We got back a week ago from our week trip to beautiful North Carolina. The past few years the Edwards family go on an annual vacation, and this year we rented a house on Lake Norman, the largest lake in North Carolina. I have to admit Tommy and I didn't have high expectations for this trip, traveling and sleeping with the girls and all. In the past, when the girls weren't around, we would have loved spending every minute in the sun, whether it was kayaking, fishing, swimming or laying out. And when the sun wasn't out, we would have preferred playing games with family. Oh, and we would sleep in. every day. But things have changed dramatically since children and we didn't want to be disappointed with this vacation so we wanted to set our expectations low. Let me tell you, what a good idea that was, because our expectations were blown out of the water! We had a BLAST! It made us really enjoy every moment that we had with our girls as well as enjoy every minute of "free time" that we had when the girls took their 2+ hour naps in the afternoons :)
We flew into Charlotte and stayed overnight with one of Tommy's best friends, Patrick and his family. I had a great time talking with Mary-Ann and the girls just loved spending time with their 3.5-year-old Kate and 6-month old Evangeline. We enjoyed seeing their apartment, eating yummy food, catching up, and watching our girls all interact with one another. Patrick was very kind, and drove us half way to Lake Norman, where we were met by Dad Edwards who drove us to the Lake. The girls quickly warmed up to the entire family, which was great. Tommy and I instantly fell in love with our new niece, Collette who is only 1.5-months-old. She's a beauty. After having the privilege of cuddling with her all week, I think Tommy and I might both be getting the "itch". We will see what happens in the next few months. I will say that the girls just turned 1.5 and they seem to be getting so big, it's scary how fast they are growing up! Anyway, I digress ;)
We spent a ton of time down on the lake, but the hike from the doorstep to the pier was 115 steps. ugh. It was pretty grueling making it up those stairs with one or two 20-something pound babies in your arms! I joked about the fact that I HAD to have lost weight over vacation. I mean, come on, I tackled those stairs several times a day, kayaked, and didn't stuff my face with chips and nachos more than once. Unfortunately, I ended up gaining 2 pounds... of pure muscle of course.
Ellie was so independent all week - what a beautiful and well-behaved little girl Jake and Carly have raised. She is just the cutest thing to watch and listen to! We were impressed by her courage in catching and hold fish, going on the boat and in the water all by herself. We also love it when she gives us hugs and kisses and tells us how much she loves us...heart-melting!
Evenings, after the kids went down, were spent dominating in Settlers (I'm only partially kidding here:)) or hanging out on the pier, fishing, or chatting. Maddy and Mark were awesome to have on the trip because they ensure that we have some deeper-level conversation and really engage in relationship building. I'm so thankful and impressed that the youngest in the Edwards family are the most intentional with digging deeper into peoples lives. They are awesome.
So, in the end, we LOVED our vacation and LOVED seeing family. God is good, all the time. We are so incredibly blessed and thankful for the best family in the world. Sorry I didn't take my camera so we have NO pictures! We did capture some awesome moments though!
