Tennessee!! Our favorite family vacation. This is a trip that every single one of us looks forward to the most every year. We can't wait to get out there and have to find plenty of things to pass the time in the airport and airplane because it's hard to be patient!!
I thought Bentley's choice of reading was funny. Like father, like son I guess.
We got out to Tennessee and spent a couple days at grandma and grandpa's house before heading out to the lake. Olive and Karly enjoyed feeding the squirrels with grandpa in the mornings.
The kids loved the time they were able to spend with cousins at the Peterson house so they could see all their cool things - like the pet bird.
They found tons of snails, including this tiny little baby snail. Grace had one too that she named Becky and she was absolutely devastated when she accidentally smashed Becky. I guess that can happen when your pet is as tiny as this.
Grace and Olive became best buddies right away.
Matthew was pretty fond of Karly which was really cute. She just rolled with it.
In the downtime at grandma's house, the kids enjoyed playing with uncle Jeff's toys.
On our last afternoon before heading out to the lake, grandpa took us out for ice cream and then we were all able to go visit uncle Jeff at the cemetery. It was beautiful, as always.
Greg and Steph's family arrived, as well as Matt's family, and we all descended upon the lake house for the real party to begin. It's a beautiful place and everyone has a good time there. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.
The kids LOVED the kayaks this year. My older three were out on them a ton.
While out swimming around, Eden happened to come upon the cutest baby turtle. She is our animal whisperer. She loves them so much. Of course, this cute little guy was loved by everyone and got passed around quite a bit before he was finally let go.
As expected based on history with 2 year olds, Karly had a bit of a rough time with the life jacket rule. She tried really hard to fight it, but this one she just wasn't going to win!
Eden and Bentley did a lot of tubing behind the jet ski this year. They loved it!
And Brad got to do his tube rides with the teenagers. He loved that just as much.
We finally convinced Olive to try the tube and unfortunately her experience wasn't a good one. It was just Olive and Claire on the tube so as soon as it started to pull, they weren't heavy enough and the front of the tube went down and so did Olive. She was convinced she was going to drown and was quite traumatized. Hopefully we can get her to try again next year. :)
Bentley got to fish with the big boys this year and he caught a good one! He was thrilled!
Of course everybody loves grandma's "party pantry". She keeps this thing stocked full of all things sugary at all times.
We didn't have as much rain this year which was nice. Those summer storms sure are beautiful when they come though!
And with the rain comes the toads! Bentley found a cute little buddy. I love this picture of my boy.
This year included many great "firsts" for our kids, including knee boarding and wake surfing. First came the knee boarding. They started out being pulled off the yellow mat so they didn't have to pull themselves up. They did so awesome and were all smiles as uncle Greg pulled them back and forth in front of the dock. All of the cousins were so cute to yell and scream and cheer them on. They loved every minute of it. Eden went first, then Bentley, and then even Olive joined in the fun. Her smiles were so adorable and genuine as she rode on by.
Later in the week, Eden and Bentley stepped it up a notch and learned to knee board behind the boat. They both started out by laying on the board, then once it started pulling, they got themselves up on the board, strapped in, and cruised. I was so impressed! They did awesome, felt so proud, and loved being like the big kids.
They also got to try wake surfing for the first time this year. Unfortunately the smallest board they had was still a little too big for Bentley and he couldn't quite get it flat to get himself up out of the water once the boat starting pulling. I love this guy's determination though. He tried and tried and wouldn't have quit until he got it if we didn't make him. I'm pretty confident he will get this next year for sure.
Eden was also super determined and focused and she got up after a few tries! She looked so tiny and wobbly out there, but she stayed up for a few seconds as she was trying to straighten out the board and get into the wake. This is definitely something that takes lots of practice and muscle and she rocked it. She was so proud. I'm sure next year will bring great things for her too.
Blake helped Olive surf off the back of the boat and her smiles tell you just how awesome she thought that was. Her smile is my favorite - it just makes her whole face sparkle.
The boat rides were always a huge hit, especially when it was a boat ride to the ice cream shop. It's amazing how many people we can fit in uncle Jeff's boat! The kids love when we ride fast and the wind whips their hair.
Aunt Julie was doing some pretty impressive tricks for Karly. She looks like she was a pretty tough audience.
There's nothing like bobbing around in the water, hanging out with everyone. It's so much fun!
Taking family pictures every year is always a fun site. I love that it's the most casual family pictures ever. Everyone is straight off the lake. Crazy hair, no makeup, and sun burns, but we do have coordinating t-shirts thanks to Matt. The best.
The night of the 4th is one everyone looks forward too. The kids love doing their sparklers and enjoying playing on the hill, and as soon as it gets dark, the real show begins. Brad is in heaven as he lights all those fireworks. The show is really impressive and continues to gather more and more random people each year who come to watch too.
Thank you for the amazing firework show Brad, and to grandpa for financing it!!
Karly loved showing everyone who would watch that she could hold her breath and swim under water. Her cute little kicking legs are to die for.
Being at the lake can be a pretty exhausting experience for a two year old. Most days, if she just held still for a moment she would fall asleep. Boat rides became a great little napping spot for her. We got a few cute shots of the random exhausted moments.
Brad and I were like the cool teenagers this year by showing our skills wake surfing. It's so much fun!!
In our downtime when we weren't on the lake, there were lots of games being played. I love that the cousins all join together for many, many games of mafia.
The kids started an impromptu talent show/dance party. It was a good time for both participants and audience members alike.
We ended the week celebrating grandpa's birthday. I'm pretty sure nobody gets the birthday song quite like this. It's pretty special. Happy birthday grandpa - thanks for making all of this possible!
We were all sad when Saturday rolled around and it was time to go. The good news was that Greg's family was on our first flight with us so Maddie and our kids got just a bit more time together.
The trip was amazing, as always. We love being there and spending amazing "unplugged" time together. It's the best. Until next year....
