Just the 6 of us...or is it 8?

So, this past weekend we were out on Matinicus! It was soooo nice. Especially since it was just the 6 of us. Now, no one take offense to that...we naturally love having our other family and friends around, but it is just so rare that just us be together as a family these days.

So, this might be a "you had to be there" kind of joke. But I'm going to try to do it justice anyway. It also might help if you know my mom personally--because you'll be able to envision this too. So, Friday night. Matt, Janna and I flew out to the island, Mom, Dad and Alex were already out there. Our very first renter was coming in on Saturday, so last minute finishes were being done to the rental cabin. Also, Matt was a surprise to Mom, Dad and Alex because he wasn't *supposed* to fly out until Saturday. But he wanted to surprise them all by coming with Janna and I. And it worked! So, we all sit down for dinner-together-a rare event. And we're all chatting away. And Janna mentions that while its just us, we should get a picture of the 6 of us. Just the 6 of us. And mom looks up and goes, "no, the 8 of us". We all go completely silent...doing quick math in our heads. Trying to figure out who makes 8. We're all counting animals, grandparents...anyone who would make it 8. But we just couldn't make it work. Mom just looked at us all, offended...and said "the 8 of us...you know, your father and I would like to be in the picture too!" But then as soon as she said it, realized what she had said. We all started laughing so hard that I think we were all crying, including mom. It was just so funny. So all weekend of course, we teased her about "all 8 of us" doing different activities together.

So, Saturday morning came around. Once we were all up and moving, we had to do the last things at the rental cabin to get it ready for the first renters. This mostly just included a final cleaning, and other little details like that. We all worked together, and got it all done! And we did take a family photo on the front steps of the rental cabin. All 8 of us...uh...I mean 6. :)

So then, we had the rest of the weekend to just relax and enjoy. Matt, Janna and Alex decided they wanted to go kayaking (I forgot my wetsuit) :(

So off they went...

And then they tipped over....

and back in the boat again....

and over they went again...

It was just so funny to watch.

After dinner that night, we went down onto the beach to play buoy ball. Its sort of like baseball, except you play with buoy's and rocks. The idea is to hit the rock out into the water as far as you can. It actually was really fun. And of course, Matt won every time. Shocking. :) But it was just amazing to be playing this as the sun set over the mainland. Beautiful!

Then today, we had another day of relaxation. We decided to go down to South Sandy to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

The beach was beautiful, and full of goodies to find.

the water was perfectly blue

as was the sky.

The boys decided they would kayak over.

And then we ported the boat back in the truck.

We boated back to Rockland, and went out to dinner as a family. Then after dinner the boys decided that we should have one last contest. A pie contest. Since we had 3 vehicles between 6 of us, it was by car. The boys in one car, mom and dad in another, and Janna and I in the third. The contest was to see who could get the best pie and we'd all meet up at home. The winner gets pie bragging rights for a year.

So I let Janna drive my car (with her permit--she did a great job!) and after 4 stops, we finally ended up at Shaws in Freeport where we found a Strawberry/Mango pie. It was really yummy.

However we didn't win. Mom and Dad won with their 4 berry pie from Moody's.

So we'll be back out to Matinicus in just a few weeks with the Rhode Island clan and Grammy and Grampy Dick. I'm looking forward to that trip very much! But first...Dallas, Texas here I come!