A couple weekends ago we took a nice long weekend vacation with Rob, Erin and their kiddos. We all had such a blast!! They came down late Wednesday night to our house and Thursday we all just hung out and played before leaving. Addy was more than happy to take Aaron for a cruise in the Mustang.
Erin and I had Aaron, Addy and Camille with us for the first leg of the trip and Rob & Chad had Gracie, Karys, Toby and Nathan. We stopped for some dinner and a few minutes after leaving or van beeped. The right rear tire was loosing pressure...and FAST! We called the guys and told them we needed to pull over. We got to a safe spot and I jumped out to hear the tire hissing. We weren't going anywhere...
The guys make quick work of changing the tire. Erin and I were so glad we didn't leave earlier in the day by ourselves! Before we knew it we were off and running. We had to stop at the next town to put more air in it. We were hoping to get to the lake by 8pm, but we didn't make it there until after 10.
But the next morning the tire was a distant memory and Shay took most of the kiddos out to the dock to go swimming right away!
Everyone had so much fun jumping and swimming off the dock. But beware!! It was splinter fest 2012. Poor Erin extracted so many splinters from the kids' feet it was insane! At one point we were afraid DHS was going to show up with Aaron Paul screaming bloody murder. She did end up pulling a 1/4" splinter out though... yipes!
All the kids loved hanging out in the relaxation station. Poor Aaron Paul did fall thru at one point - but it wouldn't be a trip to the lake if Aaron didn't fall in the lake at some point!
Aaron had such a great day he fell asleep at the bar before dinner. I actually had to wake him up to eat!
Saturday we headed down to Captain Ron's so the kids could play at the beach and do some more swimming.
Chad and Rob checking out the boats coming in
This is where we spent a lot of time. Swimming off the dock and just hanging out
Camille took her first dip in the lake. She wasn't so sure about it at first, but eventually warmed up to it. By our next trip the water will be even warmer so I'm sure she'll dig it more.
Toby and his happy Momma before his little trip on the wave runner
Nathan headed out to swim with Daddy and Camille for a little bit
The girls got a run trip on the wave runner
Sunday was Toby's first birthday so we made some yummy sugar cookies and opened some presents.
Chad, Nathan, Aaron and I recorded us reading the book Under the Same Moon as a gift for Toby. Rob, Erin and all the kiddos are moving to Haiti the end of the summer and we couldn't be more proud of them following God's direction. But boy are we going to miss them! We know they will be far away, but we are under the same moon!
We also celebrated Gracie's birthday. She such an amazing little girl and I just loved getting to spend some quality time with her on this trip. It was so great to understand this little girls heart more and watch her interact with her sisters and brother and our kids. She has such a sweet and tender heart!
We also celebrated Addy's 3rd birthday! What a little crack up this girl is! She and Aaron Paul both learned to swim on their own in the lake and were so proud of their newfound freedom!
Monday morning we all packed up and had to say our goodbyes. It was such an amazing trip with so many wonderful memories. Late nights up talking and playing Ticket to Ride (so very addicted now and really want to get that game!) We want to soak up as much time with them that we can before they leave for Haiti and create as many fun memories for the cousins.
I'm still so amazed by this relationship! I have to say that Erin and I haven't always really gotten along. For years we didn't appreciate our differences or really acknowledge our similarities. It wasn't until October 2010 that things started to drastically change for us. God totally transformed our relationship and it is so sweet! Sharing life with my sister (I choose to drop the whole in-law part) is such a blessing and I am going to miss her dearly! I know we'll skype and talk on the phone and such, but I can't just drive 4 hours to see her. Tears.
Thank you Vander Wells for letting us stay at the Play House!! And thank you OC VL's for an awesome memory making family weekend!! We love you!
1 comment:
Just stumbled across this...haven't been on you blog and stopped by to catch up :) You are a joy, a treasure, a blessing, a gift...I love you bunches and hope to see you LOTS this summer! You are a sweet, dear sister who is loved...by me :)
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