We're Baaaaaaaack!!!

Hi Everybody! Didja miss us? We missed all of you and I had so much to say that it would have taken me forever to type it all out again, so instead, I'm posting most of the letter to my Mom that I wrote yesterday. Hope you don't mind. Most of the folks here who know us well know what we're talking about. If something is really unclear, just ask and I'll explain. Also, here's the link to the fest site www.cornerstonefestival.com.

We just got back on Monday night. We were able to stay out there for more than
a week longer than we first thought. We had a lot of work that we wanted to
do and it was taking longer than we thought. We've got the bathroom
completely redone. We tore out the old sink vanity and were going to put in
a new one and see about running the sink drain and the tub to a grey line in
the bushes rather than filling up the septic tank with it. We ended up
deciding to redo the whole floor because it was going to be too uneven for
the linoleum, so the next thing we knew, the toilet was out in the front
yard, and the tub was on blocks (literally!). It looked like the tub wasn't
really being held up by much of anything. When Eric cut the drain pipe to
re-route it, he realized that it was loose and leaking, so he should replace
it altogether. Unfortunately, it was rusted so badly that we couldn't get it
out. After several trips to Ace Hardware, he ended up cutting it out with a
sawsall! (Eek!) That's when the tub fell - it looked like it was being held
up by the drain pipe itself! Then finding a drain that fit on the tub and
worked took a few more trips to Ace. Eric reworked all the piping, cut a
floor with an access panel to the plumbing, and I did the linoleum with
scraps from when we did the kitchen. Eric reset the toilet and I repainted.
We've got a pretty nice looking bathroom now. Eric also leveled the trailer
and the tub doesn't have a big puddle in the back anymore. We were pretty
nervous about doing it, but it turned out alright. There were a couple of
doors that weren't closing right, but they were doors that we had "fixed" to
work with the unlevel trailer, and it wasn't much to fix them. We're able to
close the outside door in the kids room now, which we hadn't been able to do
for a while without trouble. We were nervous about the connection between
the trailer and the addition because we suspect that the addition was built
onto an unlevel trailer (long before we owned the property). There was a gap
on the floor between the two, but nothing that some great stuff and trim
can't fix. We did the great stuff, but trim is too expensive out there, so
we're going to buy it here and bring it out at some point. Eric skirted the
trailer, and even got a hydrant put in so all we have to do now is wrap heat
tape and insulate it, and we'll be able to have water when we go down in the
winter. Eric put a couple of release valves in the new piping to make it
that much easier to winterize it. I painted the kitchen cabinets and I have
paint to do the rest of the kitchen walls and the walls on the inside of the
trailer where our bed is. We bought a swingset with our money from the
festival, but we didn't have time to put it up yet. We're going to research
the best way to anchor them and do it next time we go down.

The festival was great. One of the nicest years I've ever had. We didn't
have tons of people (I haven't heard an official count, but I think it was
close to 15,000). We had some new rules concerning golf carts because last
year was so crazy. People had to be 25 or older to drive unless they were
staff or had a special permit (that we gave out). There were hardly any
problems with the golf carts this year because of it. I worked in the
communications office this year. It was nice to have a job! The kids went
into daycare and they loved it. The daycare has a big tent that's fenced in
with all sorts of fun things to do - painting, crafts, a pool. little jungle
gym with a slide, and they fed the kids lunch and snacks every day. They
were also right by the Creation Station tent, so the kids could go to the
shows. I took Kolya out early one day and took her to Artrageous and she got
to make a couple of "creatures" out of clay and odds and ends. There was
also a "paint your own face" booth and Kolya had a great time painting her
face! She tried climbing the giant climbing rock (they get hooked up with a
harness just like in rock climbing). She got her feet about as high as my
head and then got scared and came down. Both the kids loved seeing Eric play
with the Crossing. This was Drexel's first time seeing Eric play. He seemed
a little surprised to see Daddy on stage, but he really enjoyed it.

