Hi Jon,
We had a wonderful time at your great place! The boys (really men) loved the pool table the most, used the hot tub, and set up three hammocks in the back yard. Our 3 daughters (all 1st or 2nd grade teachers) worked on a school project for all of their classrooms at the table in the back yard. The bedrooms upstairs were great for so many people, and our master bedroom was perfect, lovely and roomy, the bathroom as well. We all loved the fantastic kitchen, with everything we could possibly need provided, and having so many dishes, glasses, and utensils was fantastic!. Unfortunately, we didn't notice the second refrigerator in the garage until we had only one day left - we wouldn't have had such a crowded refrigerator if we had been more observant. Also, we should've announced that there was an air hockey game in the garage because one of the girls really loves that game.
We loved the huge dining room table, where almost everyone could sit at one time, and had a lot of gatherings in the big couch/coffee table area. We used the fire pit, too, had a guitar player and violinist/fiddler (Virginia's husband) in our group. We loved all the trees and shrubs in the back yard, wish our back yard had trees so close to the house. We did mistakenly take three of your books from upstairs to Virginia's house, thinking they were hers, but she said she'd take them over to your place. We did all take our shoes off in the laundry room for the whole week, which I've tried to get my husband to do for years in our home.
Virginia and her husband, Ben, really spoiled us, making the week the vacation of a lifetime for the young people. He has kayaks, and they borrowed one, and a canoe, for a total of 7 of us able to ride at one time (and a truck to be able to transport them) and we rented two wave runners and two stand-up paddle boards. Unfortunately, his speed-boat broke down in the first ten minutes and wasn't able to be used again. Ben also has five mountain bikes, so they were used a lot, and a big shade tent that most of us fit under at the lake, as well as some chairs to use. Many hikes were taken by some of us, too, some led by Virginia and some not. They fed us, too, the first and last nights, so we were very fortunate (and smart) to go to where they live for our family reunion.
Anyway, this was the best family gathering we have ever done, will never forget the fun we had in your home and in the area, and just wanted to say a big THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Coreen and Bill