It sure has been a busy Summer and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to add any entries in the past few months. Many things do I have to type about so I'll start where I last laid lines, here. June had us jaunting around and July along with August hauled us off to here, there and everywhere. A vacation to visit my Hubby Bub's family in Hawkesbury Ontario, would be the first of many enjoyable memories made this Summer. A long drive it is, from here, more than ten hours away but worth every mile in smiles and laughter we shared with our loved ones. For the first time in years, all of my Husband's siblings would be together in the same space. The weather was warm but not with the ton of sun we had hoped for, made no difference though as we all enjoyed each others company. My Hubby Bub comes from a family of nine children and falls next to the last in line. Like with my own flock, I love different things about each of them but at times share an opinion other than their own. For me though, that's what make families some of the finest things in life. I stated that our vacation destination was over ten hours away but on this trip it took us twelve and a half. I blame Hubby Bub's pea sized bladder. Actually, we just wanted to take our time, we love long drives!. We arrived to the excited smiles we so longed to see, a few fine eye leaks and all around love from time spent apart. It was so wonderful seeing that side of the family again. I get on well with all of them and try to soak up each of their individual personalities. They have a very laid back rapport with each other and humor is at the heart of their happiness shared, when they gather. I smile thinking of each one of them, for different reasons. We spent the entire visit sleeping in a beautiful trailer that sat proudly out front on my Sister and Brother-In-Law's lawn. Boy do I love those two fine folks!. Let me beam about about them a bit. For the second time in a row, they opened their home, fridge, hamper and camper to us. I will always be grateful for not only the hospitality, generosity and good giggles we shared but for the forgiveness they've always shown me. Sometimes I can be a bit stubborn and stupidly, you know?, anyway, thank you both for letting us spend some unforgettable time with you and your wonderful children. For fear of starting a family feud, let me just state again how much I love and enjoy every single member of my Husband's family!...hehehe. Also, our Son's did spend a sleep over with Meme and I'm glad they spent alone time with her and one of their Aunt's.
This wasn't just any trip to Hawkesbury, this was a reunion and it was the highlight of all our days and there were many marvelous moments. The sky didn't seep and I'm taking full credit for it, blowing clouds away works, even if it doesn't always make way for blue skies and I don't care what anyone else believes!. It didn't rain!, we were all relived and enjoyed each other more, because of it. Oh the laughter we shared!. Some of the siblings brought games/gifts for everyone, what fun!. I don't know which one was my favorite, to hard too choose but I will say, the one gift that got my eyes leaking was from one of Hubby's older Sister's. She had shirts made for each of her Brother's and Sister's. On it were all their names and nicknames from when they were kids, listed from oldest to youngest, detailed in Irish Green lettering!. Such a beautiful gift!, it still gets me misty eyed. Another great gift/game was washer toss, brought by the oldest Brother. I liked it better than horseshoes. Both are basically the same but I found washer toss fuller with fun!. That same Brother would hand all of us our sides with the laughter he served up. One of the other games had us all unable to say the word "No" or "Know", it was simple really, if you said that word then you were out of the game. Boy did I lose that one quickly. Also, I picked the winner right away, as most others did. No one I know can hold their tongue better than my Sister-In-Law. Man!, could I learn a lot from her. We feasted on the finest of foods, far to many to make mention of here but I must give thanks to the oldest Sister for making sure her little Brother had his favorite food, from her. We played games into the early evening then settled into swimming and sitting by the fire. Our youngest Son and his younger Cousin were complete fish and weren't out of the water long enough for their gills to dry. Our oldest Son was a big help and it was great seeing him enjoy the family, nice that he had two Cousins, very close to his age, around to keep him company. Sitting by the fire proved to be some of the finest moments for me. Have you heard the song "The Boy's 'Round Here" by Blake Shelton?, well through the song you can hear the words Red, red, red, red, Redneck and my Hubby Bub's big Brother would sing it to any one of us, at any given time. It was completely comical but probably one of those moments that you just had to be there. The day of the reunion went by faster than all the others and I would have a heart full of sadness because of it. I am proud to say that I didn't stay and share it with everyone else. I removed myself from the others and spent most of the following day alone, which was what I needed to do.
Some other terrific times we shared included visiting a few places in Quebec and going to a water park in Gatineau. I'm pretty sure I can safely state our Son's two favorite things. #1 Eating Poutine at Ma Belle's, #2 Playing hide and seek on the four wheelers, at the farm. Thinking about all the wonderful times we spent with loved ones this Summer has me sporting a mile wide smile, right now. I must take this opportunity to tell you a little about the Senorita that started this all. My Mother-In-Law, we'll call her "Spun" because that's my nick-knack-name, for her. She is a wonderful woman who is filled with strength, faith and love for others, a fabulous example of a fine human being, indeed. I sometimes wonder how chaotic her life must have been at times, raising four girls and five boys. She didn't do it alone and I'm proud to say that she made all those babies with one man. Something that seems to be slipping away in society. Her Husband worked many hours and was the lone "Bread Winner", as their family grew. I remember my Father-In-Law well. What wonderful memories do I have of him, not many because he died shortly after his Son and I wed but the ones I have are bright and beautiful, just like he was. I must tell you of the time I lost their dentures, I'm unsure if they were "Spun's" or her Husband's but I do remember feeling more fear than I ever had before. Did I mention my Father-In-Law was an Irishman with an intimidating look about him?. I couldn't have been more relieved and grateful that he didn't just kill me there with a cold stare. Instead, he and Spun made me feel at ease and blew it off as an accident that happened while I was trying to be kind. You see, I was cleaning up in the garage and trying to help. I ended up throwing away the recently purchased, expensive dentures that were in a kleenex, out with the trash. We all looked for them, tossing about rubbish like there were a diamond mine to be found at the bottom of any given bag. I am such a Tard at times. I now check everything I throw out. They could have made me pay for them but instead, they forgave me and never made a fuss about it. I'm so glad Spun can laugh about it now.
Well folks, I'm a bit out of practice here and my back is telling me it's time to move on to other things. With that, I'll bid you all a dandily day and hope that you enjoy the remainder of this one!. Thanks for reading what's in the Mind Grounds, see ya in sentences, soonly. I'll add a few photos and the song I spoke of, earlier.
