girls weekend part 1

I rather abruptly decided to join my mom on a weekend adventure to a family reunion with all of her cousins.  Husband was unable to go, Papa was unable to go, and I had already offered to watch two of my nieces for the weekend.  But somehow, in talking to my mom and my other sister-in-law, we decided we would go anyway.  Thus, our impromptu girls weekend.

Friday morning we spent packing and loading, then I had to slip away to teach a GroupPower class (my clear favorite) and then I hurried home, took a record short shower and hopped into the driver's seat of my sister's 15 passenger van.  Grammy (my mom) rode shotgun while my sis ran herd on the nine children piled in behind us, the oldest of which was my 6 year old.  crazy?  definitely.

The children were amazing well behaved, mostly sleeping or fascinated by their cousins' tablets.  The miles melted away as we talked and snacked and planned.  We arrived several hours later, just in time to unload the babies at our weekend rental to a babysitter and take the older girls to a performance of Cinderella.  Grandma Great had arranged for all of us to come and the girls loved it, despite being wiggly after sitting for most of the day. 

The next morning we played through breakfast and arrived at the family reunion festivities, kicking off with an "Amazing Race", following clues that led us to various places in town, each with a story and memory of my great grandparents.  The kids mostly watched a movie but mom, my sis and I loved it.  Back at reunion headquarters, the kids played in the park and splashpad for hours while the adults picnicked, played Jeopardy and shared stories. A couple of adorable and amazing 11-12 year olds adopted our herd of toddlers, asking if they could watch them at the park or play with the at the splash pad.  Thrilled with our self-appointed babysitters, we agreed and got to enjoy spending time with our own cousins.  We spent the evening at the city pool which Grandma Great had rented as a private party for our large family and the kids were absolutely delighted.  By the time we made it home, the kids were happy and worn out from a wonderful day and barely made it through dinner before they crashed for the night.

On Sunday, with all of our beautiful daughters, we attended church with Grandma Great before piling back into the van and heading for home.