Nun or Baby

Yesterday my fiance and I joined my parents, sister, and cousin on a trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for my uncle's wedding reception.

The day started early but we didn't get to Minnesota early. None of us are sure why the trip took so ridiculously long, but we'll all agree on the fact that we had a good time in that mini-van. The "Would You Rather" game was our entertainment of choice. Several from the painful category included: "Would you rather get punched in the mouth or kicked in the groin?" and "Would you rather die by getting hit by a train or not having your parachute open while skydiving?" In the serious category we had: "Would you rather kill both your parents or one of your children," and "Would you rather be 5 again with your whole life in front of you or 65 and retired but closer to death?" And the winner of the most laughs goes to "Would you rather trip a nun or push a baby?"

Once we arrived at my uncle's house on the lake , the fun continued. Hours were spent playing "boys versus girls" volleyball . The boys won every time, despite the fact that the girls always had three or four more players. Could it have been the fact that half of the girl team was slightly intoxicated and all the boys were sober? Perhaps there is a correlation. Others played bocce ball - one team not following any rules other than throwing the balls and another team getting so involved that they had the measuring tape out. The second group included my dad, of course ("The measuring tape doesn't lie!"). There was the usual eating of too much food (done at every family function), complaining about having pictures taken, and visiting about the past few months since our last gathering. Young and old took advantage of the beautiful day by playing and swimming in the lake. The scenery was gorgeous and the water was the perfect temperature - especially for breeding leeches. It's a good thing my cousin was drunk, otherwise I think she would have been a little more upset about having to get one pulled off her leg! The night ended with a fireworks display in honor of the newlyweds and a bonfire with a giant container of cheese balls.

Today was kind of quiet, with everyone recovering from the night before and preparing for the long drives ahead. Our trip back home felt just as long, if not longer, and wasn't nearly as much fun. The flat tire we got wasn't quite as humorous as deciding whether to trip a nun or push a baby. The hour spent in Tires Plus wasn't awful, though. My sister brought in her yarn and knitted while she talked to our mom about the clothes she'd like to make, my fiance read through Maxim and found out what to say when a girl asks if she's fat, and my dad got to see his favorite part of a movie on TV.

Throughout the weekend, I played the part of family photographer. I can't begin to express how wonderful it is to have captured this time in our lives on "film." My family is amazing and I'm very lucky to have them. There's definitely no other lens through which I'd rather be looking.