Family Reunion

Happy Sunday! I just got back last night from a family reunion in North Carolina and it was amazing! I am about to do another photo dump on you all, I hope you don't mind, and it's another crazy long one... Just grab another cup of coffee and find a quiet place to sit :) There were so many moments I wanted to capture and the whole weekend could not be summed up in only a few words and a couple photos... Here goes...  

Thursday started out with a good workout and beautiful weather. It was an unusually cool morning and the perfect weather to just sit and enjoy.... BUT we had to get going and get on the road to NC for our family reunion! 

After I workout, my favorite food is watermelon!! And this one that momzie picked out was especially juicy. I went out after my workout to pick blueberries for momzie and then came in and finished getting stuff together for another road trip. 

Around 2pm, we headed out the door and up to NC. I started out driving and then momzie took over for a bit and then I finished the 6 hour drive.

No road trip with this crew is complete without stopping at Starbucks! My favorite drink right now is their sweetened, iced passion tea... YUM!

The siblings chillin' in the back seats... They are used to long car rides!

Momzie took over! Time to just sit and relax... 

Such a beautiful day to road trip!

No, I did not take this photo, but I am so thankful my cousin did. I was driving when the sun was setting and I was so sad I couldn't capture the beauty of it in a photo... But my cousin loves sunsets as much as I do and she took this one down on the dock before we arrived!

The first night was filled with chatting and sleeping... then... it was morning time and time to spend with our much missed and loved cousins!!! The pool was first on the list! The pool is a time honored tradition in this family. 

After the pool, we came back home and ate lunch and chilled for a bit.... The kids decided that they wanted to go play in the lake and my cousin, aunt, baby sister, and I decided we wanted to have fun with our nails. 

This cousin is the closet to my age and we are seriously the best of friends! I love her so freaken much and have missed spending time with her. I had done my nails before coming to the lake, so I just did hers for her :) 

After our nails, it was time for more water fun! For years we cousins have begged our parents to let us swim from grandma and papa's house to the club house {it's that small white building in the distance in the photo above} and they always said "no". Well, this year they said yes! Most of the kids wanted to go, but me and two others didn't really want to exert THAT much energy on our vacation, so we just let them go. When they made it to the pool house, they called us and said that they had WALKED almost the entire distance of the lake!! I couldn't believe that the lake was that low! So those of us that didn't go the first time drove over to the pool to WALK across the lake... it was the craziest thing! We had so much fun doing it and it is definitely something that I will never forget. 

After the craziness and the workout we got from the lake, we came home, showered, and then played games and watched American Ninja Warrior. Just being able to chill with my cousins is something that I have really missed. I know that I am so incredibly blessed by the relationships I have with each and every aunt, uncle, and cousin that I have! We all just love being together!

This is how we keep up with cups... we write on them is sharpie! Some of these cups have had our names on them for at least 10 years... I love it!

My sweet cousin and her husband! They got married last July... I so admire this couple and want to grow up to be like my cousin one day :) 

{and you can just ignore the crazy one on the left... she's special :) Jk! She is awesome and likes to always make sure there is something to laugh about!}

This lake house has been the spot for our family reunions for over 20 years... an uncountable number of memories have been made here. Definitely one of those places that always brings a smile to my face. 

Another beautiful sunset over the lake... 

More cousins! We hung out on the dock for a little bit before heading in to get ready for bed. It was such a beautiful night!

Grandma recently put in this new patio and it was so nice!

It was perfect for early morning chats... Most often the parents would be found here in the morning with their coffee cups, reminiscing over past memories. 

Before we left yesterday, we had a quick celebration for my grandma whose birthday is the 26th!

Ever since my cousin and I have been little, we have shared our cake. I don't like icing and she doesn't like cake! It was the perfect pair :) And that's cute grandma!! I just love her!

My sweet Papa with some of his grandkids (there are 17 in all!!!), eating cake and ice cream! :) He's the best grandpa you will ever meet!

Cousin craziness before we had to leave... I'm gonna miss this bunch of nut heads so much!!

This little one in the pink, people say she and I look like twins {even though we are 13 years apart!}

Gonna miss this girl so very much! We had some really great times together this reunion and I pray that over the next year, we will be able to see each other at least one more time. 

Good-bye NC! It was wonderful! Thank you to all my family who made the sacrifice to come down for at least a few days. I love you all so very much and I am so blessed to have each of you in my life!!

The drive home was not as easy as the drive there. We first ran into trouble when a tractor-trailer caught on fire about a mile ahead of us. We were all re-routed and then we ran into this... A train so long and slow, that I was able to sit in park for about 5 minutes. Oh, and it was also raining most of the way home. 

I ended up driving the whole way home... I really didn't mind since the siblings got some sleep and momzie got to rest her foot that she hurt. These photos are from when we hit traffic after being re-routed... Yeah, good times! The Disney station on Pandora helped make the last hour and a half of the drive more bearable and we arrived home around 5:30pm. 

I think I am done with road trips for a while. These last few weeks have been amazing, but I am good with not traveling for a little while... or at least the next two weeks. My baby sister and I are heading to PA to visit my oldest sister on August 5th, but we are flying, NOT driving :) 

I hope you all had a most wonderful weekend and that this next week brings moments to remember and people to love! 

Much love, 

LoLo