We ended up fixing up the shed so we could sleep in it and didn't have to
sleep in tents. I was really hoping it would work out, because I spent one
night in a tent in the yard with Kolya and thought the weather was great, it
was no fun waking with the sun. (it came up around 5:00am). Eric and I had
an air mattresson the floor, Kolya was up in the storage loft and Drexel was
in a Pack and Play right next to us. We brought the TV and VCR out in the
shed with us and hooked up an air conditioner, and we were quite
comfortable! I think that will be our setup for the next few years as long
as the Perkins' stay in our trailer. We had a great visit with them. Vera
Mae has missed the fest occasionally in the past, and we were thrilled that
she was going to make it this year. We always invite her to come out with
John. We had heard this year that Vera Mae put in the contract that she
wasn't going to come out with John unless they got to stay in the trailer
I got a little worried, because this is the first year that we'd been out
with both kids, and I hoped that they didn't feel bad about us moving out
for them, but we were able to tell them what an honor it is for us to be
able to "host" them every year, and that we look forward to them enjoying
our yearly improvements. They raved about how nice the trailer has become
over the last several years. Still, I got the idea that they were feeling
bad (it rained one night, and though we did fine - that shed is GREAT! - I
think they were worrying about us). Before they left, I pulled her aside and
told her that she'd made a lot of comments that made me worry that they were
feeling bad, and reassured her that we were glad to move out for them (for
3-4 nights for goodness sakes!) and that if I heard they weren't staying
there next year, I was going to be personally offended. She left us a sweet
note thanking us, and said, "See you at Cornerstone '05!" We even got to
talk to John about the Lemon family, and he gave us some good ideas. He was
concerned that the family wasn't plugging in with one specific church, but
rather spreading out too much, and that for them to really get the care that
they need, they need to get fully involved with one main group. He had some
really good points.

We got to see so many animals out there this year. Kolya and I went down
to the bass pond and caught a few frogs, and little fish and put them in our
little aquarium. We saw woodchucks, chipmunks, LOTS of bunnies, even a few
skunks (a first for me on the property -I knew they were there, but had
never seen them). We've heard that there are a lot more of the "critters"
because so many of the hawks have died from West Nile virus. On a trip to
the dump, we noticed orange fish in the frog pond. We realized that someone
had stocked it with GOLDFISH! The next night, we went out on the canoe and
Kolya's little net, and I caught one to bring home. It's too big for Dubby's
bowl, so we'll have to find something else, but it's really neat to say we
got our goldfish in Bushnell! And how could I forget! Some friends found
baby possums under their trailer after the mother had died. They were taking
care of them and then passing them on to someone else in the area who could
keep them until they were old enough to release. We got a picture of Kolya
holding one. They were really cute. Mark Hall (he's in the Crossing with
Eric) was the one taking care of them, and they became very attached to him.
They would make a little barking sound if he put them down until he picked
them up again.

It's good to be home again. We really enjoyed our time in Bushnell (thought
we worked like dogs!) but we really started to miss everyone. The kids have
had a blast today rediscovering all their toys that they haven't played with
in a month.

 

and part of a second email to her is fun and informative


Don't worry, that wasn't vacation. We did all that now so that we can really relax in September when we go down for a REAL 2 week vacation. Yep, the tub is cast iron. Thankfully, it only fell on one side, and we were able to lift it up and put a 2x4 under it so we could do the work. It was quite a sight with Eric and I both cramped in that bathroom with our arms under the tub getting that darn drain hooked up! Yep, there's an Ace in downtown Bushnell. We were regular customers for a couple of weeks. Poor Eric's hands are so sore from all the work he did. Jacking up the trailer to level it was a major ordeal, and he's not really recovered from it yet. His hands go numb here and there for the last few days. He's trying to take it easy now, taking Tylenol and hopefully it won't be a problem. He worked so hard. Even up to the last day, he went and got gravel in the golf cart (it was a utility cart with a bed on the back) He and Drexel went and shoveled gravel in the back of the cart and then spread it around the new skirting and the shed. Drexel has a little shovel like our big one, and he was watching Eric's every move, doing everything like Daddy. He's going to be a good worker.

I'll attach a couple of pictures of the kids for you. I brought the camera just so I could get Kolya painting her face. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but it was just hard to carry one more thing around with the kids. I'm amazed that Drexel didn't get lost or wander off during the fest. He developed a real obsession with the vehicles there on the property. He kept climbing into cars and trucks and golf carts before the festival. Thankfully, at that point it was all people that we knew. I didn't know how we were going to keep track of him with 15,000 people around and thousands of vehicles. He did really well, and we kept an extra close eye on him. He was in his glory though. Eric Bixler came out to help out with the fest, and every few nights, he would stop by our place and give the kids a ride on the 4 wheeler around the loop behind our place. He was a regular celebrity around our place! Drexel even conned Pegge Taylor to take him for an hour while she ran errands. She came by to ask me a question, and Drexel asked her if he could go "bye-bye" in the car with her. She said he had a blast just visiting with her and chatting about cars and trucks and golf carts. I think it was nice for him to have a special outing while Kolya stayed home.

John didn't have much to say to us about the Jesse Jackson thing, but we gave him copies of the articles (and specifically the one that talks about the broken promises) and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a few phone calls when he gets home. They asked us for our email address to keep in touch throughout the year. Maybe we'll hear something.

