The first week of July was a fun one for the girls. My mom had wanted to give them the opportunity to learn how to sail, so she arranged for all five cousins to have the chance to be at Hartfield together for a sailing camp. She took them down on Tuesday, June 30, and they spent Wednesday-Friday from 9am-3pm at a private sailing camp on the Ware River. Due to the obvious COVID concerns, the girls were able to learn with two instructors and two sailboats for the five of them.
From what we heard, after the three days they all became quite good young sailors. Additionally, all the reports we heard were of the great time they were having and all that they were learning, so, needless to say, the sailing camp was a fantastic experience for them. Mark, Cayenne, and I were here at home until Friday, when we were able to come down to Hartfield, but Shenley and Garland arrived on Tuesday evening and were able to add to the fun by also taking the girls tubing some once sailing camp was done.
The four pictures below were shared from Shen and my mom. :)
Mark and I were only there for the weekend, but it was great to get a few days away from the routine at the house to enjoy some relaxing time at the river. We had a pretty mellow Friday evening. The Williams had gone out to meet up with some friends of theirs in the area, so after a nice dinner with Mouse and Pops, we headed down to the dock to try to catch some fish and watch the sunset. The fishing wasn’t very successful, but the sunset was beautiful!
On Saturday morning (the 4th), Bo and Brittany arrived, and we had planned to head out with the two boats to a swimming cove for a day on the water where the kids could swim and play without running into jellyfish and the adults could hang. We had a great plan, but unfortunately, Mouse and Pops’ pontoon boat wouldn’t start, so we tried to come up with a solution that could get us all out on the water. We decided that Garland would take the girls, Mark, Bo, and Brittany in his boat, while Mouse, Shen, and I would drive over to the location where they were headed and meet up with Garland and Shenley’s friends, the Eastwoods, who would give us a ride in their boat to where Garland’s boat was.
It all sounded like a good Plan B until Brittany got hit in the head by a flag pole that dislodged from the rod holder of the boat while they were en route to the cove. While we were driving to meet the Eastwoods, we got word of what happened on the boat and decided to just try to drive to the location of the cove, park our car somewhere, and once we saw the boat in the cove, climb down the small rocky enbankment into the water and wade out to the boat (since the water was only chest deep at that location). It ended up being a good thing because, after a little bit, it became clear that Brittany most likely had a concussion and would be better off heading back to the house. So, Bo, Brittany, and Mouse ended up driving the car back, and Shen and I stayed on with Garland, Mark, the girls, and the Eastwoods (who had arrived in their boat as well). We spent all afternoon anchored in the cove while the kids played king of the Sidewinder and we adults spent some time chatting and relaxing in the beautiful water.
When it was time to head home, we said goodbye to the Eastwoods and motored back to the house. We had a nice family dinner planned for the evening and we hoped to catch some fireworks on the water later that night. Not to be forgotten in all the activity of the day was that July 4th was Cayenne’s 7th birthday. While she didn’t have her traditional breakfast of pancakes with chicken jerky and present opening, she had a fun day with the family and her fur buddies, Maggie and Cleo. It’s hard to believe we’ve had her for seven years. In some ways it seems like just yesterday when we picked her up at the airport, but in other ways it seems like she’s always been a part of our family, and I can’t imagine us without her.
So, after a delicious dinner, those that wanted to watch fireworks out on the boat got to see a great display from the water. The sky was clear and the moon was bright - making for a beautiful backdrop for the fireworks. Days like these, or when we are out hiking or biking, often make me forget about COVID, and they’re the best days just watching my family and friends enjoy some of happiness that life has to offer.
