From the Green to the Blue, to the Rockies, it's been a mountainous summer.

                                  

Well we have definitely NOT sat on our butts this summer!!

We have traveled from the east to the west in both the country, and our little home state.  To top off the the 32 days we have spent away from home this summer, Adam was away all but 1 weekend from May to August with Dental clinics!!! We are very grateful for all our vacation time together, but more than happy to be FINALLY settling down:)




Lets begin in Vermont (The Green Mountains).

This trip was very special. It was as much of a family reunion as I've ever been a part of and we were psyched!! There were going to be 22 of us up there AND we were all staying together. Now I know that sounds horrendous, but it worked out fantastic!! Our family stayed in the cottage down by the water, some stayed in the main house and some stayed in a friends cabins just around the corner. We all had our own spaces but weren't farther than a very short walk:)

 Kids are ready!!

 

We're off...look how happy we are:)

 

I forgot how buggy it is up there! Harper learned fast,  you keep your mouth closed if you have to run through a "swarm".

We picked raspberries, apples, pears, and beans...and that was just in the yard!!

 

Nothing like playing in a field with absolutely NO fear of dangerous snakes!!

 

Every time of day is gorgeous at the lake. It really made it hard to pull ourselves away.

Harper and Caleb. Born 2 months apart and always fast friends.

What would a trip to Vermont be without a "my kid on a tractor" shot.

Juris, Harper, and Carter:)

There was certainly no shortage of yard space:)

Plenty of things to do on the water too!

 

All that play can come with a price:(  Luckly, the finger healed, and is good as new.

 

We made it out on the boat.

And went tubing!!

It may look like it but this was not a smile. It was more like an..."Ok, I did it, snap the picture and lets move on" look.  Harper was definitely up to it, but when it came down to it, another ride was not in order.

We spent plenty of time resting...

some of us needing a little help:)

One of the mornings we were up there, we all headed into church and witnessed my Aunt an Uncle celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows. This was the closest we came that morning to getting a picture of all the kids.

We pulled ourselves away a few times to go exploring. Maybe not exploring as much as touring.

 

As with any trip back home, it came with a few MUST stops.  This one was for Adam. Going to Sneakers for breakfast was a no brainer!!

Papa Franks is another staple restaurant in Vermont. It's owned by some family friends and was just as good as I remembered.

Harper occupied her time wading in the fountain at the top of Church street.

Where as Stratton enjoyed just watching the boats:)

I can't think of a more appropriate time to try chopsticks.

 

No trip would be complete without an afternoon at the Ben & Jerry's factory!!

The Vermonster can only be described as a completely obnoxious amount of ice cream. This was a Mini Vermonster. A slightly less obnoxious amount with 4 flavors of ice cream, brownie, cookie, 4 additional toppings, plus whip cream. I mean it's served in a bucket for crying out loud. This one was shared by 4 or 5 of us and worked out very nicely:)

Spin art!!

Stowe is one of the prettiest town in the state. It's a HUGE ski town and has plenty of shops, restaurants, and activities open all year round. Always worth a trip.

We were so excited to be there over the 4th!! One of my favorite holidays growing up.  We all got up early and got great seats for the local parade. Here's a picture of all of us. I don't mean all of us like we are in the middle, I mean we span from left to right and even off the picture a bit. We make waves!!

Isn't she just the picture of patriotism.

 

Making new friends:)

I grew up in Jericho Center. Yes, that was literally my address, center. We lived on a road just up from the green in the center of town. We had a picture perfect general store, church, and town library. It was basically Mayberry with out the southern drawl.

 

  

This was where we got our mail...

 

and goodies:)

The town library.

And the beloved round church just down the road in Richmond.

Pictures in the green:)

 

After our busy day, about half of us mustered up the energy and went to the fireworks.  After emerging from behind the line of bushes lining the field, we walked into what looked like a battleground from a WWI reenactment.

 

It was a wild night,  indicated by the glow necklace Adrea was too tired to take off.

Lovin' lake life:)

Growing up, my cousins and I attended Dunkely's Gymnastics Academy.  One of the owners/coaches was also my high school math teacher. Think that's a small world? My Aunt and uncle ended up buying the house right next to the Dunkley's Camp!!  Dunkley's has been around forever.  Even after selling the academy, they kept the camp and is still running today.  They are so sweet, and such wonderful friends of our family, they offered to take all the kids for their own day at camp.  They had so much fun. It was an awesome time.

Last day at the lake:(

 

Alright, we fit, guess we're clear to leave.

On our way home.  Not quite as peppy as on the way up are we?

 

 

These 10 days were indescribable. Of course we loved seeing everyone and being together, but the real cherry for me was seeing Harp with all her cousins.  My cousins and I were very close growing up. I'm sure this stemmed from the closeness of my mom and her sisters.  It was nothing short of awesome seeing all the kids playing on the same lawn,  doing some of the same things we all did in our childhood.  I hope that the closeness I have with my cousins secures my kids life long friends and years and years of unforgettable memories:)

Moving on...Now we head to Blowing Rock (Blue Ridge Mountains).

Exactly 3 days after arriving home from Vermont, we packed up again and trucked on up to the NC mountains for a good friend's wedding.  Although this was a quick turn around, we had been looking forward to it for some time. It was going to be a weekend of no kids, friends, wine, oh and NO KIDS!!  We had 4 couples in our group and we all rented a beautiful little mountain cabin less than a mile from the reception. 

We, of course had a fantastic time, the wedding was beautiful and the bride was stunning. What more could you ask for? Oh yes, great band!!  It was a perfect weekend away that even had a surprise ending (but that's another post)!

The cocktail hour was beautiful. It was on the front porch and yard of a grand estate over looking the mountains. 

