Family Fall Fun

Last weekend we went to Aunt Lois' annual Fall Party. There are treats and soup, and pumpkin carving and campfires and scones and homeade rootbeer and hayrides and pinatas. And hot dogs, caramel corn, doughnuts, cocoa, the list goes on. It is a happening party. For years the party was on this beautiful mountain property out in the middle of nowhere, but now they have a house on their land. It is a good thing too.....

It was a little chilly, and windy so Matt and I and Austin were hanging out by the fire. The older boys were jumping on the trampoline. All of the sudden I hear my nephew say, "Uhhh, Laurie, Derek is in trouble." I look over to the trampoline and see Derek standing next to it, completely soaked and dripping wet, and covered in....leaves. I run over to him and he is just shaking, he is so cold. Apparently, there is a little marsh right next to the tramp. It isn't very deep, but is almost completely covered over in plant life. Matt was checking it out and stepped right in, not realizing the water was there, because it was totally covered.

Well poor, shivering Derek and I headed up to the house, maybe a quarter of a mile away and ran and got a towel. I had a little trouble stripping him down, he was embarrassed and didn't want to take his clothes off. Hat, coat, gloves, shoes, underwear, all soaked through. Luckily, Aunt Lois saved the day and stuck everything in the dryer and sent Derek to a warm shower. I had to coax him into the shower, he was really unsure about bathing in an unfamiliar house. I finally got him in and warmed up and we sat in the warm kitchen for about an hour while his clothes dried.

He was anxious to get back to the party and to the food....we hadn't eaten before the mishap. Matt had a plate already for him and one for me, but before we could eat, out came the hayride and Derek was not going to miss that. He forgot his hunger and ran for the hayride with his Dad and Grandpa. Since they took all the kids, I had a nice, relaxing meal by the fire, visited with plenty of cousins and family. It was getting dark by the time they came back, Derek ate quickly and then we decided to head out before the pinata got underway. We also wanted to get Derek out of the cold and back home, ASAP. He was just fine, just a little scared. I wish we had more photos, but while I was nice and warm in the house with Derek, Matt was chasing Zack and Austin around and didn't really have time to document the occasion. It was fun, and Derek was just fine.