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.