Week Full of Family

Helloooooo dear friends out in Blogland! I'm home and almost settled in before I soon must pack my bags and take off again. Where do I even begin to update you on what's been going on this past week? (You may need to grab yourself a large glass of lemonade ... or your favorite beverage ~ preferably caffeinated).

Since my last "real" post, we have had our fill of family fun, starting on Saturday, July 25th with a family get-together at our place. My sis from NC, her hubby and youngest daughter made the trek up and so hubby and I opened up our little abode for whoever of our family could make it to come visit with C, D & J. Here's a pic of who was able to attend ... and 18 were absent from this photo op!

Monday (July 27) was the big Bachelorette finale so I told my sister I couldn't leave for the cottage (Dad's place on the lake) until after the finale! I won't go into huge detail as you can find what happened at nauseum online but I will say that even though she didn't pick "my guy", Reid, it sure was romantic to see him come back and try and win her heart in the 11th hour. I believe she was truly torn about what to do because I think her feelings for him ran deeper than she even realized. She may be engaged to Ed, but I honestly don't think she'll soon forget the magical connection she had with Reid. I personally think she should have chosen no-one that night and taken her time to sift through her feelings because she was obviously conflicted and confused when he too got down to propose. Her little fingers were wriggling away to grab him and the ring but she talked herself out of making too rash a decision in that moment. (I think she should have gone for it!! Sometimes love doesn't make sense and you just have to jump!) Anyhoo... they may ask Reid to be the next Bachelor and if that's the case... the obsession will continue for at least one more season, sad to say!

Back to our regularly scheduled blog post though...

Tuesday morning, C, J & I packed up her SUV (along with Buddy the dog) and head up to Dad's.

Dad and "G"

My brother and his family were also up at the lake so we had lots of fun visiting and hanging out with them. Although I had to spend some of my time working on my writing assignment, we also got in some time playing games like Dominoes, Dutch Blitz and Rummikub.

During the day we were either out in K's boat:

K in his boat

... heading to the Marina for candy...

J, S & Buddy

tubing...

S, L & N on the giant tube

spotting...

Me spotting the tubers from the front of the boat

kneeboarding...

N taking a ride behind the boat

or just going for a ride...

K, J, C and Buddy (with the tubers in the distance)

Fortunately the rainy weather left a day or so after we arrived so we could get out there and enjoy our surroundings, whether in kayaks...

C & I kayaked around a couple islands

peddleboat...

J & C peddleboating in the afternoon sun

or hiking down the lane to the nearby Falls...

Hanging out by the Falls

N playing in the Falls

Evenings around the cottage were fun. One night K took us for a boat ride at sunset...

and two of our three nights we sat by the campfire... being eaten alive by mosquitoes!

Campfire Girls

Campfire Boys... and J

L brought the goodies for us to make S'mores so we of course worked at roasting the perfect marshmallows...

J & I roasting the perfect 'mallow

Mine on the left looks like a chef's hat

On one night, after our campfire and rowsing game of Dutch Blitz in the cottage, C, J, S & I head outside to lay on the dock looking up at the stars. There is nothing like looking at the galaxy of God's handiwork from this place... there were SO many stars that almost every piece of sky was covered with twinkling lights. You could even see the milky way streaking across the night sky. We saw a few shooting stars which always amaze me. In the city we barely see any stars so this is even more brilliant for me.


There's always time at the cottage for a bit of fun and silliness...

My new lips... thanks to Babybel cheese!

And family bonding is of upmost importance...

Dad bonding with his furry grandson, Buddy

K with his furry little girl, Jazz

Sitting with J and Buddy on the dock

But all good things must come to an end and Friday evening C, J, Buddy & I repacked the SUV and head back to my place, but not before a Sibling/Nibling photo op...

Thanks for the fun time guys!

Saturday, C and D (who flew back to Canada after working all week) were off to a wedding so J & I hung out watching Pushing Daisies DVDs (which we'd watched during the week at the cottage). Sunday, they packed up their SUV one last time and head to my sister's for a BBQ with other family members (some of who couldn't make it to our party the weekend prior) and they head home Monday morning from D's sister's home. It was a great visit and in just a few weeks they'll be hosting us down in NC!