Weekend Mountain Getaway

My family and my sister's family spent the weekend in the NC mountains at the cabin that belongs to Grandmom. We enjoyed the chilly nights with a nice fire in the fireplace and sat up way too late talking and playing games. We did manage a little bit of hiking, but my seven-month pregnant sister gave us a great excuse to hang out at the cabin. We also enjoyed our trip to our favorite toy store in town. Somehow it never really seems like we have twelve kids when we are all together!

At one favorite spot where the river cascades down into some pretty falls, some of the kids decided to take a unplanned swim. Which means they were all in their jeans. AdventureQueen led the way, as always, and dove right in and swam with her cousin to the waterfall. The funny thing about my family is you can count on the odd numbered kids doing the crazy things, while the even's would rather just stay comfortable. True to form all of the odds (1,3,5 & 7) got wet in the freezing cold river. The evens (2,4 & 6) stayed nice and dry on the sand or perched on the rocks.

Another funny thing is that whenever all of the males in our two families get together, everything turns into a competition. There is a little metal cowboy that swings a metal lasso at the cabin and you would not believe how many hours were spent timing who could make the lasso spin the longest. Then Mr. Potts picked up a little ring and chain sort of puzzle at the toy store and then it became a competition to see how many times in a row each guy could make it drop the way it was supposed to. At the river there was a large flat rock propped up against another one leaving a small space to crawl under through the water. In no time it was a competition to see who could squeeze through. It never ceases to amaze me what kinds of things can be turned into a contest!

It was a nice break from our routines. Even though we live next to each other and can get together almost anytime, it's fun to go away where there are no chores calling our names!