Labor Day Weekend

The week leading up to this weekend was a crazy one. We had furniture going out, carpet coming in, sleeping at grandma's, packing, putting the mattresses back, some clean up and work. Also Sherman insisted that we get the tires checked, which was good because they found a nail or a screw in each one...great. With that fixed we headed up to Ragged Mountain for an Alexander Family Reunion! I love Ragged Mountain it is so beautiful! On the dirt road up the mountain Sherman let Annalyn sit on his lap so she could see the deer (we were only going about 5mph). She thought she was so cool! We passed Jen going down to Delta for the night with Sam and Sydney who didn't sleep the night before. Shortly after that we discovered we had a flat tire! Which was only the start of our fun. Sherman walked the next mile to the cabin and brought his Dad back with the truck to pump up the tire.
When we got to camp they had a fire going and everyone was making s'mores. Katie lost her balance and tired to steady herself on the rim of the fire pit, burning her hand. With the excitement of seeing their cousins the boys where running around like lunatics. During this Matthew fell down the stairs and gave himself a fat lip. Because of the way the bite inside looked we thought he may need stitches so back down to Delta we went. We didn't get back until 2:00 in the morning.

But by the time we all woke later everything was good. The kids played and ran around having a great time. Annalyn loved the humming birds!
We all went to one of the lakes for a ride in the boats. The big hit was the many frogs to chase and catch. We did a little fishing with no luck.
Here we are piled in the truck go back to the cabin for lunch. My mother in-law was awesome she did the majority of the cooking. (next time we should plan on each family taking a turn with the food prep)
My sister-in-law Jen showed up with her knee very black and blue. She had fallen while at her parents house. Nic came into the kitchen cover in burs. But that was about the last and least of the interesting incidences. Until we found the bathroom wall and Katie covered in permanent marker.
The bikes where another fun thing the kids enjoyed. With the hills they had to ride down the fun was never ending. Nic was learning to ride without training wheels. What better way to learn then being sent down a big, long, grassy hill.
Time for the big boys to have a little fun. Spencer and Sarah brought up two rifles. Sherman and Steve brought a shot gun, targets and LOTS of clay pigeons. Eathan and Shermie both did good. Eathan hit 3 pigeons, which is more than I hit(zero). Sherman help all of the kids take a turn. He almost forgot Jonas(3 I think) who had been sitting waiting patiently for an hour. We had said the kids were done and he pipes up, "I'm BIG, I'm BIG"! So he got his turn too. He is too cute! The big boys had a shooting contest and of course Spencer won.
In morning of the last day I took all the kids fishing. After frantically trying to please the masses with ready fishing poles we settled down (well as much as seven boys and one girl will) for the wait. We had a couple bites but no luck, until Tuffer hooked one good. Man what a FISH!! Gavin earned bragging rights for helping Tuffer hold it while I got the hook out. They were all very excited to see such a huge fish. Beck caught the next fish and it was huge too. We had it almost to the shore and got a good look at it before it wiggled free of the line. His is the one that got away.
The Boys ran the fish back to Grandma to cook. She said, "I will cook it as long as you clean it". Of course this meant sticking it in the sink, covering it with a little soap and bleach and scrubbing it with a scrub pad...right? Needless to say it did not get eaten. We had such a great time. It was so good to see everyone. I can't wait to do it again!