Before the memories of the weekend fade, let's see if I can share a few word and picture images to accompany our time away. Jason's occupied in a floor patching project upstairs in preparation for refinishing the floors next week and so I've got some quiet solo time downstairs after what ended up being a day mostly on Zoom for me. I was glad to do the evening rounds for Jason to end my day with the sighting of the moon rising and the light fading on the mountain. We were so grateful for amazing farm sitters this past weekend and one of them asked me on Monday if we ever tire of looking at the mountain. I had to confess that when I take the time to stop and take it in I do not tire of it, but that I am often moving too fast to appreciate it as much as I would like. Add that to the list of 2022 personal goals!!For a number of years (pre-Covid) we have enjoyed an annual trek to the Mountain House with two other families (three generations of friends together for a few days is a recipe for wonderful fun and meaningful connections!). While hard to do so, we made the call a few weeks ago to not gather again this fall, but to postpone for a spring weekend in a new location at a time of year that being outside will be more possible. We hope that will also be at a point when we feel a bit wiser about an extended indoor gathering with multiple families. So there was some sadness in that and also eager anticipation for making new memories together next year. Since this was our last planned weekend away at the Mountain House before my parents transfer the ownership to others in the family, we proceeded with joining Mom and Dad there.
As always the weekend was a blend of reading, playing games, eating yummy food, chatting, soaking in some fresh mountain air, and a great dose of kiddo silliness and them soaking in undistracted parents. This weekend had the added component of continuing to help sort and make decisions about "stuff!" At one point Alida reminded me that this was supposed to be a vacation. :) We really didn't do a whole lot, but were able to move a few heavy things around while there were more muscles on the scene. And more importantly, we took some time to reflect on, remember together and express gratitude for the many special memories that we've created with each other and others within the walls of this house and its surroundings. The process of moving does mean that various treasures get pulled out/unburied! Here we were trying out the 6 person version of the marble game which the girls had never played.
And Kali did decide she was not ready to part with the small drying rack that Jason misspelled his name on in college and which she was very attached to years ago. So much so that it reads on the top that the drying rack will be Kali's when she grows up if she still wants it (I can imagine the moment in which Jason grabbed the permanent marker to write that to ease Kali's feelings about parting with it even for a time). So far, she still wants it!
What a surprise to wake up the first morning to SNOW! While it didn't amount to much, it was beautiful coming down and a few snowballs were carefully crafted from what could be collected.
I honestly have no idea what was happening in Phase 10 here but Jason's expression was too good not to share. I'm quite sure it does not reveal any true feelings of disgust about the game, as I've hardly ever seen Jason get worked up about any game (with the exception of ever so slightly with Blokus).
Saturday afternoon we bundled up and had a little processional to the labyrinth, delivering a bench given to my parents after Nora died that has been up by her tree and then also a bench my dad had made which had been by their little pond. We found spots for them in the woods near the labyrinth and enjoyed some time in the woods before needing to warm back up!
Dad had driven the one bench partway out since it was a lot heavier. Kali got to taste her first drive in their car with Dad! He even had her do a spin down their hill and back up a new bridge recently installed. They both seemed not worse for the wear when they returned. I told her she might never want to drive our car again. But she seems to be enjoying the challenge of our manual transmission. We realized our car is just as old as her, but is showing signs of wearing out much more quickly! New sounds keep cropping up at increasingly more frequent intervals. Sigh!Never a weekend in WV without some craft project:
Mom's trying to clean out the fridge, freezers and cupboards. Surprisingly, though, no "weird" meals or combinations of foods just yet. We ate so well and our family of five is always good at assisting at cleaning up little bits of this and that!
Mom and Dad had both written something to share and sandwiched in between that we went room by room sharing memories!
There were plenty to share. They ranged from Jason remembering watching Kali roll over for the first time with a dear friend right on the floor beside her cheering her on (and showing her how to do it).
To Alida having a very new and fresh memory of sleeping all by herself in the peach room the night before (the first time in her life she ever slept in any bedroom alone).
There were house projects to remember and other baby milestones and recovering from my one and only breast infection and enjoying peering out the windows to see snow had arrived over night and playing school with the teddy bears and much more.
There's been a lot of silliness and laughter.
I've probably taken more naps on that couch than any other, and read more novels there too.
And in our time there Mom and the girls had one of the two puzzles we brought almost together, and they likely finished the second already. Many puzzles have been put together at this table (while watching the snowflakes fly!).
On Sunday, Jason and I loaded our car up to the gills but not with kids! They were staying behind to enjoy a few more days with Grandma and Grandpa. We were playing a game while there where you roll a dice and it tells you if you are to sing a song or share something you are thankful for or share something you find beautiful, etc... One of them is to share something you are sad about and when Terah got that one she noted she was sad that Alida and Kali weren't coming home with us. She said it with her mischievous twinkle, but no doubt there was a little truth in it.
While she would have been happy to have Grandma and Grandpa all to herself, I feel certain the five of them are having a splendid time. And when I rolled the happy face, I noted that I was very happy to be headed home just with Jason for a few days!
