Hawkins Reunion Craziness!!

What's this, what's this, another family reunion (one week after our Gieser get-together)! And a Hawkins family reunion?! Yes, it's true! The Hawkins family finally agreed on and planned a reunion of all five siblings and cousins (and the patriarch and matriarch, of course) - our first reunion ever. That's 12 adults and 12 children, as of 2014. I could almost stop right there with the description because it already sounds so impressive, doesn't it? We even had matching t-shirts. More on that to come.

We gathered in Sylva, NC at the Woody home (sister in-law Hannah's parents' place, and the location of Matt and Hannah's wedding exactly 9 years ago), an 1880s farmhouse in the Appalachian mountains. It turned out to be a terrific home for all of us - bedrooms and bathrooms galore, and tons of outdoor space to explore and play: kickball & baseball, bicycles & scooters, swings, a hippo sculpture to climb on, firepit, spooky ancient basement/cellar to explore, garden with abundant squash and tomatoes, an incredible Fisher-Price town collection, and board games. (It helps that the Woodys have 11 grandchildren of their own so they had plenty of toys and games to keep the kids happy!). We were close by to numerous rivers and natural parks, so there were also some fun times exploring the mountains.

We Giesers flew to Durham a day ahead, and then helped Grandpa and Jaja pack up the cars with foodstuffs and drove out together to Sylva, where we met up with the rest of the family.

Front of the house, and the beginnings of a first baseball game (Lillian at bat and Grandpa catching)

Back of the house, taken from the vegetable garden

Uncle Matt and Mattias - I just love their expressions!!

first dinner - Timo and Adella (4 months older) had their own special table

The morning of our first full day together, a big group went to the Smoky Mountain visitor center and did a hike along the river. Here's Grandpa with his 3 granddaughters. This photo makes me miss Gemma so much. She would have been the second oldest at 4 1/2 years, and what boisterousness might she have contributed!

That afternoon/evening we went to a public park along a river for wading, tubing, and a picnic supper. So fun! The water was cold at first but none of the kids minded, so eventually we adults warmed up to. The tubing was gentle and a short ride, great for kids. 

Timo was very focused on carrying and throwing rocks

Jaja and Adah Joy, age 3 1/2

Grandpa and Daniel, age 4 1/2

Phillip, oldest grandson, age almost-8

Mattias was genuinely really excited to get in the water and splash and grab rocks. It was a workout holding onto him!

this little guy (Abram, 10 months) was happily occupied while we ate our picnic