Thursday, 7/8/2010

Today was our last day at the family reunion. It was also the hottest day we've had so far. It was definitely over 90 degrees in the sun. Plenty warm for our little family:) There was lake access at Zephyr Conference Center, but there was no beach. I would have had to walk in on the rocks or jump off the dock in order to get in. Didn't seem like a good way to get Katie into the water. Instead, we went down the road to the Liberty Lake County Park to take a dip in the lake. It was perfect! The water was cool, but not too cold. After applying a thick layer of sunscreen, and finding shade for Ben to sit in, Katie and I went in. It was fun to get her in the water. She splashed, pointed at ducks swimming by, and hollered "hi" at Ben.


We got back to the lodge with enough time to change into dry clothes and get ready for the afternoon's chicken activities. My great-grandparents had a chicken ranch that dad and his cousins worked on when they were growing up. To start off, my dad and a couple of his cousins told stories from the ranch. Lots of fun tales about gathering chickens and eggs, cleaning Great-Grandma's house and eggs, throwing eggs, catching runaway chickens, etc. There was a "cluck-off" between a couple cousins. And then, we had the chicken gift exchange. During the five years between each reunion, we all search for $5 gifts that have something to do with chickens. It is always fun to see what we all come up with.

We had a spaghetti feast tonight. Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, and garlic bread. In her past, Katie has never been much of a spaghetti fan. That changed tonight. She couldn't get enough. She was even swiping it off my plate when I wasn't giving it to her fast enough:) I should let you know that she has run wild and hard for three days straight. Tuesday and Wednesday she didn't nap at her normal times and was out late each night. Today she wouldn't nap at all.

As dinner was winding down, my mom nudged my dad who got my attention just in time to catch Katie's head. She had fallen asleep, covered in spaghetti sauce. My mom says that her eyes were rolling right before she fell asleep. She didn't move while Ben cleaned her face and hands with wet paper towels (I forgot to pack a wash cloth today). We got a little worried and actually checked to make sure she was breathing. She was. There were quite a few babies and toddlers there, so we were able to put Katie in a borrowed pack-n-play for a half hour while we packed up our stuff. What a tired little girl.


I am so thankful we were able to spend three days with my family. What a wonderful group of chickens:)