Mom's Family Reunion 2009

Both sides of my family are big "Family Reunion" folks. We're not talking meet up for a cookout one afternoon family reunions. We are talking, let's all go stay the weekend somewhere together family reunions. Luckily, we have very fun families! My mom's family consists of her, her four brothers and everyone's spouses, kids, and grandkids. The five siblings (mom and her brothers) take turns each year planning the family reunion. We have been lots of places, but when it's Uncle Jimmy's turn, you can pretty much guarantee...we are going to Lobo Landing! It is on the Little Red River, and my uncles and lots of my cousins spend the entire weekend fishing off the dock. The rest of us non fishing type folks spend time swimming, talking on the front porch, playing cards and, um, eating! It really is always a good time! We could only spend one night this time because of me working at the church...Sundays are kind of hard to miss! :) We got in plenty of fishing and swimming though, and a fun game of Crazy Rummy (in which there was some definite cheating going on and rules being made up as we went along...)

Here are our cabins... Girls on the left, boys on the right. Usually the porch is lined with folks!

It really is pretty relaxing to sit on the docks. Even Hope becomes much more calm on the river. Maybe we really should take up fishing.

So, as you have surely gathered by now, John and I do not fish. My siblings are all very good at fishing, but I didn't get that gene. It is just gross to me. John really wasn't ever a big fishing fan either. Hope, however, decided it was her duty to catch enough fish for dinner for everyone. She said she would share with everyone, we would put Ketchup on it, and it would be DEEElicious! The fish did not cooperate. We never got a bite. She really did love it though.

The Little Red River is fed by a dam. At night the water is really high, and is pretty low during the day. John thought it would be funny (actually it was!) to get great big rocks and he and Hope would throw them into the mud to see how far it would splatter. They did it a few times and it was entertaining. My baby brother, Ross, however was doing some scheming. If you don't know Ross, he is always up to something and will not be out done. John thought it was pretty funny that Ross was gathering rocks to do the same thing he had just done and John was preparing to watch the show. I told him, oh no, Ross will have to do it bigger and better. I was right. We look up and there are Hope and Ross standing on a bridge with a huge boulder. Sure enough, here goes the boulder off the bridge and into the muddy river bed (bank?) Hope thought it was hilarious. (It was!)

Good times with Mimi.

Hope being comforted by two of her favorite comforters...Ooo Ooo and Mimi.