t exactly get to do that thanks to the family business and
computer work I needed to do once I was cleaned up and ready for bed.
I’ve been too tired for time phasing while
doing that work; so it’s taken longer than I would have liked – especially when
I didn’t get much sleep last night! ;^)
The work needed to be done, though, and I
can’t let it pile up when I’ll be spending another week helping out with kid control
pretty much every day. We’re not making
plans ahead of time this week due to some potential for more stormy-weather
days, but rain or shine; I’ll be busy keeping my brother, sister, and cousins
entertained – and it might be more work on the rainy days. Monday is looking pretty good as of my last
check of the forecast, so we’ll likely play outside tomorrow; but I’ll keep you
posted on that. If the weather
cooperates, I’ll need to get back to other things like ball practices; and we
have a make-up game to fit into the schedule somewhere too thanks to the
holiday weekend rain-outs; but I doubt that’ll happen this week when we already
have a game coming up on Saturday.
I can write about any of that as the week
happens for me, and you can flip digital pages in my future to read all about
it, though; so I’m just going to wrap this up and get some sleep while I
can. It’s mostly been a fun, if unusual,
first week of holidays with our cousins; and I hope next week will be even
better, but that’s all for now; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
