This weekend we went on a (very) short trip to the mountains with my parents. To Lake Lure, to be exact (very close to Chimney Rock.) My parents have a timeshare up there, and we went a few times every year since I was a baby. Arnold has only been up there once, when we were just married and pregnant with Brooke. The kids had NEVER been, so I was so excited to take them some place that meant so much to me, I knew they would have a great time. They actually did pretty well on the ride up there, but Brooke did ask the infamous "Are we there yet" a million times, it seemed like. As soon as we parked at the condo Rachel jumped out of the van and was jumping around. It is always so beautiful up there.. it is nice every once in awhile just to get a change of scenery. The condo had a big bedroom downstairs that my parents stayed in, and upstairs was a guest bedroom that Arnold and I stayed in.
When we first got there we unpacked and let the kids look around. They ran up and down the stairs a thousand times, they aren't used to stairs since we don't have any in our house except for leading down to the basement :P Then we drove down to the lake and my dad took the kids fishing. Well they didn't actually catch anything (other than some sticks, leaves, etc) but they sure as heck had a great time trying ;) I got a TON of pictures, but they are on my mom's camera, so I will have to wait awhile before I can post them (they are up there for the rest of the week still). Then we walked over to the beach area and fed some geese.. they actually came right up to us and ate the bread. Rachel wanted to chase after them, she always gets so excited around animals :P We stopped into a little shop and my dad got the kids some strawberry icecream (they are soo spoiled, I told you!) and then he bought tickets for us all to go out on a boat ride on the lake.
The kids had never been on a boat, so they were thrilled about every little thing-- getting to wear life jackets, feeling the boat rock from the wind, and watching the water splash around behind us. We had a tour guide, and she was really nice. We also were on the boat with 2 other couples, they had never been to the area before. We of course had, but we learned alot of things on the ride that we didn't know before, so it was interesting. Brooke ended up falling asleep on the ride, just passed right out on my lap :P Rachel kept running back and forth from side to side, sitting with her grandparents one minute, then with Arnold and I another minute. We saw the places where a lot of scenes from "Dirty Dancing" was filmed.. that was pretty awesome.. love that movie! :) We also got to witness a wedding going on.. they even had a horse and carriage waiting on them, it was soo romantic. I am such a sap :P The whole ride lasted about an hour and a half, and by the end I could tell the kids were really ready to get off and go home. It didn't help that it was evening and overcast, so it was pretty chilly (and silly me didn't bring any jackets because I didnt know we were doing a boat ride!)
When we got back to the condo my mom cooked us all a big dinner.. crab meat, shrimp, baked potatoes, and salad. It was sooo good, I could eat seafood every night. Brooke even ate and ate, she kept going back for more shrimp :P We didn't end up eating until around 8:30 PM. I grew up being used to eating later in the evening because of my parents' work schedules, but Arnold has really had to get used to waiting when he goes to eat with my parents, because he grew up eating at like 4PM (yes Im serious!! I think its crazy too!) But anyway, after we ate and got everyone ready for bed, Mom took the kids downstairs so they could camp out in her room. Arnold and I were able to hang out together, watch some tv, and be in our own room, which was nice. You can tell Arnold was exhausted, because he fell asleep BEFORE me, and that NEVER happens!!!! :)
I didn't sleep well that night.. I tossed and turned alot. Didn't help that we were sleeping in a small bed together and didn't have a lot of room.. or the fact that Arnold was snoring in my ear! Plus, I am a big-time homebody and always sleep best in my own bed. Arnold on the other hand slept like a log, and was the last one of the family to get up :P Mom cooked up breakfast. My parents are always eating lots of different things and experimenting, and they made me try lox on bagels. This is smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and ONIONS, on a bagel. Yes.... for breakfast. So... like a little kid, my mom made me try a bite before she cooked me scrambled eggs. Not my 1st choice for breakfast.. but Arnold ended up eating two of them :P The kids liked it too, much to my surprise. But mostly they ate fruit. They LOVE fruit and ended up eating all the fruit my mom had brought on the trip :P
We hung out around the condo for some of the morning, then got the kids dressed to go swimming. They have an indoor pool at the rec center, and we had promised the kids they would get to go swimming. It is a smaller-sized pool and only reaches 4 ft, and is in a heated room, so it worked out well, considering it was chilly and raining outside all day. Arnold went in with the kids while my parents and I stayed out and watched (Mom couldn't find her suit before we left and I usually don't swim, I really dislike swimming, I KNOW im a weirdo) The kids all had a great time and Arnold walked them across the pool and let them practice their kicking and splashing. He walked away with Rachel for a minute and Caleb all of a sudden decided to walk further into the pool. In a minute he was gasping for air and thrashing his arms around.. I RAN over to the side of the pool and was 2 seconds away from jumping in, with all my clothes on and rescuing him (I was feeling the mommy instincts kick in like crazy) but he reached his arms out and caught the side of the pool, thankfully. I then pulled him out. He was upset for a minute, but he was totally fine. I'm sure this makes Arnold and I sound like horrible parents, but we were all RIGHT THERE, it happened in a second. Just one of those lessons-- you can never be too careful!
When we got back to the condo, we gave the kids a bath in the big jacuzzi tub and got them dressed. Then we all made sandwiches for lunch. That afternoon the kids rode with my mom into town to do some grocery shopping for the rest of the week. So Arnold and I decided to go into Chimney Rock and have a mini "day date." we stopped by and got some icecream-- chocolate chip in a waffle cone for me! And we were going to walk around the shops but it started raining as we walked out of the icecream shop, so we just decided to go on back. When we got back we lounged around and Arnold watched "Green Lantern" which was on the tv. I ended up falling asleep on his shoulder and slept almost 3 HOURS. Wow, it was so nice to get a nap. Meanwhile my parents helped entertain the kids and play with them. During my nap I woke up a few times and Arnold told me that I had been snoring, and grinding my teeth like crazy. We suspected that I did, because my jaw often hurts me for "no reason." But now we have proof. Im afraid I might have to get a mouth gaurd to wear at night.. even the dentist says Ive starting grounding down my back teeth :-/ Yikes... don't want it to get any worse I guess.
We stayed around and ate dinner with my parents that evening, before we went home. Mom made her famous homeade lasanga. We watched the Carolina game while we were waiting on dinner. Big time disappointment, as many of you know :( Then we started packing up our stuff and left out on the road around 7:30 or so. Mom watched us pull out of the parking lot and drive away. Im pretty sure she might have started crying after we left, I know she sure does love those grandkids of hers :) The kids fell asleep pretty soon after we left, and Arnold and I enjoyed a quiet ride home. We didn't even turn on the music! When we got home we carried the kids inside and put them straight to bed. They were exhausted from the trip! It was such a great time, and I was glad to get away, even if it could have been a lot longer!
*Pictures to come soon!*
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