Kanuga 2007

Where to begin? Another wonderful week at Kanuga has come and gone. I can't believe we are already on the backside of Kanuga, already reminiscing about our 2007 week.

We spent a lot of time explaining to Reeves that this would be his last year at Kanuga without his little brother or sister. I don't think he really cared. As long as we didn't tell him that Davis wasn't going to be there, he was happy. He would clap and cheer everytime we mentioned we were going to see D, and as the actual departure day drew near, his excitement grew.

I finally learned this year to take full advantage of my list making abilities. There is nothing I like better than crossing things off a list, and packing for Kanuga this year gave me lots of things to check off. It was, as a result, the most organized we have ever been in preparation for this trip. It was also the earliest we were ever packed. Unfortunately, it was one of the latest times we left because Bryant had to finish up some stuff at the office. But no matter, we still made it in time for dinner (6:30), so all was well. If I recall correctly, that was the last pleasant meal we had until Thursday. Reeves showed his two year old colors at almost every meal. As soon as we put him in his chair, the madness would begin. It was unbelievable. He is normally a really good eater. I would even go so far as to say he is a polite diner, wiping his mouth and his hands with a napkin, generally using a fork or spoon for each bite. But not at Kanuga. I don't know whether by Thursday he realized that everyone in the dining room was not trying to torture him, or he just finally got hungry enough to actually want to sit through a meal and eat, but at that point, we were on the verge of not going to the dining hall anymore. He was just so bad when we were there. Thank heavens for Honey Nut Cheerios.
We were lucky enough this year to share a cottage with the Townsends and Willises. It was the best cottage ever - five bedrooms, a big living room, and a huge front porch. It also happened to be very centrally located, which was a necessity for me this year. Deuce has not made excessive mobility a comfortable option for me. The cottage was perfect.

The children loved playing bubbles in the yard, and we all loved watching them, particularly in the sweet light of the morning.

(It helped us forget what we had just been through at breakfast!) We loved the extra room we all had and the convenience to anywhere we could possibly want to walk - particularly the "school".

This was Reeves' first foray into the adventure that is "school". The first day didn't go so well, he cried all day, yadda, yadda, yadda, but by Friday, one of the teachers ran out and met me in the playground to tell me how happy he had been all day! I hope his first days at O'Quinn's aren't this hard!
Tuesday night we all headed to Miss Piggy's for ice cream.

It's a fun place and the kids love all the old timey rides and memorabelia. This was the first year we have had to think about Reeves and the actual consumption of the ice cream. To accommodate his milk allergy, we brought with us his vanilla soy ice cream. We bought him a cone and filled it up.

Reeves loved it, and Bryant and I loved that he was finally able to "go out for ice cream". This is a practice we will surely be repeating a lot.
Of course, what week in Kanuga is complete without a trip to see the Sandburg goats? This jaunt is where I truly realize just how big our little boy is getting. This was his third time, and he was perfectly content following Davis and the goats around, feeding the goats, petting the goats, and exploring. The first trip, he was in the Bjorn; the second he was bald and not so sure on his feet. I think this may be the last time there will be a major difference between Reeves last year and Reeves this year.

Next year, he will be taller. He probably will be in shorts and a shirt instead of a jonjon. But he's a little boy now, and he'll be a little boy next year, and I just can't believe we're already past all those many, many baby milestones. Well, hopefully next year, he will be using real words instead of pointing and noises.

Guerin finally got to interact with the goats this year. Unless you count his being attacked while nursing last year. I suppose that was technically interaction, but not very voluntary on his part. I can't wait to see what next year brings for him. I guess Deuce will be the little one then, and Guerin will be running around with the big boys.

He also got to participate in the annual "photo in front of the scarecrow" this year. Poor Davis. We'll be sure to put Guerin beside you next year!

