4th of July Weekend

We headed up to the mountain house for the weekend of the 4th.  We got up there around 6:15 PM (it's about a 2-1/2 hour drive without traffic) and got to see my folks, my sister, brother, sister-in-law, and nieces.  We had a great weekend, and I'll recap it below.  Lots of rain, a couple of late nights, but lots of fun!

Saturday, the weather was so on and off.  It would rain for 10 minutes, then be cloudy/somewhat sunny for about 30 minutes.  Back and forth, back and forth.  The girls got in some lake time, but by the time Parker woke up from his nap to go down, it was raining again.  We were able to do the golf cart parade, and then the annual picnic/square dance that night.  Fireworks for the colony were cancelled, but individuals did some, so we got to see some fireworks.  I was afraid we'd go all week without seeing them, thanks to all the rain!

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

P meeting his new friend, Audrey.

Getting ready for the golf cart parade.

Mid-ride selfie.

Check out the competition.  Just kidding.  We all win.  USA!  USA!

Madeline holding her little guy.

Facepainting.

BBQ picnic.

Sydney didn't like the fireworks at first...

...but got over that pretty quickly.

Sunday, Stephen and I went for an early run, and get this folks... we ran 5 miles!!!  I haven't run that far since before any babies!  I was so proud of myself.  I definitely needed the motivation of my very in-shape hubby to push me to run through the muggy, hilly mountains.  Grandmom and Deedad watched the kiddos for us, which was very much appreciated.  We went to chapel and then had Olivia's 5th birthday party!  We ate lunch and then had cake and opened presents.  Hard to believe Olivia is 5!  Then, we packed the car up and were on our way back home...



Silly Taylor.

Memorial Day Weekend

Friday was a good day... last day of school!  WOOHOO!  What a good feeling!  And where better a place to decompress than the peaceful mountains?  That's right, we headed up Saturday morning to the mountain house. 

My favorite view.

The weekend was a ton of fun... the weather was perfect during the day, though a little chilly in the morning and at night!  Actually, really chilly now that I'm thinking more about it.

I must admit that I had headaches and slept a lot... it was nice to be able to do that (thanks, fam, for taking care of my kids!).  There is some serious decompression that has occurred for me in the past few days after ending work! 

Anyways, the kids had a good time playing in the lake.  The water was freezing, but the kids played in the little baby area.  We had the annual picnic/square dance Saturday evening, which was fun.  The kids stayed up way too late, and Sydney had her first official spend-the-night at her cousins' house.  She slept in until 9:15 the next morning!

Parker's first squaredance!

Sydney dancing with Camilla.

Off to the sleepover!

Sunday, the fam went to church (I woke up feeling sick, maybe a mini-migraine) so I slept until noon myself.  (I'm telling you- I was lazy, lazy, lazy!).  Then, we hit the lake again.  Stephen and the guys went to play golf, and Sydney found herself a couple of cute teenage brothers to hang onto.  Literally.

Sydney and Jamie.

Getting love from Allen.

That night, we went to the clubhouse to hear a country singer perform.  Apparently, this guy used to have a record contract and was on the radio (Jameson Clark?) but I had never heard of him.  Anyways, his mom has a house in the colony and she asked him to perform.  It was fun!  Sydney slept over at Madeline and Kerrigan's again that night. 

Sweet sisters.

Parker's first concert.

Monday morning, I felt better and attempted a jog.  We packed up, ate breakfast at Cendy's, and headed home.  Besides the speeding ticket I got on the way home (grr!), it was a wonderful, relaxing trip.  Can't wait to do it again!

Beautiful site on my jog!

Sydney chowing down.

Parker and Uncle Mashoo.