I was thinking about those skunks at Naragansett Bay one evening when I came across a skunk. I was on the golf cart by myself and slowly rode up parallel to it. It stopped and looked at me. When I moved again, it turned around and lifted it's tail at me. I got the idea that it wasn't really going to spray, but that it was giving me a real warning. Then we both beat it out of there in opposite directions. I heard that there was a mama skunk and 6-7 babies walking around the week before the fest, but I never saw it.


Here's our chiminea that we have on our little deck. Believe it or not, it was COLD down there at the end of June!

 

I'll read your posts in the morning, am going to catch up some sleep I've been seriously missing

in the mean time, it's good to see you two are back and had a good time (concluded from the first 3 sentences I read).
Hope everything's gone ok and that everything will continue to go that way

Now I'm off to bed, g'night & WELCOME BACK!

 

Sorry 'bout that, I know it's a book! I've got a whole month's worth of chatting to catch up on though!



Eric played with the Crossing. It was the first time I got to see him play with the Crossing at the festival and it was a really special show for me. It was actually at a Crossing show back in '93 that "it all started" . Eric's band, Poorhouse had just played and the Crossing was next. Eric came out in the audience to watch the show and ended up sitting right next to me. We were friends, but at that point, it was obvious that there were stronger feelings there. We started dating a couple months later

 

Here's Kolya's face painting. I saw a Mom there who was brave enough to let her daughter paint her face. I wasn't quite that brave

 

Welcome back Cindy!!!

 

That was a great post Cindy. So glad everything went smoothly this year. I remember last year's drowning, and said a few prayers that this year would be problem-free. Sounds like a great trip.

Drexel seeing Daddy on stage for the first time... that must have been sweet.

Seeing them in Jackson is a memory I'll keep around too.

Eric's hands should be OK. One summer I worked on a construction crew, spending time on jackhammers, chipping hammers and other things tough on the hands. My hands started going numb from time to time too, but it quit soon after I did.

 

Snoops @ Eric!!! Great to hear from ya again!!! The coffee is delicious, and the cards are too!!! Thanks again,, that was really good of the both of you.

 

Ah yes, it's good to be back! Cindy really did write a book there, didn't she!

Yes, GT, thanks for the prayers, the festival was VERY VERY calm this year, very few incidents, injuries, etc. I absolutely loved it. Sometimes the crazy years make for some good stories, but last year was just a bit TOO crazy, and it was a welcome calm this year.

It's gonna take me some time to get back in the groove again, hadn't seen a baseball game in a month (watched the Cubs lose to the Cards after leading 8-2) and I need to email and call my family. Small towns are great for a while, but then it's good to come back to the big city again.

So, can we twist Star's arm to get him to come back, or is it hopeless? My my, we leave, and the whole place falls apart!!

Gotta go wreck, er, tweak someones computer, and then I have a birthday party to go to. I'll be checking back in later! It's sure good to be back! We missed everyone here!!

Eric

 

You're not supposed to eat the cards, ya dope!!

 

Welcome Back!

 

But,,, they looked so good!!

 

Well, I have to be honest here....I didn't know WHERE you guys were!

I took a few weeks hiatus, came back, and the place was full of new people I had never spoke to before. Since then I just kinda stopped in and made a little small talk here and there.

Anyway, it's great to see you guys back! Now, I have to go and read that novel that cindy wrote.

 

Glad to see you back Eric & Cindy. Don't ever stay away so long again.

 

Glad to see you both

 

Alright, I'm back! Time for some more pictures. Thought this one was adorable. The drink was bigger than Drexel!

 

And nothing melts my heart like when my kids get along and share with eachother

 

Wow! And Drexel's body language says MINE!

 

My two guys! Aren't they just so handsome!

 

You got it! He didn't want to let go of that thing. Lemon/Strawberry Shakeup - We get 'em every year at the fest from the same booth.

We had a great little pool that takes forever to inflate. This year I had some help.

 

All in all, it was a good time down there. Eric and I worked hard, but we made it fun. I made homemade ice cream a lot, we watched some movies in the evenings, and got all the work done that we would have had to do on our vacation. The kids though... they just kicked back and enjoyed themselves.

 

So I've got to get used to picturing Eric with a beard again, huh? I had an accident with a mustache trimmer recently, and have a bare upper lip for the first time in about 20 some-odd years. LOL Trading places.

