Stories of life on our farm in Northwest Georgia where every day is an adventure in this beautiful spot that God has entrusted to our stewardship.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Helping Me Over the Hill

As I mentioned back in June, the month of July was scheduled for a big family get-together.  It ended up being a month-long celebration to help me "over the hill" for the Big 6-0.  My two sisters, Barbara and Karen, arrived July 1 to kick things off.

Of course visiting me means hanging out with my Dexters.  Barbara has met them before, but it was Karen's first time here on Zephyr Hill Farm, so she had to meet the whole crew.  Here she is petting her first cow, Ebby.
Barbara discovered that when there aren't enough barn boots to go around, cowboy boots work fine for mud, too.
We did some civilized, "girly" things, too, like antiquing--an especially appropriate activity for an old-timer like me!
The last time the three of us were together was five years ago, so this was a special time for us all.  Someone has to be the oldest and hit 60 first, so it might as well be me.  As I like to remind my sisters and my kids, "If I can't be a good example, I'll just have to serve as a horrible warning."

Sadly, the girls had to leave before my actual birthday, but others came to take their place . . .




We celebrated that night at my favorite restaurant with all of us locals: Jim, Monique, Herb, me, Katie (who came in from Houston), and Kara.

Before Katie headed back to Houston, we modeled our new Billy Bob teeth.  What can I say?  It's a family tradition!  She also took me shopping while she was here, so now I actually clean up nice.

Kara had spent weeks planning a special birthday menu that spanned much of July.  Since we love ethnic food, she cooked up an Around the World Food Tour of places we've visited and cuisines we enjoy, including German, African, Persian, Egyptian, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Mexican.

This was the twelve-course Persian meal she prepared one night with a little help from her Minions.
Jim and Monique brought the grandkids for a weekend, and they kept me young at heart.

Jenny and Jean-Marc came down from Ohio to join the local yokels, and we all got our own pair of teeth for some family photo fun.

Misty had to get in on the act, too, and the kids couldn't bear to take out their teeth, so the "serious" photo was only about as serious as it ever gets in this clan.  Fun times to remember, though!

When everyone else had to go home, Jenny and Jean-Marc stayed on.  They were able to use up some leave and get some rest before heading to their new base.

About the time Jenny and Jean-Marc left, Barbara came back with the rest of her family for another week of fun and laughter, like enjoying my youngest nephew's attempt to walk on water.  (Just kidding--see the swinging rope over his head?)

The month of July finally drew to an end and so, like all good things, did the longest-ever birthday bash.  After we waved goodbye to the last of the family, Herb turned to me and jokingly said, "Well, it's over.  You're not special any more."

I didn't believe him, though--I had an entire month full of lovely memories to remind me otherwise.


6 comments:

  1. Happy Belated Birthday, Susan. Wow, it looks like you had a wonderful month celebrating with family and friends. I bet you enjoyed every minute of it! I just returned from a visit with my family and it was way too short! Very busy visit, but fun to get to see them. We are heading to Texas next week for a few days with my husbands family. This is our month of weddings! :) I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and that all is well on the farm. --Janell

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Janell. I'm honored that you stopped by in the midst of your busy summer! I hope you have more wonderful family visits and weddings and that it's not too hot in Texas. I'll be posting a farm update soon. :)

      Delete
  2. A month-long celebration? Wow. Happy birthday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Brent! I hope things are going well for you guys--haven't heard anything in a while. I trust you're just busy, but good busy.

      Delete
  3. Happy birthday Susan, looks like you had a great time and had a lot of good things to eat. I can't get over how much you and your one sister look so much alike.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the birthday wishes, Gordon! There's a funny story about us looking alike. She came to the same college I went to, a year later. After she got there, one day a guy said, "Hi, Barbara" to me. I told him, "I'm not Barbara, I'm Susan." "Well," he said, "some people call you Barbara and some call you Susan." "No," I told him, "Barbara is my sister; I'm Susan." He would absolutely NOT believe that we were two separate people! I still laugh about that, and it happened in the previous century!

      Delete

I LOVE comments so please take a minute and let me know you were here! Sorry I have to use Captcha, but I hope you'll comment anyway! Comments make my day! :)