He rented several buildings to accommodate the slew of us at the Pine and Birch Ranch near Wakefield in the province of Quebec.
 |
| The Ranch House. |
 |
| The Cottage |
All of us !
Some family members were there for the entire week, while others were just there for a few days, so occasionally there were only 16 or 17 of us.
We were free to do what we wanted. And we wanted to do lots of different stuff.
 |
We broke off into different groups for different outings,
treasuring the special moments when we re-connected with each other.
Sometimes we hung out at the private little lake:
sunbathing, or swimming,
or fishing,
or just chatting while we soaked up the sun.
goats to visit,
and chickens with whom to share our compost scraps.
and took turns fixing dinner and cleaning up afterwards,
The Ranch House porch was the centre of many lovely family times together, talking,
laughing, and thanks to Keith and his ever-present guitar, sometimes singing.
Time with those you love.
Looks like a wonderful time! Love the group shot - one you will surely come to treasure.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I treasure it already.
Deletethis is the sweetest, Sybil. I can feel the fun in your reunion. Thinking about how family can bring up the best and worst in us at times. Hope this was all the best.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best. And there was more.
DeleteJust stopping back to see if you've written anything lately. OK, I'll wait until after your time with the cousins, but only until then. *grin*
Deleteoh, oh ...
DeleteWonderful post about wonderful moments with your loved ones. Wasn't it a great and generous idea to bring you all together ? Thank you so much for these fun and sweet pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you. The first time he brought us all together was to go on a CRUISE right after mom died in 2007. An amazing brother.
DeleteWhat a fabulous idea this was. Darrell's creativity obviously doesn't stop at gardening, this is such a great idea, a way to spend time together yet still having the opportunity to explore in separate groups. The perfect family reunion. Thank you for sharing some magical moments with us. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteIt was wonderful.
You obviously had a great time, Sybil. Reunions can be fun - depending on the family. My husband would think it was the 'holiday from hell'. He prefers small groups of good friends. That looks like a really nice place to stay, with lots to do - and the weather was good to you! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackie, when large groups get together it's not always a bed of roses, hence the desire to break into small groups. ;-)
DeleteIt was a great location and I loved all the critters.
The terrific weather was a real bonus.
Wow! You make it look idyllic! I've always been intimidated by large families. They so rarely get along well, it looks like yours is one of the exceptions. Looks like a lovely place to get together and remember old times while making new memories.
ReplyDeleteYes, I did MAKE it look idyllic. It wasn't always. Humans are all so different and trying to maneuver the logistics of meals and close interaction can be a prickly affair. But the prickles were the cost of the good times. And it's funny ... while at the time the prickles seemed to be the big thing, in hind sight, the good times were.
DeleteHow nice of your brother to arrange such a fun family reunion! When I think of feeding all those people for a week I think of how difficult it would be to do for our families with all their various finicky eating habits...
ReplyDeleteHe's awesome Barbara. The food worked out really well. Always lots of choices and everything was yummy. Even better coz someone else usually fixed it.
DeleteDoes your brother need an additional sister? Because if he does, I need a brother like him. Those photos are unbelievable. Soooo many relatives. It looks like fun….and I love the pictures of his intensive gardening at his house too.
ReplyDeleteHe's the best brother ever. Lots of relatives. We'd bread off into different groups and have different outings. It wasn't always the whole bunch of us together. THAT would have been overwhelming.
Delete