Your kids remind me of my sister and I at that age. We were inseperable. During the teenage years, we did become separable, but got over it by adulthood and are close again. Cherish the closeness while it's there; it will likely fade somewhat through the turbulent teens... but there's nothing like good shared memories to keep the core feelings strong.

 

Hey! great to see you both back!

Talk to you both soon!

 

It's nice to see some familiar and friendly faces...sounds you've been busy cindy....glad you're back...

 

Welcome back Cindy and Eric!!!

 

Welcome back you guys!! it definately sounds like you had quite the trip! looking forward to your light-hearted and jovial posts!

 

So tell me already!! How was Skillet's performance?!? I don't listen to too awful much of Christian music, but I absolutely loved their music as well as Toby Mac's stuff.

 

Not for long! He just got lazy over the festival. I trimmed his hair for him right before we came home, but he still needs to shave the beard. To this day, I've never seen Eric's upper lip. He's always had at least a mustache. I can't imagine you without the mustache.

I hope that the kids stay close like this. There's a bit of bickering, and I've really started to see a mischevious side of Drexel (of course, Kolya has always had one!).

 

Cindy,

Here's a link to GT's before and after shots

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=36586

 

Most before/after shots in the commercials look a LOT better in the "after" shots. Not the case with me.

 

pppffffftt Let the women decide that

 

Ooh my gawd... HELLO CINDY AND ERIC!!

 

Hey snoop! Just stumbled over this and was reminded of Dubby's goldfish bowl & your new fish....

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/barryd/

 

Thanks everyone for all the warm welcome backs! I still can't believe that I went a whole month without the computer and only had a couple of "cravings".


As far as Skillet goes, I didn't get to see their show. It's tough to keep the kids both up late enough to get to the mainstage concerts, and then march them across the property back to our trailer when they're that cranky. We got to see Eric play in the Crossing, and Eric and I got someone to watch the kids for us while we went to see Steven Delopolous. He was in Burlap to Cashmere, and now is doing solo stuff. He was great. Really nice guy too. We got to talk with him afterwards and he gave Eric his email address. That was about it for concerts for me. I did get to HEAR Skillet though and they sounded great. We can usually hear Mainstage from our place (the lake helps the sound to travel) and it sounded like they had a great crowd as well. P.O.D. was the big band that we had this year. We had them last year as well. They're great guys, but I hear that their management are bears. Unfortunately, I was wiped out that night and fell asleep before they played.

 

That's great! We did get a really nice tank for Dubby the 4th (or 5th?). Another of the cool things of living like we do. I sent out a mass email over our home network asking if anyone had a tank they could spare, and our neighbor down the hall gave us a beautiful 4 gallon tank with everything. It's got a nice green light above it that gives the tank a lovely glow and really brings out Dubby's orange Just in time too. The other night I woke up to a slapping sound and realized that Dubby had attempted suicide. She/he seems much happier now. I was really hoping that we'd be able to find some tadpoles. I really thought the kids would get a kick out of watching them change. I just couldn't find any though. There are tons of frogs in the different ponds on the property, and we caught tons of them along with a few minnows, even a tiny bluegill, but no tadpoles. I wonder if there is a season that I missed or something. I thought I remembered catching some for a friend's daughter one year right after the fest without any problem... oh well, one of these days... We did catch a frog that still hadn't lost his tail completely and got to show Kolya that. She thought it was hilarious! She's got such a great sense of humor with things. We watched Bambi for the first time and she was asking why the man was trying to shoot the deer. I told her that people shoot deer to eat them. I also added (tactfully) that they taste good. She immediately wanted to go out and get some deer meat so she could eat some venison while watching Bambi! That's my girl!!


Oh, and speaking of fish... Hi Goldy! Hi Mushy!

 

Welcome back Cindy and Eric. Looks like you had a very productive time.

I hate those inflatable pools, once pumped up they invariably get a puncture rendering them useless. Nevertheless they are great fun for the kids.

 

We had some really great luck with this one. This is the 3rd year we've had it, and the slide finally sprung a leak on a seam (too hard to repair) the day before we were coming home. We were fortunate to acquire a nice inflatable pool that someone had abandoned after the festival, so the kids are set for next year. We always get some great stuff "scrounging" after the fest. I've got tons of nice towels in my trailer that people left hanging on the line and either forgot or they were too wet to pack up and bring home. We got a Brita pitcher (we had been talking about buying one to leave at the trailer rather than bringing ours back and forth!), an electric crock pot, bunch of pool toys. A few of the folks camping around us that we'd met dropped off their leftover food for us, too.


Oh, and GT, I say scrap the mustache. At least until your hair starts going gray as well. It does make you look younger. (and this coming from someone who generally prefers facial hair)