Families are wonderful, especially when the extended family gets together. For the Corpe family this happens once every two years in Lafayette at my aunt & uncle's home. These are not just potluck get-togethers but all out 2-day extravaganzas complete with themes, costumes, games, talent shows and prizes. There have been Hawaiian luaus, Mexican fiestas, wild west days, around-the-world festivals all with coordinating costumes and theme food.
This year the theme was "circus". We had a couple of clowns, a lion tamer and lion, a knife thrower, gypsy fortune teller, tightrope walker, mime, ice cream cone and a cotton-candy vendor that got caught in her machine and had "cotton candy" all over her (me) and what circus is complete without a lot of color? Every fingernail on each hand had a different color of polish. The weather was perfect although just a tad warm.
We played carnival games: ring toss, bean bags in the hole, toss the balls to knock cans over and even a hole in one mini golf game. We won tickets and had prize drawings. Kids and adults had their shares of trying to see how many tickets could be won. Pictures were taken and food was eaten. This family is known for its great cooks and no one was disappointed. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, smoked turkey (because this tradition started out as Thanksgiving-in-July), salads, popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, lemonade, circus cider (root beer) cookies, treats, even sawdust pudding because what circus doesn't have sawdust? In case you're wondering--sawdust pudding is one of my mother's creations: graham cracker crumbs layered with butterscotch pudding and bananas. Absolutely delicious and a family favorite. Amid all the fun was a ton of laughter and giddiness. And all this was Saturday, the first day. 34 people had a fantastic time!
Sunday was just a basic lazy day of conversation, eating leftovers and catching up on two year's worth of family news, reminiscing about people that have gone Home, silly things from our pasts, what plans we have for our futures. We are so blessed to have such a family! I can hardly wait for the next one. The theme has already been selected: Mardi Gras.
We got home Sunday evening, packed the truck and left again on Monday morning early. Such is the working person's life! Sooo, until next time . . . . . . . . . .
