We celebrated Independence Day a little differently this year by going on a family camping trip! There is a lake down in NC called Kerr Lake that we absolutely love to go camping at, and we hadn't been in a couple of years so we decided to make a long weekend out of the holiday and camped from Thursday - Sunday on the water!
We had the most perfect weather - warm enough during the day to enjoy floating in the lake but cool enough at night to sit around a campfire and and breezy enough to sleep comfortably in our tents at night. (As comfortable as one can be 7 months pregnant and on an air mattress!)
We had the most perfect weather - warm enough during the day to enjoy floating in the lake but cool enough at night to sit around a campfire and and breezy enough to sleep comfortably in our tents at night. (As comfortable as one can be 7 months pregnant and on an air mattress!)
Here's a little taste of our family time together on the lake...
Oh Yes. While others partied on their jet skis and motor boats in the middle of the lake, we stuck to the man powered, good ol' canoe! We enjoy canoeing, but we all agree a jet ski would be super fun!
Hammocks were the #1 choice for napping and relaxing...
My sister Erin made all of the girls matching tanks for the 4th of July! We definitely consider ourselves to be a patriotic family, and we sure are proud to be Americans!
Our growing family!
Literally. I think my belly gets bigger every day! :)
We enjoyed taking nightly walks around the campground with the pups after we had dinner...
Piper slightly ruined our picture by having to pee ;)
Just some camping shenanigans...
The guys loved to go out on the little john boat in the morning and evening to do some fishing.
Campfires. S'Mores. Starry Nights. Perfection.
We enjoyed just floating in the lake together, talking, reading books, and goofing off!
Piper spent from sun up to sun down swimming in the lake. She didn't even need anyone to throw her ball for her, she would just hold the ball in her mouth, swim around and explore to her little hearts content.
The other dogs didn't love swimming but they would play in the shallow water with Piper.
We cut up and ate about 1 watermelon per day. This was a must have on the camping menu for this pregnant girl! And oh my word, it sure was delicious!
Thursday marked the 30th week of pregnancy for us! No chalkboard update for this week, but baby girl's skin is getting smoother, brain is getting wrinklier, and she could now grasp a finger! Hard to believe that we are only a little over 2 months away from her due date.
We enjoyed our camping trip and just having family time together without any distractions!
And right as we were getting ready to leave, we got the call that Mark's sister had gone into labor!
It was an exciting trip home as Mark and I anticipated the arrival of our first niece - more on that later!
Mark and I enjoyed a nice long 4 day weekend last week for the 4th of July holiday since we both had Friday off. I started thinking about it, and I'd have to say Independence Day definitely makes my top 3 favorite holiday list. (The other two favorites being Easter and Christmas!)
I am proud to be an American; grateful that I was born here in the United States. Whenever 4th of July comes around I more often than not get stopped in my tracks as I think about the men and families that risked their lives to establish this nation hundreds of years ago. I become overwhelmed with respect and admiration for their courage and faith. Could you imagine being in the situations they were in? It truly blows my mind when I think about it. It gives you sense of how your actions can affect generations to come. I am so thankful for what they did for us and what people who serve this country continue to do for us.
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the atmosphere of Independence Day celebrations! First of all its Summer, so the mood is generally more relaxed. And whats not to like about Cook Outs, Family, Games, Parades, Fireworks, Sparklers, and Americana everywhere... including in the food!
It just makes for a fun day.
Pinterest Inspired Creation.
Fruit pizza is always delicious.
The Friday after Independence day Mark and I had my cousins and their wives come stay with us for the weekend. Remember "My Boys" that I told you about? Yea, they were the ones that came! And they brought their 6 month old black lab puppy and 4 month old great dane puppy. You can imagine our house was pretty full with 8 people and 3 energetic pups, but we had a blast. We got to enjoy the beach and some more family cookouts. My cousin Tim and his wife Leah also announced that they were expecting their first child, they've been married about 8 months :) Isn't that precious? My baby fever probably spiked a few degrees hearing their news and talking to them over the weekend haha. Mark and I are still praying about God's timing for trying to start a family, but I'm hoping it will be soon. : ) We didn't get many pictures together, I'm so bad about taking time to stop and get pictures! The few we did take were of our adorable puppies of course. haha
We're hoping to visit the cousins up where they live near Philly sometime this fall. Until then, Mark and I are looking forward to our Europe Vacay!!! Coming up in only 2 weeks!
I am proud to be an American; grateful that I was born here in the United States. Whenever 4th of July comes around I more often than not get stopped in my tracks as I think about the men and families that risked their lives to establish this nation hundreds of years ago. I become overwhelmed with respect and admiration for their courage and faith. Could you imagine being in the situations they were in? It truly blows my mind when I think about it. It gives you sense of how your actions can affect generations to come. I am so thankful for what they did for us and what people who serve this country continue to do for us.
Moving on. :)
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the atmosphere of Independence Day celebrations! First of all its Summer, so the mood is generally more relaxed. And whats not to like about Cook Outs, Family, Games, Parades, Fireworks, Sparklers, and Americana everywhere... including in the food!
It just makes for a fun day.
Pinterest Inspired Creation.
Fruit pizza is always delicious.
 |
Family getting ready to enjoy the local firework show!  |
Leah helping the puppies down the slide. :)
Good puppies waiting for their treats!
{The 2 black ones to the right of Piper are my Sister's and my Parent's family dogs, they came to visit one night for a cookout. 5 dogs in one backyard = lots of laughs. Bonus? Piper slept for days after their visit. ;) }
Piper and her cousin Griffin!
We spent a lot of time on our back deck just hanging out. :)
We're hoping to visit the cousins up where they live near Philly sometime this fall. Until then, Mark and I are looking forward to our Europe Vacay!!! Coming up in only 2 weeks!
Did I mention I was proud to be an American? :)
