Weekend in the Mountains

We spent the weekend up in the mountains and it was UH-mazing!  My little sis is getting married in a few weeks and there is just a lot of logistics to work through with the number of kids involved (my parents have 24 grandkids plus at least one more on the way currently) and the fact that the wedding party is made up almost entirely of these kids' parents plus her hubby has married sibs with kids also in the wedding.  So....lots of logistics, which means my need to plan ahead for as much was causing me a little bit of anxiety.  Not like I can't handle life, I'm ripping my hair out anxiety.  Just I want to plan and plan some more and I don't control all the factors, so I need to just take a breath, do what I can do with the things that are within my control, and leave the rest to others and God.  So, this trip to the mountains was exactly what I needed right now to do that.  

With the exception of a couple quick text messages to confirm about which Mass part we'll be using for the wedding, I did not think about or plan for the wedding at all last weekend.  It was nice to allow myself the time to just breathe and enjoy some time with my family and some dear friends.  

On the drive up to the cabin that Chris found to rent for the weekend, we were awed by this incredible sunset.  These pictures 1. don't even do it justice (of course!)  2. were taken with the window up as we were driving, so you can imagine what it actually looked like.  God really outdid himself with the master paintings that evening.  

Those are clouds below the sunset as well.  The girls were really excited that we were higher than the clouds and squealed their pleasure.  

A few minutes later around another few bends in the road, the sunset view changed to this amazingness.  Seriously, God, you are marvelous.  Truly awesome.  

We stopped and Chris got a few shots with the nicer camera (I haven't seen those yet actually) and then headed on up to our home for the weekend.  

By the time we arrived and got our stuff in the house and settled a little, it was already dusk and the moon was shining brightly.  Our friends arrived as well and made up a delicious salad (she and I have some health-related diet restrictions-hers are more strict than mine).  I could seriously go into detail about it, but most of you would be bored. It was SO good.  We'll just leave it at that (unless you want to know and then you know how to reach me).  

We played a game with Kayla (her current favorite-Wits and Wagers) and eventually got the girls to bed.  And then the four of us (Chris and I and our friends, Crystal and Jonny) just chatted amiably about anything and everything.  They are in RCIA right now, so our conversation ranged from faith to family to music to food and anything in between.  

The next morning I was up with the girls and got to enjoy the quiet stillness of daybreak in the mountains.  

The girls wanted to tromp around in the snow, which they did in our extremely limited "cold weather gear".  They helped rebuild a melting snowman.  As you can see, I wasn't lying when I said limited cold weather gear.  Not a single one of them is wearing a coat that is actually their correct size, and nothing but the coats (and a few of the boots) is waterproof  nor does any of it match.  haha. 

 

 

 
(snow pictures by Chris)

After lunch we all went for a little adventure.  We could see on a map that there was a small(ish) lake nearby, and thought we should go check it out.  

(picture by Chris)

Just as we were leaving the house to begin our little trek

 

(I took those last few pictures)

We found it easily, but it bordered a golf course and parts of it were gated off.  We found a legitimate way to get a better view, but as we circled around, we stepped off the beaten path, and ended up on the golf course which is technically private property.  But since it was the middle of winter, no one cared and we walked around and no one yelled at us.  The girls chased coots and splashed in puddles from melting snow.  They slid on ice patches and stomped through the hardened snow. 

 

(pictures by Chris- chasing the coots)

 

 It was a fun little adventure and though we all came back with cold, wet feet, we were all cheerful and refreshed.  

The evening was filled with good conversation, working together in the kitchen, discussing our faith and encouraging one another, jamming (Jonny brought his keyboard and Chris brought his guitar), and laughing.  

Mass the next morning at a church up in the mountains and then it was time to head homeward.  But not before we got a picture of the four of us sans kids (they were already in the car except Kayla who snapped the photo).  

Kayla insisted on a picture of her with Crystal and then one with her and Crystal AND Jonny.  

 

It was such a wonderful time. Glad we got this chance to take off into the mountains for a couple days to relax and recharge.  Thanks for the quality time, Crystal and Jonny!

And lest you think the trip was without incident or problems, we did have a few minor issues.  The baby gate was a cheap one (and there was only one, but two sets of stairs) and broke when we set it up the first time.  We didn't get charged for it though, since apparently the folks who rented the house to us realized it was not the best of baby gates.  Also the stair railings were really wide, so even if the baby gate had worked properly, Sophie could have fallen right through the railings, which made our job as vigilant parents when Sophie was awake a bit more tedious, but it worked out fine.  And the girls took FORever to fall asleep the first night because they were so excited.  So there you have it.  Nothing is ever perfect, but this seemed very close.  So blessed. 

Good-bye, home for the weekend.  You were wonderful to us.