Sunday, September 6, 2009
Dancing under the harvest moon
I swear three weeks ago we decided to spend the rest of our summer weekends hanging out at home and traveling no more than the miles it takes to get ice cream at Granny's. But, when the decision was made to celebrate Grandma's birthday in conjunction with the Green Lake labor day party, it was impossible to say no. One "camper cake" later ( pictures to follow! ) we made our best attempt at surprising someone who has made a living of not being surprised by anything. This party was no exception.
As the sun went down on the campgrounds, droves of children came out of the woodwork. Suddenly fifty kids were playing football, driving mini 4-wheelers and were generally engaged in trying to permanently injure themselves. Ava, probably tired from her first week of preschool, was generally uninterested. She made her way from camper to camper meeting new friends and quickly leaving them behind. A pet bunny that a camper had brought along for the weekend kept her interest for a while as we loaded up plates full of food from the 15 foot long table of potluck offerings. Once the food was largely devoured a DJ began setting up shop on a hill between the lake and the campgrounds. The expanse of freshly mowed prairie looked surreal against the backdrop of flashing lights and mobile disco ball. Both kids were apprehensive, but once Hannah Montana started blaring across the lake, Ava perked up. Instantly a group of 5-7 year old girls hoarded together on the "dance floor" unsure of what to do with themselves.
I couldn't help but remember the years of junior high and high school dances and the liberation of dancing without a real care in the world. All these girls needed was a little encouragement...in the form of a 30 something mother with a couple of glasses of box wine in her system. Two hours and many Black Eyed Peas songs later I was dripping in sweat with a permanent smile on my face. Ava and Dane danced with no rhythm, rhyme or reason, just like their mother. Dane showed off his break dance skills for everyone while Grandpa Ron sang old old school karaoke. I am sure I looked like an idiot. In fact, I am positive about that. But the feel of wet grass underfoot and the harvest moon up above were an amazing combination. As darkness fell the fireworks went up. We moved off to the side and snuggled down into the grass - one child in each armpit - and watched the show while adding our most convincing "ooohhhhhhs" and "aahhhhhhs".
At exactly 9:30 the switch flipped and Dane began begging LOUDLY to go to sleep. Ava joined the frantic chorus and we retired to Auntie & Uncle's camper to break down the dining room table into a not so comfy bed for the night. I had all intentions of rejoining the campfire, but it never happened. I did wake up around 3:00 AM when Auntie & Uncle decided to leave the campfire themselves and settle down for a solid 3 hours of sleep.
What a joyful evening followed by an early morning "I love you" from Dane before he decided to wrestle with Uncle who would have really liked a couple of extra hours of sleep. Oh well!
We are now back at home in Fergus. The kids are watching a movie, well, Dane was watching but he fell asleep. The suitcase is unpacked and I do think we will stick to our plan this time and leave that suitcase in the attic until Christmas. What a wild summer! Time to try our hardest to have a more "selfish" fall and spend less time in the van and more time soaking up the weather.
As the sun went down on the campgrounds, droves of children came out of the woodwork. Suddenly fifty kids were playing football, driving mini 4-wheelers and were generally engaged in trying to permanently injure themselves. Ava, probably tired from her first week of preschool, was generally uninterested. She made her way from camper to camper meeting new friends and quickly leaving them behind. A pet bunny that a camper had brought along for the weekend kept her interest for a while as we loaded up plates full of food from the 15 foot long table of potluck offerings. Once the food was largely devoured a DJ began setting up shop on a hill between the lake and the campgrounds. The expanse of freshly mowed prairie looked surreal against the backdrop of flashing lights and mobile disco ball. Both kids were apprehensive, but once Hannah Montana started blaring across the lake, Ava perked up. Instantly a group of 5-7 year old girls hoarded together on the "dance floor" unsure of what to do with themselves.
I couldn't help but remember the years of junior high and high school dances and the liberation of dancing without a real care in the world. All these girls needed was a little encouragement...in the form of a 30 something mother with a couple of glasses of box wine in her system. Two hours and many Black Eyed Peas songs later I was dripping in sweat with a permanent smile on my face. Ava and Dane danced with no rhythm, rhyme or reason, just like their mother. Dane showed off his break dance skills for everyone while Grandpa Ron sang old old school karaoke. I am sure I looked like an idiot. In fact, I am positive about that. But the feel of wet grass underfoot and the harvest moon up above were an amazing combination. As darkness fell the fireworks went up. We moved off to the side and snuggled down into the grass - one child in each armpit - and watched the show while adding our most convincing "ooohhhhhhs" and "aahhhhhhs".
At exactly 9:30 the switch flipped and Dane began begging LOUDLY to go to sleep. Ava joined the frantic chorus and we retired to Auntie & Uncle's camper to break down the dining room table into a not so comfy bed for the night. I had all intentions of rejoining the campfire, but it never happened. I did wake up around 3:00 AM when Auntie & Uncle decided to leave the campfire themselves and settle down for a solid 3 hours of sleep.
What a joyful evening followed by an early morning "I love you" from Dane before he decided to wrestle with Uncle who would have really liked a couple of extra hours of sleep. Oh well!
We are now back at home in Fergus. The kids are watching a movie, well, Dane was watching but he fell asleep. The suitcase is unpacked and I do think we will stick to our plan this time and leave that suitcase in the attic until Christmas. What a wild summer! Time to try our hardest to have a more "selfish" fall and spend less time in the van and more time soaking up the weather.
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