Lake Weekend with Friends

What makes a lake weekend with family even more fun? Why friends, of course! Mama and Daddy were sweet (and brave!) to let Lauren and Jonathan invite friends to the lake for the weekend. It was their first time to try knee boarding and skiing, and they did great!! We were blessed with beautiful weather for a long weekend ~ everything was perfect!

 These kids have a lot of fun when they're together!

Joe and Daddy spent a lot of time on the waverunner ~ they made sure the kids were enjoying themselves.

 Kevin and Sharon made knee boarding look so easy!

I love seeing my parents having fun on the waverunners. 

 Andrew always has double the fun when friends are around!

 So cute... and so sweet!

Kevin is always smiling ~ and he kept us laughing ~ he says the funniest things!

I used to love riding double with my friends...so happy our kids get to enjoy the lake in the summer.

These girls have such a sweet friendship.

And.... he's up!!! He would not give up... and I'm so glad he didn't! Don't you love that smile?!

SO.MUCH.FUN!!!

My sweet loves...

It's been seventeen years, and he still makes me laugh, all the time! I love this man with all my heart!

Look who's skiing ~ all smiles! We were all so excited!

Daddy took them for a "wild and crazy" ride before we had to leave on Monday. The boys let go a little early, the wind caught the tube, and they went skipping across the water like a couple of rocks! I was laughing so hard ~ it was funny to listen to them talking about it! So blessed to have had such a fun weekend!

Summer, Sweet Summer

Our children were blessed with the most fabulous teachers this year! We had so much to celebrate before welcoming summer!

Andrew was so excited about his preschool graduation ~ his program was so cute! He loved Mrs. Julie and Mrs. Mel ~ they were so perfect for him! He also enjoyed all of the sweet kids in his class ~ I already miss seeing my "mommy friends" each morning. 

Our sweet Lauren was asked to read the meditation for the Eighth Grade Awards Ceremony. She read an excerpt from Dr. Seuss' book, Oh, The Places You'll Go, and she did a wonderful job (she was SO nervous)! She was recognized for being on A Honor Roll for the year, and she received an award from both her Strings and Spanish teachers. We were so proud of her!

Mrs. Warren was the most perfect teacher for our handsome fifth grader! She truly brought out the best in Jonathan. He was recognized for making A Honor Roll all year, and he received a certificate for serving on Student Council, as well as News Team. He was just beaming all day ~ we were so proud of him!

We were so happy to see summer... and Lake Chatuge!

Smiling for the paparazzi ~ they know when they round the corner, I'm most likely waiting with my camera. :)

We're excited to have new neighbors at the lake ~ longtime family friends, Doug and Sissy Howell! The kids had so much fun with Ridge!

Happy Summer!

Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios

Magic Kingdom might be our favorite park at Disney World, but there are so many things we love about Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios!

Animal Kingdom

We got to see lots of animals on our early morning safari ride. Andrew had recently asked for me to take him to the zoo, so he really enjoyed it!

Aunt Jackie and Jonathan are such sweet buddies! They always have so much fun together!

We absolutely LOVE Expedition Everest! I was so excited to actually get this photo!

So awesome ~ I love their faces!! (Joe's brother in law and his daughter are sitting right in front of Joe and Lauren.)

Epcot

Our extended family spent quite a bit of time at Epcot, as it's one of their favorite parks. We love the rides and shows in the other parks a lot more, but we enjoyed riding Soarin' (several times!) and Spaceship Earth. The boys also had fun riding Test Track and Mission: SPACE (the "light" version for Joe ~ ha ha!), while others of us enjoyed "The Seas with Nemo & Friends", along with "Turtle Talk with Crush". We even caught a glimpse of the fireworks!

I love to visit Epcot at night ~ the fountains are so beautiful! The full moon was a bonus!

Hollywood Studios

We spent more time at Hollywood Studios on this trip than we ever have, as Lauren and Jonathan now love The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller coaster as much as we do!! Our family favorite is Toy Story Midway Mania! ~ we have SO much fun on that ride!!

This cute little guy was so sweet, even when he had to wait between rides. I love how he makes us laugh!

I'm SO glad my friend, Stephanie, told me about "Fantasmic" ~ we enjoyed it so much we saw it twice!

On our last night of vacation, we saw "Fantasmic" before heading to Magic Kingdom to see the parade, castle show, and fireworks just one more time. As we were leaving the park just before midnight, Andrew was asleep on my shoulder and Lauren had tears in her eyes ~ she just didn't want the night to end. 

I felt so blessed ~ we have made such wonderful memories at Disney!