Les Mis, Rabbits, and Trampolines

     When your 'metaphorical cousins' visit, there are a few things you can expect. 1: Everyone will get along splendidly and nothing horrible will happen, it will be like little angels playing together nicely. 2: It will go well, aside for the occasional tiff and a few tears. 3: You learn not to expect anything because the results vary from hugs to sprained ankles. I think we can all guess that in this case it's the third.
     The Reeves have been here for about a week now, and so far nobody has died. We moved my bed to the side and crammed two other mattresses in my room so I am currently blogging on the remaining two square feet of space. However, I feel used to this arrangement by now. The fact that our best friends are here after not seeing them for a few years outweighs that. So far, we have succeeded in reenacting Les Mis with the three of us girls, playing our own version of 'Thank God You're Here!', and chasing the bunnies around the yard quite a bit. That was an interesting day.
     Since our backyard in fenced in, we let the bunnies out of the cages and run around a bit. Now that there have been two abductions though, they all must be securely back inside before noon. This is accomplished one of two ways: chasing all ten rabbits down and carrying them back squirming, or a magic wand. Sadly, as our wands are currently out of order, we had to go with the first tactic. With rabbits, strategy is a weak word and nets are a last resort. So, for a good portion of the morning, it was Hannah, Elijah, Gabe, Michal, and I all running around the backyard chasing down the rabbits. The babies were easier, being smaller, and Eowyn liked me enough to not squirm once I did a dive over a tree stump to get to her. I suppose my humility bought her restraint. But the others refused to do so and ended up bounding all over until we cornered a few more. Still the rest cowered under their cages and Gabe had to crawl beneath them and shoo the things out wildly. By the time we came in for lunch, it probably looked like we decided to have a wrestling match in a swamp.
     We have also found that when in doubt of Caleb's whereabouts, check the kitchen. Or wherever the bread is. So far, we've found him huddled under the coffee table with some bread, on the porch with some bread, in the pantry with some bread, and under the kitchen counter with some bread. Only once or twice have we been able to recover a soggy morsel left. The stuff is under purge. However, Buster has been quite content. Caleb is recovered with a guilty expression, gluten is forcefully removed and tossed onto the floor, dog is presently devouring.
     Our trampoline has also been having its share of time. Two or three times a day we all run out and fight for the two available places to stand, all while keeping one eye on the window to make sure no prying parent is at large. Usually, there are flipping contests, or Crack-the-Egg games, or Knock-Currently-Standing-Down-So-I-Can-Finally-Stand-Up games. I call it staging a coup. Several times people have gotten thrown off by 'accident' and Gabe twisted his ankle the other day. Luckily, all attempts at a full-on body slam have been avoided. Not that I can say the same thing for the pool yesterday.
     It's been great having the Reeves here. It's been so long since I've had friends visit and not only that, but in just six days I will be IN RWANDA with them! It's crazy. And it will be predictably cold as well. Today I spent twenty consecutive minutes monologuing about the weather and happily flinging jeans and long-sleeved shirts into a suitcase.  And while I'm also excited to go there, I'm really enjoying the time here.