Monday, June 25, 2012

Annual Conference 2012

Last week was our annual trip to the mountains for Drew’s ministers’ meeting.  Before we left we had some fun around here.

Monday Lindy had PT in the afternoon.  I had to take Will with me and he actually did pretty good.  I know he thinks Lindy is just playing around, even though she is working hard.   She did well in PT.  We worked on getting up from one knee and not using hands and standing on one foot.  After we left PT we ran a couple errands.

Tuesday we got to pretend we had our own private swimming pool.  We hung out at the same pool we went to the week before for the swimming lesson with LeeAnn.  Their entire family is on a long vacation in Hawaii and her dad said we could use the pool while they are gone.  We ate lunch and then went and swam for a couple hours.  The kids had a lot of fun and we worked on swimming.  Will is the most cautious thing in the world but I did get him to jump off the side of the pool without holding my hands.  I had to practically pinky swear to not let him go under.  He had fun once he trusted me.  The more we hang out at a pool the more they’ll become comfortable in the water and the better swimmers they’ll become.

Wednesday morning the kids and I headed up to Lake Junaluska in the NC mountains.  It’s just west of Asheville.  The Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church has their annual business meeting up there every year.  For the last seven years we have stayed with one of our best friends, Katie, at her parents’ house.  Katie, Micah, and Claire all went up on Monday afternoon and they were waiting on us to arrive.  Drew should have been going with us that morning but we had a very sick church member and he could not leave.  

We got up there Wednesday around lunchtime and I watched all four kids at the house for the afternoon.  Katie was getting ordained this year and she had lots of business meetings and special services she needed to be at.  I helped her out by watching Micah and Claire a few times for her.  Wednesday night we ate dinner at the house and the kids all played together. 

Thursday morning we got up and headed down to the lake and we played some putt-putt while waiting for the pool to open.  We went swimming and had fun.  The pool was great for the kids.  There was a 1.5 foot section and then the whole shallow end was only 3 feet deep.  Thursday afternoon turned into quite the fun afternoon.  All the kids, except Lindy, had some kind of meltdown or attitude most of the day!  We loaded them up in our van and headed out to do a couple errands and a little shopping.   We almost dropped them all off on our outing!!  That evening I took the kids in the stroller and we walked down to the lake and we walked around the lake. It’s 2.7 miles around the lake. It was a beautiful evening out. There is the steepest hill ever going back to the house and I barely made it up pushing the stroller. I guess working out has helped! Kris, Katie’s husband, got there on Thursday night.

Friday morning Katie and I got up and walked around the lake while Kris watched the kids.  Then we all headed back to the swimming pool.   We got run out of the pool by lightning and thunder and got back to the house before it rained.  After it cleared up we headed back down to the putt-putt course and met up with Janice.  Mike and Janice were laity delegates from their church.  We played a full 18 holes of putt putt and then hung out in the shade because it got steamy hot after the rain storm.  We went out to dinner with Mike and Janice at one of our usual spots, Butts on the Creek.  It’s a tradition to eat there and take a picture of the kids by the sign.   Unfortunately our church member passed away on Wednesday morning and her funeral was on Friday afternoon.  Drew did head up to the mountains Friday night to join us.

Saturday morning I went for another walk around the lake and then we got ready and headed out to lunch.  Lindy and I ran a couple errands and Drew took Will to play more putt-putt.  Will loved the putt-putt.  They played 3 more rounds while they were there.  Saturday evening was the ordination service where Katie was ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church.  We got ready and headed to the service and we met up with Mike and Janice.  The plan was to see how long the kids would last and then Janice might take them out if necessary so we could see Katie get ordained.  The kids ended up staying the whole time, thanks to the iPad and iPhone.  We had to shush Will a bunch but they did well.  We got back to the house around 9pm and we ended up putting the kids down because they were pretty tired.  Katie’s parents had come that afternoon and they had a little party for Katie after the service.  We are excited for Katie and her ordination.  We were excited to see her parents, it had been awhile.  We are so thankful for Katie and her parents for letting us stay with them at their mountain house. 

The kids had a blast at the mountain house and Will was so sad when we got home.  He has become obsessed with UNO.  He is addicted to it.  We played UNO so many times in the mountains that I lost count.  He had a blast playing.  We had to work on him  getting upset when he loses, but he is getting better.  One game we played he was laughing and crying at the same time.  It was so funny!  The other fun thing about the week was seeing Lindy and Claire play together.  I’ve actually been a little worried about Lindy lately because she hardly plays with other kids.  If we are with friends and there are kids around, Lindy usually hangs around the adults.   It had been bothering me some but it warmed my heart this week to see Lindy and Claire play together.  They played doctor, vet, girls soccer team, girls basketball team, and much more together.  Just the two of them playing together.  It was so cute and made me so happy!

I’ll wrap this up and add my pictures.  I was too tired last night when we got home to write a post. 

Swimming on Tuesday.  I introduced her to goggles and she is addicted now.DSC_3848Bathing beauty.DSC_3862DSC_3864Will holding a tiny little praying mantis.  I had to have photographic evidence because Will hates bugs and we couldn’t believe he wanted to hold it.DSC_3871All the littles on the swing singing a song.DSC_3885Pretending to be asleep!DSC_3887The first of many UNO games at the picnic table.DSC_3914Drinking watermelon juice.  I missed all four of them drinking it but caught the girls.DSC_3917Will’s inventive putt putt style.DSC_3930DSC_3931Micah and Will swimming.DSC_3957Lindy and Claire.DSC_3960Lindy crashed Thursday afternoon on the couch.  She hardly ever sits still long enough to fall asleep!  She must have been worn out.DSC_3962DSC_3967One of my new favorite pictures!!!DSC_3984One of the greatest things about Lake Junaluska is the rose walk.  It’s so pretty!  DSC_3996The kids on our walk around the lake.DSC_4001We got to meet Baby Sarah.  She belongs to our friends Richard and Kristen.DSC_4009Lindy wore this light all week long.  She was exploring all week I guess.DSC_4014More putt-putt with Janice.DSC_4017Fun with Mike and Janice!DSC_4026DSC_4029The annual picture at Butts on the Creek.  It’s a BBQ restaurant along a creek.DSC_4036My beauties by the lake.DSC_4044DSC_4062Katie getting ordained Saturday night.DSC_4116Lindy rocking with Katie’s Dad.  Or Papa John as the kids called him.DSC_4127Good buddies, Claire and Lindy.DSC_4130I’m so excited that we get to vacation with our best friends every year.  The kids are making such great memories of such fun times at the mountain house.  DSC_4140Our annual porch swing picture.DSC_4156DSC_4163DSC_4166

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