By the way, while everyone else did the hike up the trail,

this was how Deuce and I acended to the barn. It made the whole afternoon so much more pleasant for me, and as a result, for everyone else as well.
Wednesday night is dress-up night and the kid's carnival. We usually take our group picture that night, but somehow we forgot this year. I'm using the pregnancy as my excuse. I think it is perfectly justified for everyone else to claim pre-traumatic stress syndrome, merely in anticipation on the feats of Terrible Two's we all knew we were getting ready to experience at dinner. Whatever the excuse, I'm sorry we didn't do it, and I'll be sure to remember next year. The children loved the carnival. Davis could take part in almost every booth and won prizes at each.

The fishing booth was really the perfect fit for Reeves, and as long as a sucker came out, he was happy. Not so sure how happy Daddy was to have red spit dripping onto him, but he was a trooper. The ballon was also a big hit with this two year old. He also loved it when Guerin let his go. Such fun to watch it fly away!

The lake was absolutely perfect this year - not too cold, not too cold. Reeves' lips never even turned blue! I was so glad to have Davis with Reeves because he is such a little fish, and sometimes, no matter how much we parents plead for our child to do something, they won't do it until they see their friends doing it - like jumping off the dock. OK, I must disclose, I was hesitant to let him jump at first, but thank heavens for Jodie (resident swim instructor) who assured me Reeves was perfectly capable of jumping. I'm so glad she did. He loved it.

I'm not sure if he loved the jumping more or just the fact that he could do the same thing that Davis was doing, but whatever it was, it was fun to watch.
On Friday, we got to watch as Davis participated in the Children's Parade and Fun Run.

Reeves wanted to be a part of it so badly. Next year, next year. I don't think he thinks of himself as only two years old. Davis took the Fun Run very seriously and finished somewhere near the front of the pack.

I said it at the beginning, and I'll say it again. I can't believe Kanuga 2007 has already come and gone. It's only Thursday, and already, we've settled back into the daily grind. I'm not eating nearly as hearty a breakfast as I did up there, which is probably a good thing because I'm also not walking as much either. (Conversely, Reeves has, thankfully, resumed his normal mealtime composure and consumption.) I miss the mornings of whittling in the woodshop with Bryant, the afternoons spent on the porch reading and chatting, the swimming and the playing, and the nightly board and card games on the porch. It is such a special week because we get to spend it with such good friends whom we see entirely too rarely. Jodie and I get to laugh as we watch our husbands roll their eyes at us,

and we get to spend each day watching our children become as good of friends with each other as we have been for three decades. We look forward to and treasure our little summer getaway in the mountains. I'm already making my packing list for next year.

Kanuga 2006

What a wonderful week we had in Kanuga! I did not want to return. The weather was gorgeous. Still warm, but not anything like Charleston, and there was a refreshing breeze that always seemed to come along just when you needed it. We spent our time walking, swimming, napping, eating, you name it. If it wasn't stressful, we were doing it. We left Charleston on Saturday afternoon headed south. Make sense? No. But we were on our way to Port Royal to pick up Davis. Van was still in hospital, recovering from his emergency, non-laproscopic, so we were there to free Jodie of one of the children. Unfortunately, the Volvo isn't big enough for me, Bryant, two children, and half of our belongings, so when we got to Jodie's, we had to unpack our car and repack everything into her van. That done, along with instructions on how to work the DVD player, we were off. With the sounds of Nemo in the background, we made it up 95 to 26 and on to Kanuga, arriving, after a dinner stop at the Picadilly in Spartanburg, only 6 hours after check-in. Thank heavens for cell phones.
The boys and we all slept great that night. Breakfast is at 8:00, and we were all up and ready to go by then. The walk from our Guest House to the dining room was beautiful, winding cross-tie steps and a gravel road, all covered by a thick canopy of tall, green trees and all downhill.

The walk back, just as beautiful but uphill, but we had those meals to work off, so it was OK!
Jodie and Van and Guerin arrived Sunday afternoon. How Van was able to make the trip, I'll never know, but he did, and we were so happy to have him there. It wouldn't have been the same without him. Sunday night, those of us who had not just had major surgery went to the new Gooch activity building to listen to some bluegrass music. It was great music but unfortunately, there was not enough of it. It was difficult to keep the kids focused during the speeches in between songs. But when the music was playing, they were dancing!

