The Griffith-Coyne Family Reunion

Attention: The following post has lots of pictures. :D

Last Thursday, which was July 26th, we returned from an excursion into the Harsh and Terrifying Wilderness of...North Texas. After Sondays camp (which was awesome, by the way (and yes, I am using the term as it should be)) ended the Friday previous, Mom picked us up in Stephenville and we drove a few more hours to Sherman--the town where her parents live--for the Griffith-Coyne Family Reunion. We stayed with Meme and Pappy (my grandparents) until Sunday, at which point we relocated thirty minutes northeast to my aunt's ranch outside of Denison.

But I get ahead of myself. On Saturday, Brett and Vanya took us out on Lake Texoma to wakeboard and tube. Now, this was my (and my brothers') first time to wakeboard, but we all got up fairly easily.

Clay, cruising along. He never would wipe out--each time, he
would let go of the rope and slowly sink into the water before
he had the opportunity to crash.

Gearing up!

And, there goes Ethan. He, unlike Clay, had plenty of
wipeouts. Take this one, for example:

Brett, our uncle/instructor. He taught us well!

...And then proceeded to show us how it was
really done. (He did several jumps, too, but the
only pictures I got of them are blurry.)

Then, we switched from the board to the tube.
The color is somewhat washed-out on this picture,
but my brothers' faces are pretty hilarious.

Our wonderful pilot, Vanya.

Here, we are returning to the boat ramp.
 This, as they say, is "how we roll."

Now, back to the ranch. Aunt Vanya and her husband, Brett, have two kids: Zoey, 6, and Willow, 11 months. The ranch has a pool, a pond, horses, cows, a big firepit, a separate house called "The Party Barn"--pretty much everything you might want. (Aside from surfing the internet on your smartphone. The cell coverage out there isn't the best. But that isn't that important, is it? :D)

Gracie and Zoey in the pool. I believe they were sitting on the
board in the background until Ethan (rather, a sea monster) came
up from underneath them and capsized their ship.

Gracie climbing up the waterfall, aiming for the spring
at the top.

After church on Sunday, we returned to the lake. This time, though, Vanya had a lot to get done to prepare for the reunion, so her place on the boat was filled by one of my other uncles, Jay--who, despite a recent heart attack, showed us his own skills on a wakeboard:

Ethan, tubing by himself. With Brett driving, it was a lot tougher
to stay on the tube. I went after Ethan, and the bumping was so bad that I
eventually let go because I didn't want to bite my tongue in half. (Plus, my
arms were getting really tired.)

After we finished tubing, we were able to convince Brett
to show us how to surf in Texas. So, he filled special sacks
in the boat with ~2500lbs of water to create a bigger wake.
Then he hopped in the water with his surfboard and a rope, we
pulled him up like you do a wakeboarder (except the rope was much
shorter), and, once he got his balance, he threw the rope back into
the boat.

Monday evening, Haley (Jay's daughter) took Zoey and Gracie horseback riding.

Zoey is in the back on Twister, while Haley is riding Lena
with Gracie.

Zoey and Gracie then switched mounts. Because
Twister is gentler than Lena, Gracie rode him by herself.

Gracie's silhouette 

Zoey, looking into the sun. I like this picture. :]

Clay also rode, but the light was acting up and I couldn't get a decent picture of him. :P

The next morning, Ethan, Clay and I did a few jobs around the ranch to help prepare it for those coming in the afternoon. I had to get Vanya and Ethan to help me string lights around the fire pit. During the process, I was zapped by a loose wire, and we broke a couple strands, but in the end they looked quite nice. Perseverance and teamwork pay off! 

That afternoon, the Coynes arrived on the scene. The newcomers were Patsy, my mom's aunt, her daughter Leanne, Leanne's son Kieran, Patsy's son David, his wife, Lori, and their children: Maddie, Austin and Jordan. Now, if you're thoroughly confused, have some pictures.

From left to right: Clay, Kieran, and Jordan on the paddleboat.

Zoey and Ethan, having a deep, intellectual conversation
on the dock.

Gracie! The picture was originally too dark to see her face, so I
had to lighten it a bit. The result isn't the best quality, but I
think her expression makes up for it. :D

Willow in the pool, with Vanya pushing her. Sadly, this is
the only picture I got of her face.

Meme, loading her flyswatter with bubbles to flick at us kids.

The pool seemed to never empty. 

The next day, we went on an expedition to the river. The party consisted of Vanya, Brett, David and Lori and their kids, Kieran, Hope (another one of my cousins), me, and my brothers. If you cross the river, you'll be in Oklahoma. 

For transportation, Ethan and I rode the Gator (and nearly got lost), the girls and Clay were in Vanya's pink Jeep, and the rest rode with Brett in the Polaris. 

The Jeep in question. And yes, it does have zebra-print seats.

On the way to Oklahoma!

We made it!
(From left to right: Clay, Hope, Lori, Maddie, Vanya)

While we were crossing, Brett took David, Austin and Kieran
through the Hills, a natural sort of roller-coaster.

Austin, Ethan and Kieran are covering Clay in...well, in clay. I call this one
"The Initiation of a New Member into the Brotherhood of the Painted People."

The girls coming back from their own trip to the Hills.

And, at long last, it was our turn. Gosh, it was crazy! I think we
almost died 27 times. But it was fun nonetheless. :)

When we got back, Clay had finished covering himself.
He even went so far as to do his hair.

This...is a log. But, it is a very cool log.

Now, a few final pictures to wrap things up.

David and Lori on the paddleboat

This is Emily, my mom's uncle's son's daughter.
Or something like that.

Now, I must bid you adieu to prepare for my next adventure: the Florida Sea Base. TTFN!