Chapter 53: The Great Outdoors

Following Tachi's death, the twins seemed to grow up overnight and gained the confidence to propose to their girlfriends over the next week. Both couples eloped much to the relief of Dani. I say "relief" because she was still in mourning and didn't feel like throwing a wedding so soon.

Nade had her baby, too. A little girl named Natsuki! The start of Gen 8! Lilian and Roxanne stopped by later to announce they were both pregnant! How coincidental!

Tachi showed up as a ghost a few days later and helped out with his newest granddaughter. It's nice that relationships stay intact after death. It makes it less sad that they missed out on meeting that special someone...

Shortly after, Nade found out she was pregnant again.

"Where'd that confetti come from?"

Nade had noticed Dani was still feeling pretty down so she tried to talk to her. Dani confided that she was getting pretty old and wouldn't live forever. This made Nade worry. She knew that her mom loved the outdoors and, during a bit of cloud watching, she had the great idea to take the family camping!

Dani, Maddox, Kyo, Lilian, Kin, Roxanne, Ren, and Nade all took a trip to Granite Falls. (So many people, phew!)

Maybe Nade should have rethought this, seeing as they had three pregnant ladies on the trip and an elderly woman near the end of her life... STILL, she wanted the family to have this time together. Auntie Aya came home for a visit and said she'd watch baby Natsuki for a couple days.

(The water at the Hippie House must have magical qualities because Aya hasn't aged at all! It's like she's been a young adult forever!)

Ren, being the youngest on the trip (besides his unborn nieces or nephews), took to entertaining himself best he knew how. 

Teenagers...

Nade sent Maddox on an errand to find some cool things for the cabin they were staying at. A card table, chairs, a lamp, and a cooler. His arms were pretty tired on his journey back...

After dropping everything off inside, he went to his room to change out of his suit. However, he heard someone in his bathroom and went to investigate. It was Roxanne and she wasn't feeling too hot. She assured him that she would be fine. It wasn't like the baby would come that night...

After the family had enjoyed their dinner, it was time for a fun game of horseshoes!

Ren felt like telling a dramatic story...

...and it fell flat...

They did so much on that first day that no one had any trouble falling asleep.



The next morning, Dani awoke early to take a hike in the forest.

She was perfectly content to be by herself and take in nature.

Ren, likewise, went out to try his hand at fishing (he was not very successful).

Later, when Dani returned from her hike, she noticed Roxanne wasn't feeling her best...

...nor Lillian.

The twins quickly rushed their wives to the hospital. It seemed fitting that they would have their kids at the same time. With that little setback, the rest of them decided to head home as well. It wouldn't be long before Nade would have her second child...