I have a great video of it, and if I can figure out how to post it, you will be able to see it. For the rest of the week, Reeves was known as "that boy who was dancing".
Maddelle and family arrived on Monday, and Davis, for the third year in a row, had his Kanuga girlfriend.

He and Bryce immediately hit it off. He was even volunteering to share his trains with her. Now if that ain't love…. Monday night brought the street dance which, due to weather, was indoors. Like Sunday's musical foray, we'll take less talking, more singing, please. It was fun and the kids liked it, but we had to leave early because it was just too hard to keep them contained during the square dance instructions.
We spent early Tuesday evening fishing off the new dock, trying to avoid "those damn turtles". Well, it's true, they just get in the way when you're trying to catch brim! And it is particularly hilarious when Davis sees some other kids coming onto the dock and promptly turns to them and says, "Hey, guys! Come and see the damn turtles!" Haha, where do the kids get these things? Moultrie actually caught two fish.

I don't know why I was surprised, but Reeves was not the least bit scared of them. That night I introduced the group to Poohead. Oh, the joy that game has brought and continues to bring. Girls, I must admit, I might have forgotten some of the rules, but not to worry, I probably made up a couple to take their place!
Wednesday, we headed to Carl Sandburg's to play with the goats.

It's hard to believe my son, who just last year visited Sandburg's in the Baby Bjorn, was now running around, petting and feeding the goats. Amazing how fast they grow up. Like the fish, Reeves was fascinated with these animals. I hope this never changes. Davis and Bryce were like old pros and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the farm.

And for those of you who don't know, apparently goats are fascinated by a nursing mother. Everywhere that Jodie went, that goat was sure to go.

In this picture, I had told Davis to see if he could get Reeves to turn and look at me. That's one way of doing it!

Bathtime was always fun.
Wednesday night is Carnival night at Kanuga, and this year did not disappoint. The kids loved it. Face painting, candy fishing, bean bag toss.

It was all great. Reeves, of course, was drawn in by the music at the cake walk and spent minutes there on the sidelines dancing.

It will be so much fun to watch through the summers as the kids grow and ejoy different aspects of Kanuga.
The Christians had to leave on Thursday after breakfast. We were super sad to see them leave, and it was made even harder as we say Bryce crying that she wanted to stay. After nap and lunch, we spent some time in the lake. While it felt great to us big kids, we had to get out once Reeves lips started turning blue! After dinner, B, R, and I headed to Miss Piggy's for ice cream. Both Bryant and I felt pretty bad about taking him there, what with his milk allergy and everything, but they do have some cool, old-timey rides there, so those kept him interested. They had an old horse ride at the front, and I put Reeves on it thinking it would be a nice slow thing. Oh no! It was, as Jodie put it, "A jockey trainer".

The poor child almost fell off, it was bouncing him so fast. So now we know.
Friday, Jodie, Guerin, and I headed off to the Wee Trade consignment sale (just like the one in Charleston this weekend). It was amazing. It was like walking in to a Once Upon a Child that is as big as the Coliseum. I got some pretty good things there at great deals. Jodie couldn't let go of her stroller or the weight of the clothes hanging off of the handle would have catapulted Guerin halfway across the WNC Agricultural Center. I still can't believe she was able to get all of that stuff to fit in the van. After our morning of shopping, we spent the afternoon swimming, relaxing, and packing. We went to the Follies that night, and they were wonderful. It was so much fun to watch the kids enjoying themselves. Reeves even made the slide show at the end.

Sadly, we had to head back to reality and humidity on Saturday. It was good to be home, but I'll miss Kaunga and that lifestyle for the next couple of weeks. Before long, the daily grind will have unconsciously become the norm again, and weekends will resume their place as the most anticipated days. But once we receive that call from Hoyle this winter, letting us know what our accomodations will be for the summer of 2007, we can again look forward to our week at Kanuga and all the new memories waiting to be created.