Memorial Day

 I am sitting here on the couch eating an apple with peanut butter (yum)

 and editing some of my pictures from Memorial Day weekend.

These pictures make me happy and looking through them makes me realize once again just

 how lucky I am to have such a big, close extended family. 

I'm sure when my grandma and grandpa were young and having (so many!) kids they never realized 

just how far the roots of their family would stretch. It is truly amazing to me.

I think my pictures probably tell the story better than I can; we had a great weekend.

In case you didn't read here yesterday, we have been going down to my aunt & uncle's 

cabin (aka: The Farm) since around 1980. Every single year since I can remember. 

It is a weekend we look forward to every year.

*{You can see more Farm posts here and here}

Someone said they counted sixteen kids there this year.
 Sixteen cousins and second-cousins (and maybe even third cousins?) although the
 second-cousin thing doesn't matter to me, a cousin is a cousin.
I love that my kids get to spend time like this with their cousins like I did when I was their age.
My wish for them is that they have the bond and strong relationship like I do with my cousins and
 my extended family. I think that is truly one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.

A weekend of spending nearly all day and much of the night outside, pretty much disconnected 

from the "real world" besides our phones and weather radios.

The kids played in the playhouse, in the sand box and on the tire swing. 

They played catch and frisbee and went on rides on the four-wheeler. 

They hiked through the woods and went fishing.

The adults talked and pushed kids on the tire swing, held babies and ate lots of good food.

Maybe a little too much good food. Okay, way too much.

Like these homemade cinnamon rolls Sunday morning.

My little family slept in our tent this year instead of sleeping at my parent's cabin, which is in walking distance from The Farm. There is nothing like sleeping out in a tent, feeling the fresh air, listening to the bugs and outdoor sounds and seeing the stars right from where you are sleeping.

Well, except for sleeping in your own bed the next night maybe.
I could not count the number of nights we tent-camped when I was little, we camped all over
the country in a blue and yellow Coleman tent.

My favorite part of the weekend?

When we all walked out to the field with our flashlights in the pitch dark to watch the

 lightning bug show. Hundreds and hundreds of lightning bugs. 

It was very cool.

***

Thanks for hanging in there with me for all of those pictures.

Kinda ridiculous, right? I actually think I might have enough to still do another post.

Just looking back over these pictures has me convinced I have a tick somewhere on my body.
And it's driving me a little bit crazy.

{Counting Stars}

Inhale.
That's what it feels like when we get down to the Cabin and step out of the car.
Like taking a big, deep breath.
Of fresh air.
And I mean that both literally and figuratively.
This weekend was the perfect Spring weekend to be there.
And there we were.

Things are just barely starting to turn green.
Little tiny buds are popping out and bulbs are peeking out of the ground through left-over Fall leaves.
The sun was out and the birds were singing.
Turtles were sunning themselves on a log in the pond.
We saw deer tracks in the woods and raccoon tracks in the creek.
The girls picked flowers and we saw the our first of many dandelions of the year.

Last night after we walked over to our Cabin from the Farm and got settled in for the night,
I stepped outside to take a look at the sky.
There were hundreds of stars in the sky.
Literally, hundreds of stars.
And I had one of those quick moments were I stop for just a second (on my way to the outhouse)
and realize just how lucky we really are.
Lucky to be able to see this sky.
Lucky to be able to be here with my little family.
For the kids to have the chance to play with their second cousins.

I try my best to remember, but I don't always.
Not to take it for granted, this perfectly-imperfect little life of mine.
To fully acknowledge how lucky we are.
And not just acknowledge it, but to actually live like I know it.
And sometimes I think the best reminder is to step away.
From home and our usual routine.
To unplug and relax.
To take walks through the woods and push little ones on tire swings and sit in front of a fire.
To watch the kids run and play without a care in the world.
And inhale that fresh country air.
And count the stars.

{The Golden Hour}

This is what gets me really excited, right here.

Capturing this beautifully gorgeous sunlight.
A perfect evening at the cabin, getting close to sunset.

Charlotte said she wanted to go pick flowers for
 her cousin right before dinner so

I grabbed my camera and we walked down the lane.
Perfect timing.

***********

Here's the thing: I know that a real photographer would remove,
add and adjust all kinds of things with these pictures.
But I love the warm, glowing feel here and most of all I love how
 the light,  the way it really looked and felt right
 then shows up in the pictures.

I just totally dorked out about the sun and these pictures, didn't I?

I know. 

I really did.

*********

One more day off. No school, no work.
Laying around in bed late, omelettes for breakfast, no plans for the day.
Now that's my kind of Holiday.
 What are you doing this weekend?
 I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and you get
to do something that makes you really happy.