The Relatives Came: A Memorial Weekend Rewind

"It was in the summer of the year when the relatives came. . . They drove all day long and into the night, and while they traveled along they looked at the strange houses and different mountains . . . and traveled up all those miles until finally they pulled into our yard. Then it was hugging time.

The relatives weren't particular about beds, which was good since there weren't any extras, so a few squeezed in with us and the rest slept on the floor, some with their arms thrown over the closest person, or some with an arm across one person and a leg across another." (Cynthia Rylant, The Relatives Came)

One of the first questions I am asked (by friends) when company comes to visit is, "Where will everyone sleep?" "Everywhere," is often my response, as I think about one of my favorite children's books The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. If you don't know this book, it is about a large family (a bunch of hillbillies-- I can say that, I come from "NC hillbillies") that gets together in one small house over the summer. Needless to say, there is not much space, but they enjoy one another's company for weeks. No offense dear Brooks family, but thank you for not staying "for weeks and weeks."

Jonathan's brother, Matthew, and his family (Kim, Philip, and Braewyn), as well as Grandma, joined us for Memorial Weekend. This seems to have become a tradition. Matthew, Kim, and the kids had not been to our house in a year, so we were delighted to have them in our home. The kids had so much fun and played very well together. We tried to spend as much time as possible outdoors.

Madeline surprised us by hopping on Hannah's bicycle and riding it around the driveway. We've been encouraging her to do this for a couple of months, because Hannah was ready to move up to a bigger bike.
There were a few tears and one or two falls, but she eventually got the hang of it. So, there was lots of bike riding and scooting. (Philip brought his new bike--but you can see he is scooting on a Disney Princess scooter and Hannah has commandeered his bike!)

There was B-ballin'. . .

silly faces . . .

and lots of fun with chalk!

There were corn hole games . . .

dances with Aunt Kim . . .

stories from Grandma . . .

conversations with Braewyn and Uncle Matthew . . .

talks with Grandma . . .

hugs from cousins . . . and many Keva Plank creations. Of course, there was trip to "Daddy's museum." We had fun Brooks family!!!