A Family of Pirates

Last Saturday, we went a family reunion.  This year, the theme was PIRATES!  We had a lot of fun with that!  I made Daniel a pirate shirt, and he wore a vest I had made several years ago (but which had never been worn).  The rest of us plundered our wardrobes and found clothes that would work.  

The hosting family lives on the river, so we enjoyed a beautiful view and a constant breeze (not to mention the opportunity to get wet!).  God blessed us with a GORGEOUS day!  It was the perfect temperature, unlike the week before which had been sweltering hot.  We had a potluck lunch with lots of yummy desserts, and were serenaded all afternoon by one of my cousins and two friends of his.  They played a variety of instruments (guitar, harmonica, djembe drum, etc.) and sang a lot of popular songs, both old and new.  

Daniel and I had the opportunity to perform the song, "Whale of a Tale" from the movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."  We kind of turned it into something of a skit, and it was pretty funny!  We had never had the chance to sing for our relatives before, so that was neat (and they really enjoyed it!).  I'll try to get the video uploaded eventually so you can see our performance.  :-)  Meanwhile, here are some pictures...

Stephen, Brighton (Stephen's best friend), Daniel, and myself:

One of our hosts, "Captain Lindley":

My dad went skiing for the first time in 18-20 years!  He didn't bring a swimsuit or change of clothes, but he couldn't resist the opportunity, so he jumped in with his khaki pants on and had a blast!  :-)

Stephen went tubing for the first time!

My first time in the water all summer!  I was very happy!  (Until somebody saw a huge snake in the water.  That was the end of that...)

The highlight of the day was my first ride on a jet ski!  It was a crazy ride, and the most exhilarating experience of my life!  What a thrill to go FLYING across the water, sometimes launching into the air and then crashing down again, with the water spraying in our faces the whole time!  I've always been a very cautious person...not a thrill seeker...so for me this was as close to "living on the edge" as I've gotten (speaking more of the manner of the ride, not the fact that I was on a jet ski).  Falling off and hitting the water at that speed would have been super painful, and I was having to hold on pretty tight.  The waves were very choppy, and I really had to trust that my 15 year old cousin knew was he was doing.  We were going crazy fast, and then he slowed down and did some donuts and figure 8's! I was grinning and laughing the whole time!  It really was amazing!  I love the water...  :-) 

Here's my little cousin Elizabeth on the swing!  I don't have an adjustable shutter speed, so to try and get her in focus, I had to keep moving my camera at the same speed and in the same arching motion as the swing.  Back and forth, back and forth...  And it kind of worked!

Well, that's all for now!  I hope everybody is having a great week!  God bless!