Summer Fun - Part 1

The last weekend in July, my extended family always plans a reunion in the Appalachian Mountians of North Carolina. My kids love going to Fontana, to reconnect with cousins and family. My grandfather Merritt was the youngest of 19 children, so you can imagine how many descendants there are in my family. The picture above are just his family (minus my youngest cousin Rebecca.)

It's always amazing to see the next generation coming along. Michelle found quite a few little girls to run around with for the weekend. We were trying to settle everyone down to sleep, so our DVD player and a "Hello Kitty" video came in handy.

There are several traditions we do year after year at Fontana. One is eating watermelon together at the park. My kids love watermelon, and it is usually the first time of the weekend we all get together, so it's a fun time to reconnect.
Another tradition is jumping into the water behind the Fontana Dam. It's hard to explain in words just how cold this water truly is. It will take your breath away, that is for sure. This year, we had a record number of "jumpers". I think it was because the weather was so hot all weekend. It's usually much cooler in the moutains, but this year is still reached the 90's every day.

The kids have so much fun playing miniature golf, swimming, eating ice cream and playing with family!

Here Josh is pictured with his best buddies! Walker (in blue) is Josh's only first boy cousin, and they are only 8 months apart in age, so you can imagine how close these 2 have become. Keaton (orange shirt) is an extended "cousin", but only a year older than Josh and a lot of fun. Isaiah (green shirt) is my first cousins' son. All these boys are age 7-10. Don't they look like trouble waiting to happen?!

We usually have a large family dinner on Saturday evening with a talent show. We end the talent show by doing the Hoakie-Pokey and then by singing "Good night Irene" in honor of one of the beloved aunts. It's always a lot of fun to see grown men and women (as well as the kids) doing the Hoakie-Pokey.


This last picture is my favorite! My parents, brother and his family, and our family.