Shade Gap Picnic

After a week of vacation, Kris returned to work for 4 days and then had another 4 day weekend, so we could attend his annual Shade Gap Picnic. We always have a great time relaxing with his family. Plus we get to ride some rides, eat homemade ice cream, listen to music and play games. This year unfortunately, we were plagued with rain. Luckily, it wasn't continuous. But Emma didn't even get a ride wristband until 10pm because of it! But she did make good use of it in an hour!

We were able to enjoy a wonderful lunch. Our pulled pork sandwiches went over really well and there wasn't a shred to bring back home. Usually, my kids (and me) are all over all the desserts, but this year it didn't seem like such a big deal. Ryan and Emma loved playing in Grandpa's trailer and were excited to introduce their cousins to our new game Ruckus that we picked up on vacation.

We also all were able to watch the interesting (to say the least) demolition derby. Nick wasn't fond of it, but Ryan thought it was pretty cool. We attempted at a nap for Nick. For a while, he played peek a boo out with the camper curtains, but then rested for about an hour. Not sure if he ever slept, but he was back up playing again soon. He was probably the hardest to deal with at the picnic because he wanted to walk around, but couldn't due to the rain. When he finally got out, he spun around in circles, so excited for some freedom.

We ended the evening running from ride to ride and convincing the older kids (Allison, Amber, Jordan and Corey) to take the little kids on the big rides since none of the adults had wrist bands. Then we hunkered down for the extremely loud fireworks. Nick was out of his seat and on my lap by the second one. Emma made it about half way before crawling onto Kris's lap. The fireworks would have been better if there hadn't been so much fog. But it did make interesting fireworks because instead of seeing the fireworks, the whole sky lit up that color. Emma promptly fell asleep after the last one flew and I had to carry her back to the car. Nick fell asleep in the stroller on the walk back. Ryan was still going, but fell asleep on the ride home and they all slept in!!

We finished the weekend with church and a family lunch at the Pizza Star. Unfortunately, we found out when we returned to the farm that Kris's Aunt Lucy wasn't doing well and needed to be rushed to the hospital. They determined that she had a stroke and has steadily been doing better over the last two weeks. She returned home yesterday, but we are still praying for a full recovery.

Monday, we met Kris's mom for McDonalds breakfast before heading out. Once home, we dropped Kris at work; he had to leave to visit a supplier early the next morning. Then we headed directly to Sam's 3rd birthday party. The kids were all happy to get out of the car and into the pool. Even Nick - who all he wanted to do was jump in, go underwater, and start all over again. Happily for me, they all fell asleep on the way home and I was able to get everyone to bed reading only one book to Ryan who woke up when we got home.