First Weekend Away

This past weekend I ventured to the beach with a bunch of friends for my first weekend away since having Piper! I was definitely a little nervous, more about Piper getting enough to eat than anything else (now that she doesn't take a bottle anymore). It was also Matt's first time watching her for that long of a period so it was a bunch of firsts for this family!  Just like usual I was worrying about nothing because it all went so well! I thought I would be so homesick for her as well, but it was really the perfect amount of time to be away.  I was definitely glad to see her when I got back but wasn't missing her overly much while there.

It was really great to get away with the girls and get is some much needed girl time! We left for the beach after work on Friday and came back Sunday afternoon.  We all stayed in one hotel room that had two beds, a pullout, and a little kitchen.  It was a little tight but we made the best of it!  It was like a big ol' sleep over!  It was cloudy and windy most of the day on Saturday but we spent a good portion of the day on the beach anyway, talking, reading, & painting our nails!

Except for going out Saturday night we made all of our meals in the room and ate on the beds :) Here's Jennifer and Renee cooking breakfast for us on Saturday!  And of course we all got dressed up to go out on Saturday and I took a whirl at curling my hair and it turned out pretty awesome! 

Jennifer, Aleesa, and I!

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Such a fun weekend!  Of course any post isn't complete unless Piper is in it, so here are some pictures from her first beach trip at the end of August.  We were only on the beach for a little bit and we got her toes wet, but she wasn't to fond of it!

and just for kicks here was Piper on her first boat ride in Maine.  

Thats all for now!  Can you believe its October already?!  Time to bust out the fall decorations!

-Monica

A weekend at the cabin...

We traveled out to Bedford County with my family this past weekend to take advantage of the long memorial day weekend. My family has grown quite rapidly over the past few years, with new spouses and a new grandchild we no longer fit in the cabin we used to go to.  We did the beach in January two years in a row and then tried a lake house last year in the fall, so we decided to mix it up again this year and try out the cabin in the spring. My aunt and uncle own the property and renovated the old farm house and spring kitchen that were on the land. It's really quite beautiful. With the first sweltering week just under our belts, the weekend was actually pretty chilly and lent itself to sweatshirts and coats.  The weather was perfect though.  I'll leave you with some pictures from the weekend!

The guys all got out the golf gear to practice their driving skills

The first day there was pretty windy so we pulled out the kites!

Day 2, the guys all headed out for a round of golf, so the girls pulled out some crafts and such.... and the aunts all crowed around the sink to give Piper a bath!

We ended the day with a bonfire up on the hill!  Absolutely beautiful!

The next morning we all headed back up to the fire pit, but this time pulled out the chairs to watch the boys play quoits... and read, grad papers, and play with Pipes.

And then the golf balls made another appearance.

All in all it was a great weekend.  Its always fun to spend time with the family and relax. 

-Monica

Deep Creek

This past week we ventured to Deep Creek Lake located in western Maryland for a relaxing vacation with some of my friends from college.  We had such a great time!   The days were laid back and relaxing we didn't really have any specifics on the agenda other than hanging out by the water, riding the jet ski's, and exploring the surrounding area.  There was a great state park near by that had a nice little beach area that we visited a couple times.  We also ventured out on several long walks throughout the week to help my friend Jess reach her goal of walking/running 100 miles in June!  We ended the week by renting a boat for a half day and just soaking up the sun!  Here are a couple pics I captured during the week.  Enjoy!

 

Vaughn Walking with Savannah on our little pathway down to the dock

 Matt and I ventured into town the one morning and hit up a bunch of tourist shops

 Building a fort for Savannah

 Savannah is such a cutie!

 We spent a lot of time hanging out on the dock and feeding the ducks

 Vaughn and Micah on the ski's

Matt water skiing 

 The whole crew minus Marcus