The Relatives Came

Anybody ever read that adorable book? We've been living that book some this past month - haha!
My brother Max, his lovely wife Anne, and their four kids have been visiting the past few days. First, it rained. But then it cleared, and we got out the sunfish for them to try. We all sat on the Wildlife Ramp dock watching them tack.

Adam had given them the usual front yard training session to get them started.

The boys are interested. "You might heel over like this," Adam says. Ha! They hope!

Ben gave it a whirl.

And Max headed out into the creek. They're all naturally athletic and did well. Wish we had more wind this week.

Dock-side commentators critique each person's skills.

Katie studies the mysteries of the tiller.

After trying out the sunfish, Hannah decided to take the dinghy out. Julia swam to her and hopped in too.

When they'd all had a turn, Adam did a little loop on the creek.

I think this is Katie.

Anna takes after her mama; she's an observer.

They played a little Clue and a little Life. Great board games. "Colonel Mustard in the Hall with the Lead Pipe!"

Oh, these two. They are peas in a pod. Not very flattering poses, and I apologize for snapping it, but they were just so cute, sitting there, barely talking but simply communing with each other because there's so much love, camaraderie, and quiet mutual understanding. (Thank you, Carolyn, for the spelling assistance!)

Yesterday was Beach Day, and we took the ferry. It was an early start and a long, fun day. Here are my two girls with Max's family. Philip had to work, unfortunately. He loves a beach day.

Max and Anne, very much in love and well-suited after all these years.

Girlies!

The girls enjoyed digging in the sand.

The boys enjoyed a soccer ball.

Sandy feet:

And someone relaxed with a little Wendell Berry.

Almost everybody attacked the water. The ocean was flat and calm, but they had fun anyway. And yes, everyone got some sunburn.

Anna is a very serious sand-digger.

Mother/daughter time

Another mother/daughter pair :)

All in all, a great day! We had lots of cloud cover, which is really nice on the beach, I think. The oppressive, blazing hot sun is hard to bear for hours. We took coolers along for making lunch and enjoyed Fort Macon's wonderful facilities and covered picnic area.

And when we got home, Adam had a delicious large salad ready for us for supper. He had a good work/study day at home too. We relaxed in the living room and watched an episode of Nero Wolfe.