Lake weekend!

Wow - Mondays are rough.....I write this after a really fun, renewing weekend.  And man, it always stings to come home to the grind of cleaning and unpacking, and housework afterwards.

First, I will document mine and Emma's first Chuck e Cheese trip on Thursday.  Happy birthday, Molly!

Brent had to work Saturday, so I was travelling solo with the girls to the lake for most of the weekend.  This doesn't bother me, but it does make me a bit nervous at night.  I packed us all up Friday morning so we could be there by noon.  It's a 2.5 hour drive and Merritt slept for 2/3 of it.  She didn't fuss though, so it went really well!

Emma perfected her smokey eye on the trip:)

Emma spent most of her time in the water when we got there, but it soon rained (a lot), and we headed back to the farmhouse where we were staying.  I have stayed here before - it's about 10 minutes away in Gates, and it's my absolute favorite place.  It's off a dirt road and in the middle of farm fields.  The house was built in the 1800's and has been restored and rented out for events and weekends. My dad was also staying there, but coming later that night, and Brent would join us after work on Saturday.

My view when I pulled up.

We stopped at Tarheel BBQ for dinner and brought it back.  And yes, I totally have my gun out.  There's no way I'm roaming around in the country by myself without it.  Oh...and some rose wine.  I try and keep it classy.

I snapped some photos for a friend who wanted to see it.  Here is the kitchen and dining.  There's a wrap around porch off this room that overlooks the fields.

This is the front porch and the most beautiful hydrangea.

Merritt just loved being there.  She sat here playing and taking it all in.

The house only has showers, so I took it old school and bathed in the farmhouse sink.

Emma was a great big sister while we were there.

Merritt slept awful the first night - she was up a lot and I heard her rustling in her pack n play a lot too.  There aren't any curtains so Emma woke us all up at 6:12 when it was very bright in our room.  I could have put Merritt in another bedroom but I didn't bring the monitor, and I sort of like having us all in one room. 

I rallied with some coffee (a lot of it) and we headed to the lake around 9.  Saturday was off and on showers and lightning.  The tournament went really slow too.  I did get to hang out with my dear friend, Bill.  You may remember an earlier post last year when he was in the hospital and very sick.  I just adore these photos of him and Merritt.  They make my heart so full. 

I took the girls back in the afternoon to get showered and rest.  We were heading back to the lake for the night jump - this is a cash prize event and super cool.

Man, Emma looks so grown and beautiful in these pics.  She loved being at the farmhouse....a country girl at heart:)

The storms were off and on again that night, but the kids sold raffle tickets to raise money for the tournament.  I could tell Emma was exhausted at this point.  She had been swimming ALL day...even in the rain when it wasn't lightning.

Look at the sky here - yes, it poured soon after and we left for home.  I missed the night jump, but the kids were exhausted and I was too.  Maybe one day soon I will get to resume an adult life again:\  Oh...and obviously Brent made it there about 5:30. 

Sunday was Father's Day, and my dad left early for the tournament.  But we did get some kid snuggles in with him!  Brent got to enjoy some porch time with his girls, and then he went for a run on the dirt road.  He's F-ing crazy because there's no way I'm walking around the country.  The mosquitoes alone might attack you and leave you for dead.  He admitted he got a little worried about bears, and then at one point a giant horsefly was chasing him for most of his run back.

Feeding Merritt some green beans with a field of beans as the backdrop:)

Sunday was a much nicer day, and Emma played in the water all day!  Here are most of the kids there this weekend.

I had a nice, quite ride home with just Merritt.  Emma rode with Brent - and actually both kids were asleep the whole ride:)  I was sad - I miss skiing terribly.  I didn't want to come home.  I know my life will slowly get back to normal one day, but I spent my whole life skiing in the summer and it's just different now.  I miss the people, my ski family.  They are so genuine, so loving.  I didn't have to worry all weekend about my kids because everyone else was.  I know these friends really love me, and have for over 25 years.  I don't have to guess or play games with them.  And I feel like I am myself when I am skiing, if that makes any sense.  I feel confident, but humble.  I feel simple, and content.  I feel gratitude, instead of the rat race of Durham-Chapel Hill.  I love the simple life at the lake, or in the fields:)  I'm grateful we can share that with the girls, and I'm already looking forward to our next trip there.