 Lauren, Meredith, and Me. This wedding was truly an MHI reunion. I will always cherish my "work friends" who are so beautiful and sweet, and have remained so important in my life.

 This was the view from the ceremony.  This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice. It was gorgeous:)

Next up...Colorado, Crested Butte to be exact (The Rocky Mountains).

This was another kidless adventure for us. This one however, did not come with the excitement the last one did. This trip was for 8 days!! That's a LONG time to be away from your babies!!

I will say that, after the traveling was underway, the tears subsided and I started to embrace the idea.  Don't get me wrong,  I was beyond excited to go. To see Adam's dad and step-mom, along with other friends we have met out there, it was just the length of time.  Of course, we never stopped moving while we were there, which helped, and despite missing the kids, we didn't want to leave.  It really is an amazing place, and I feel so blessed that I have been able to vacation there for the past 4 years. 

Let me fill you in on the basics first. This is their cabin. Their new cabin. It's beautiful, and private, and has the most breathtaking views you have ever seen from a private residence in your life.

This is literally looking through their family room window from the sofa!!

From the front porch...even better!

Oh, and here's a little something else to introduce you to. 

Despite the fear of crazed people hunting bear, we went on a fantastic horseback ride. Probably the highlight of the trip for me.

 Just a quaint little lunch spot we happened upon:)

My Cowboy

Our campfire dinner picnic.

 

Missy and me having skinny margaritas and smores:)

 

Look at the fog!! It really made us feel like we were up in the clouds. Of course, we were over 11,000 feet above sea level, so I guess we sort of were.

We went hiking one day. Oh, were you picturing a nice hiking trail and a walking stick? No, no, no, it was nothing like that. We just bushwacked our way straight up the mountain, and straight down. I'm not gonna lie, I still have scars!

 

Don and Missy

Ahhh yes, and we saw bear, and Mt. lion tracks as proven here. We also saw a den and fresh bear poop, but I'll spare you the poop photo, and we didn't stick around the den long enough to take a picture. 

The main timing for our trip was to, once again, participate in the Crested Butte open. Well, I didn't, but the guys did. I actually did golf, and didn't do too badly, but this was just the guys. 

It was like every where you turned out there!!

 

 All the girls at the charity auction dinner.  Missy, me, Suzie, and Cindy. Awesome group of girls I can't wait to see again:)

  

And now the entire table. Oh, and the guy right in front who looks like a "back in the day" country singer, is in fact a "back in the day" country singer. His name is Dean Dillon and if you haven't heard him sing, I'm sure you've heard his songs. He writes for just about every popular country star out there. George Straight, Reba Macentire, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, etc, etc, etc.  In fact he is in the country music hall of fame. It really was an amazing honor just to meet him, let alone dine and play golf with.

Picture Perfect:)

If for some reason, by the time you leave, you haven't figured it out, let this guy tell you...

The whole time we were there we were desperately searching for a bear. Sometimes it was out of terror, and sometimes for the curiosity. We never did see one, but got this text from Adam's dad a week later. After realizing what was going on, they chased the bear away and back into the woods. CRAZY!! Oh, and by the way, on the other side of that wall you see to the left, was our bed!! Yeah, that's right, a mere pane glass window would have been all that separated us from certain death had this occurred just one week prior. Just something to think about:)

Finishing up down on the sand, Topsail Island, NC.

Adam's mom and step-dad decided a long time ago they wanted to treat us all to a beach week this summer.  Of course we had no complaints, just a timing issue.  After finally figuring out a week we could all do it, it was booked and we were going. We were completely looking forward to a week, in state, with the kids, by the water. We had been on the go so much that 8 days of relaxation sounded amazing!!

Ooops, did I say relax??  Well, it might have been if we didn't have an incredibly active 10 month old, and Adam hadn't been advised to take a biochem class this fall:(  Turned out his class was a "can't miss a day" class, and was Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So for 3 days he had to drive back to Raleigh at 5 in the morning to make it to his 50 minute class. Plus he ended up having to stay in Raleigh the whole day on Monday due to some other obligations and didn't get back until 2 am Tuesday morning.  

In spite of this speed bump, we had a great week:))

This wasn't Stratton's first time at the beach, but this was the first time since he turned mobile.  He didn't mind it too much, as long as we were on the packed sand, or he had a tool and or a bucket to play with. However, the sand definitely got old after a little while, and then party was over.

He did like the waves though:)

We had some fun in the sand:)

 

And some fun in the pool.

Twins!!

 

Harper was quite the water bug (as usual) and daredevil at the pool. She met some girls there, and well, basically we were lucky to ever get her to leave.

How often does this photo op happen?

I took one of the days Adam was gone and went up to Emerald Isle to visit my family, who was also vacationing for the week:)

There was more beach time:)

My sweet 3 going on 23 year old.

 



Beach curls are so perfect! Why can't her hair do that all the time??

We took one of the few rainy days we had, and went up to the aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores.  We met my cousins with their girls Juris and Jada.

 


These girls ALWAYS have an awesome time together. 
 

Then we went and played mini golf at, only the coolest mini golf course I've ever seen. You actually took a little train up to the first hole!!

 

We had lunch, and ice cream of course, at a little island dinner:)

We did a little competitive kite flying.

 

On the last night we were there we were lucky enough to have a full moon:) Now, if any of you know my daughter, you know she's obsessed with the moon.

 

  

 Since this was such a very exciting night in her little life,  what better way to celebrate than sparklers.

  

 

The family picture. This went from a color coordinated outfit planned event on the beach...to this, wear what you have one, on the porch shot.  Oh well, everyone's eyes were open, and most of us were looking at the camera at least:)

BYE-BYE!!