Happy Birthday, America...and Dad and Uncle Ron

I'm writing today from a very quiet house that, just hours ago, was bustling with activity. We had in attendance the matriarch and patriarch of the Veazey clan (Mimi and Doc), 2 aunts and 2 uncles (Joyce and Tommy, Aunt Joan and Uncle Ron), 2 cousins (Glen and Philip), 4 Veazey "kids" (Rod, Marcus, Rach and Becca), their spouses (Betty, Emily and Adam... there in spirit was husband-to-be, Aaron), 5 "baby girls" (Anna Gresham, Fran, Lucy, Mary Beck and Marjorie) ranging in age from 3.5 years old to about 8 months old and 4 dogs (Dixie, Gus, Duke and Greta). Needless to say, there was never a dull moment. There were a lot of little pink high heels, play jewelry and even a tutu laying around. Here is our 4th of July weekend in a nutshell... (a larger, pretty detailed nutshell):

Thursday: Doc and Uncle Doc's (dad's twin brother) birthday celebration. Highlights include a fabulous cookout, a lot of time out on the deck, some great bluegrass music playing on the loud speakers and a long night of Nertz with Becca, Rachel, Betty and Emily and a couple of glasses of wine, as the tradition goes. Lowlights include: losing Nertz to Rachel. I'm gettin' rusty.

Friday: Out on the boat, Lucy and Anna Gresham got to go tubing with their parents. Low point being the interube cover breaking while Rach and Anna Gresham were on it, Anna G almost being sucked down into the hole and Rach almost losing her bathing suit bottoms. High points being all of the kids ("kids" meaning those of us ages 26-35 and spouses) swimming "out on the point," some lounging in intertubes and some wearing their life jackets like diapers, reminiscing about back in the good ole days when we'd swim in that very spot as youngsters, mom watching us from the kitchen window, me sitting on the shore making "mud pies" and the boys and Rach begging dad to be able to take off their life jackets--the condition being that if they were able to swim across to the other side of the shore, they were then allowed to swim without their life jackets on. I'm not sure I ever made it to that point, but the shore and mud pies were fine with me; That night, going out on the boat with Doc as our fearless Captain, watching the fireworks alongside many other boats, and then our boat leading the other boats (and probably inspiring them as well) with our renditions of God Bless America, America the Beautiful and The Star Spangled Banner; Finishing off the night with..... another Nertz competition.

Saturday: Rach and Adam headed back to Charleston, so that night, those of us remaining made the 45 minute drive down to Soap Creek to eat; Teaching our parents at dinner about "that's what she said" jokes, and Doc then using that line the rest of the night... for everything.

And did I mention that Mimi and Doc slept in a pop-up camper in the driveway? Classic.

Marcus, Marjorie, Mary Beck and Adam



Marcus, Rod and Dad


Mimi and Doc


Marcus and Me, out on the boat watching fireworks


Me holding Lucy, Betty holding Fran and Anna G, Rach holding Mary Beck and Emily holding Marjorie.


Anna Gresham, me and Lucy


Check out that profile... She looks like her Doc :)


Tommy and Marjorie


Fran and Rod