Stay-cations

For the past two weekends I have have enjoyed some stay-cations. The Wikipedia definition of stay-cation is, "a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home or takes day trips from their home to areas of attraction."

Two weekends ago 2 of my college roommates came to visit me! We had a wonderful time relaxing and catching up on each other's lives. I didn't take many pictures of the weekend, but we enjoyed good food, good drinks, and we had plenty of sunshine by the pool. Saturday night was very stormy so, instead of going out to eat like we had planned, we ordered pizza, rented 3 movies, and drank wine. It was great! We felt just like we were living together again!

Since I did not take many photos of the weekend, I'll share a few from our Auburn days.

Stephanie, me, Allie (could not attend this past weekend), and Mary Catherine posing in front our house in Auburn before a football game.

All of us on Bid-Day 2006 Before our formal in the Spring of 2007
Allie we missed you, and hope we can do it again soon!

This past weekend we went to Lake Martin with Nick's immediate family. I am considering this a stay-cation because it took us less than an hour to get there. We rented a cabin on the lake and a pontoon boat for the weekend. We enjoyed skiing, cruising in the boat, eating, and playing cards. We also attended this year's AquaPalooza. Don't you remember that from last year? It was not quite as big this year, but it was still fun! It was a great place for a vacation, and we are already planning to go back next year!

This was our cabin. It had a great front porch for happy hour, cards, or reading.

This was our group: Nick and meNick's sister Lauren and her husband JasonNick's brother Jeremy and his fiancee BrynnNick's mom CindyNick's dad DarwinAnd of course, all the dogs. Boots, Tucker, and RileyThis is one of our docks where we enjoyed getting some sun. Isn't this a great view? There was also a nice covered part for those who did not want to be in the sun. It was great for everyone!Both mornings I woke up to this. A good cup of coffee, my book, and the water. I'm reading Laura Bush's book, and it is great! More on this to come later.

Besides relaxing in the sun, we also had an eventful time on the water. Here are some pictures of this year's AquaPalooza. There were not as many people as last year, and the main event was John Anderson. We didn't even stay long enough to see him, but we enjoyed the entertainment for a little while. Nick was the captain most of the time. This has been his summer of boats! We really enjoyed the pontoon boat because everyone could fit comfortably. We also took our boat. This one was a little rough on this lake.However, it was great for early morning and late night skiing!We also went to Chimney Rock. In this picture Jeremy had just jumped off. Can you see him? We spent a lot of time at one-tree island. There is sand all around this one tree, so it was a good spot to sit or float without having to go in. One night a few of us stayed out here late into the night. It was beautiful with a bright full moon.

I have enjoyed all of my stay-cations. I love traveling, but sometimes staying home (or close to) is wonderful too! I hope your summer travels have been lovely! Hope you can have a fun stay-cation soon!

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July! I know it is a few days late, but it's never too late to blog about our holiday weekend.

We spent the 4th in the Delta. I was off on Friday, so Nick and I were able to leave Thursday afternoon and arrive in time for dinner. We had a great time with family. We enjoyed good food, drinks, and conversation. We also had a great time on the lake on July 3rd. We had to leave on the real 4th because I had to work Monday. However, we made record time driving home, and we still had time to lie by the pool.

I managed to take a few photos of the weekend.

Mollie had to make sure everyone was wearing enough sunscreen.

Nick showing his skiing skills.

A shot of our crowd.

My mom and Mac (her great-nephew).

Charlie and Nick starting up the grill.

Daddy finishing up dinner.

We also came up with a new drinky-drink (more to come on this later).

Even though we missed the celebration on the 4th, we were happy to celebrate it on the 5th with these guys. Our Monday night Bible study took a break from our study and came to hang out at the pool. We were happy to have them, and we enjoyed some good hamburgers, hot tamales (brought from Greenville), and watermelon.

God Bless America!