Labor Day on the New River

We spent Labor Day weekend in the mountains to celebrate my father-in-law Dick's 70th birthday.  The trip was just one of the surprises we all had planned for him.  We told him a week beforehand about the trip so he could pack and get his fishing gear together.  He had no idea that Tina was coming in from London for the occasion.  The day before the trip, Tina just showed up for dinner.  That definitely surprised him!  The last surprise was that his brother, sister-in-law, nephew and his wife were joining us in the mountains.

We stayed in a house on one of the forks of the New River, and we had so much fun in the water.  I may not classify myself as a mountain person, but I am definitely a water person.  I just wished I had brought my bathing suit because I would have loved to go tubing.

We had a mix of weather each day with sun and rain, but Dick didn't let the rain stop him from fishing.

We took a morning trip into the nearest town, West Jefferson.  It has a cheese factory and store, so I would say it's a great little town!  It has a very picturesque downtown with murals and a view of the mountains.  We, also, saw the Ben Long frescoes at the Episcopal church there. 

Sims loved a long weekend with his cousin Zack.  They are seriously so sweet to each other.

Photo by Tina

I don't have any photos of the big birthday dinner, but it was delicious and included a red velvet cake made by the Ashe County High School cheerleaders (Go Huskies!).  You've gotta love local farmer's markets!  Vivian is so creative, and she made the perfect banner for the occasion.

This was the first time that I had spent any significant time with Dick's family, not including weddings and funerals.  They are a lot of fun, and we loved spending time with them and getting to know them better.  We hope to make this a tradition!

Dick with his brother Bill.  Photo by Tina.

Happy birthday, Dick!  I hope your actual birthday is as fun as your big birthday bash!

Catching Up

I apologize for my unexpected blogging hiatus, which is a nice of way of saying being lazy.  The summer has zoomed by, but it is not over yet.  We still have one more week at the beach, before I can say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

So here are some of the things that you have missed:

I went on a girls' night/slumber party in honor of my dear friend Stacy.  A group of girls with whom I graduated high school all went to Goldsboro to show our friend Stacy some love.  It was great to catch up with everyone, and of course, spend time with Stacy!  We are hoping to make this a semi-annual/annual event.

For Labor Day weekend we went up to the mountains to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday.  I will do a separate post on this trip, once I finally download all the photos.

We have been getting to know the parents of Sims' friends from school more and more over the summer, with play dates and dinners together.  This has made me so happy.  It seems that everyone, and most importantly myself, is really making a big effort to try to do more things together with and without the kiddos.  It is a really fun group, and I think Sims has made some very good choices in friends!

We are in the throes of potty training.  I must admit that I had no idea how strong-willed Sims was, but we have made some major break-throughs after trying everything imaginable.  Not only is he not yelling, "No," every time we mention the potty, he is even using it a few times a day!

Sims completed 2 months of swim lessons and has graduated to the preschool level.  This means that he won't need a parent in the pool with him, which excites me to no end!  We are hoping that we can fit in a month of swim lessons this fall, so he doesn't forget everything.

We had the living room, dining room and foyer/hallway painted a very neutral color, and we are starting to make some other decorating changes.  But let's be honest, it takes me so long to finally decide on anything decor-wise that it will likely look the same for the next 5 years.

And that's what's been happening around here!  I'll try not to be a stranger.  I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer as much as we have.