It seems that my blogging is now quarterly. : ) That's ok. I'm thankful I made it through today and mostly with a smile on my face. It was busier than any day I can remember in awhile.
We've just returned from ten days of vacation in the beautiful mountains of Virginia. We revisited our favorite place in Floyd County and then travelled a couple of hours to Smith Mountain Lake. We celebrated two family birthdays and a wedding during our stay in Floyd.
This was our first trip out on our new rubber boats. We filled both boats with air, and then filled them both with children and life jackets. The little private lake on our friends' property in Floys was the perfect place to get acquainted with our new purchases. Most of the children became expert rowers/boaters during the week.
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| Bob and I took the youngest boaters with us. Anna, Noah and Joshua are in this photo with me. The older ones have their own boat. |
While we ran around taking "engagement photos" for Carrie and Brian we asked for a quick one of us at the "campground" on the Floyd property. It is a plush area surrounded by trees and the creek. It's always cool and a great get away from it all!
It was such a wonderful night at Chateau Morrisette with my husband, mother, stepdad, sister, her fiance, and the couple who owns the Floyd property. We celebrated my stepdad's birthday with a delicious meal, gorgeous mountain scenery and hours of laughter. It was exactly what my sister and I had hoped for when we planned this surprise over two months before. Since our stepfather was diagnosed with colon cancer last spring and had since then endured chemo, radiation and surgery, we were thrilled to be with him. We had missed an entire year of his life and were grateful to have him back.
This is Buck and Darlene. They own the cabin in Floyd and vacation with us there twice a year. They are the most generous and kind folks that we know. We've adopted them as a fourth set of grandparents.
This the the view from the Chateau Morrisette towards Buffalo Mountain. The restaurant is basically on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Mom, Bill, Bob, me, Carrie (my sister) and Brian before dinner.
The next day my sister was married to Brian at the lake by the cabin. They had agreed upon a simple outdoor wedding and it was perfect. Weddings are much more fun when you can spend the morning fishing, four-wheeling and creek exploring.
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| This our family with Mom and Bill, Carrie and Brian, and Brian's children, Vivian and Dylan |
Sunday was our precious Joshua's first birthday. We basically played all day outside, gave him gifts randomly to keep him happy outdoors and ate icecream in his honor after dinner. He LOVED all the singing and clapping when we lit his candle and sang "Happy Birthday". We were all laughing and clapping. It was the most joyful birthday. It was especially great that Mom and Bill were there to celebrate it with us and to bless our little Joshua too!
On Monday, when all the other families were gone, we enjoyed a lazy day with Mom and Bill. We ended it with smores and worship around the firepit. The sky was more beautiful than a painting as the sun set. The bullfrogs croaked in the lake. We all slipped off to bed with our bellies and hearts full.
Joshua loved the hammock. It was easy babysitting for the person who was in it with him. : )
Bob caught Mom licking every finger in an attempt to rid them of melted marshmallows. It's a smores-related dilemma.
We were sad when my parents left but we did enjoy our time alone at the cabin too. We truly vacationed...we lounged in the sun on the lake, fished more, took a family ride on the four wheelers using a trailer behind us and closed out another day with a prayer by the fire.
I was lazily lying in the boat when Daniel offered to row me around the lake. How could I turn him down? We jumped off at the dam and visited the spillway. We stood in the middle of the rushing water and enjoyed the awesome sound!
Bob, Kendal and Isaac took the paddle boat out for a ride.
We really enjoyed these rubber boats we bought this year. We paddled them all over Buck's lake and then at Smith Mountain lake in our little cove. They were so comfortable and perfect for exploring the shores and lake bottom. Being that close to the water while not tipping over is a rare treat. All of the children were safe in these boats. They also enjoyed jumping out of them to swim.
We were so very sad to leave the cabin in Floyd. But the three days that followed at Smith Mountain Lake did not disappoint. The lakehouse and the weather were wonderful. My dad visited us there with his boat and fixed a fried fish dinner for us. The children fished and boated all day with him. In the evening Susan, my stepmom, joined us and even brought Christmas gifts for our family. Christmas in June can be fun!
Anna caught the biggest blue gill off of the dock at the lake. All of the children caught many fish and some, like Joy, caught their first on SMlake.
The dock at the lake house was a great source of fun for fishing, swimming and boating.
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Hesitant to leave the beautiful water and rolling hills of the western part of our state, I pleaded for a side trip to a place called "The Falls" just nine miles south of Crewe,Va. We had to hike a ways through tick-laden weeds, but it was worth it. The water level was clearly lower than usual but the falls were great. We stayed there for a couple of hours and hope to go again another day.
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| Kendal with Joshua at The Falls |
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| Sitting on a log by the Falls while Joshua nursed. We really needed to get back to driving home but no one wanted to leave! Kendal had just lost a flip flop (whick Isaac saved) and falled in the mud. : ( |
