My brother texted me earlier this week and asked me when I was going to write a blog post about our family's trip to the lake house in Texas.
I said I'd get to it eventually and asked him why he wanted to know.
"Because I like it when you blog about our family," he said.
That, my friends, is why I blog. New followers are always fun, and the $1.76 a month I get from Google ads buys me a chai at Starbucks every now and again. But one of the best parts of blogging is knowing that my family enjoys it.
So, Austin, this one's for you.
When I say we went to the lake house, I always feel like I need to clarify that this is my aunt and uncle's lake house that they kindly let us borrow. I don't want to give you the wrong impression. My parents don't own a bunch of extra houses. There's just the one in Italy, but that's it I swear.
Our weekend at the lake was a last hurrah to summer and a celebration of my brother's graduation from his master's program. Master's of social work! Holler.
Daniel was a little sad that he graduated in the middle of the summer and didn't get to walk, so my mom got a cake made and dug out Daniel's old cap and gown from Moody, and we had us a mini graduation ceremony with yours truly playing "Pomp and Circumstance" on the violin.
^^"Okay, now take Pioneer Woman's cookbook and pretend you're handing him a diploma." Good one, Mom. BUT IT LOOKS SO CANDID.
My sister and I shared a bed, so that was a fun blast to the past. Saturday morning, we woke up to this:
Yes, please.Earlier in the week, my brother had sent a group email to tell us that he had a "project" we were going to do. When we asked what it was, all we got was "it could get messy." We were all a little scared that he wanted us to play the raw egg game again.
Turns out, the project was painting a canvas! No raw eggs needed. Austin had gotten a black canvas and acrylic paint at Hobby Lobby. He'd brought enough paint for each person to have their own color, and he wanted us to take turns spilling paint on the canvas so he could have a piece of art to hang up in his new classroom. (He just graduated from college and is going to be a math teacher!)
My dad got the color pink because he was the last one to pick. You snooze, you lose, Dad. Literally.
We laid the canvas on a garbage bag before we started, and my mom made a pretty big deal about how we weren't supposed to get any paint on the grass.
And then on her first squirt, she missed the canvas completely and sprayed the grass with purple. So that happened. It was hilarious. The final product was really cool, and I wish we had more canvases, because I want to make one now! Such a fun idea.
And by tournament, I mean my brother beat everyone per usual, and I got smoked 11-21 in the only game I played and swore to never touch a paddle again as long as I live. Or until the next time we go to the lake.
After that, other stuff happened like jet skis and mega hammock and seeing Bigfoot. You know, the usual.
After we got over the shock of actually catching Bigfoot on camera (in case you were wondering, the film is currently with the FBI being verified for authenticity), we played bags. I'd be lying if I said the rage didn't come out a little bit when Jordan and I lost to my brother and sister-in-law. We were up SIXTEEN TO THREE and ended up losing 19-21.
Fun fact: I am not a very good loser.
I may or may not have stomped off the bags court in a blind rage. I have problems.
The pictures below are of my brother and sister. He's taunting her in the picture on the left and gloating in victory in the picture on the right. My family's not competitive or anything.
While at the lake, Jordan did some fishing. Last summer at our family reunion, he and my little cousin Brooke had a competition to see who could catch the most fish. I'm being nice when I say he lost by a lot. He didn't enjoy handing over his man card to a ten-year-old girl.
And now, allow me to get cheesy for a moment. (Pun not intended with the cheesy lasagna in the above picture. That's just a happy coincidence.)
I'm so grateful to my parents for raising a family of children who genuinely have a lot of fun together. We have our moments like anyone else. I really don't want to paint the wrong picture. There were some this weekend too.
But we work through it and move on, and we're stronger for it.
These are my people.
My favorites.
The best.