did y'all miss me?

Sorry I just disappeared but we took advantage of one of Matt's business trips and called it a family vacation. He had a conference in Guntersville, Alabama and we all stayed at the Lake Guntersville Lodge for a couple of days. It was so much fun to get out in the country. And I mean Country...as in Dukes of Hazzard style country and more simply meaning no internet nor cell phone coverage. We had a good time playing outside at various playgrounds and also taking short hikes around the lodge. It totally sparked a desire to go camping. This may happen sooner rather than later since the weather this time of year is absolutely perfect for camping.

Following is a picture diary of our trip...

wearing Mommy's "bling bling" glasses while we load up the car.

on the road again...I can't wait to get on the road again. (oh sorry that was a song my Dad liked to listen to but....anyway here we are on the road.)

Tyler's bed (a.k.a. sleeping bag) at the lodge. He was so tired by the time we got to bed the first night that he actually laid down himself and went to sleep on his own.

our view from the balcony. Lake Guntersville in the Tennessee valley.

Lauren and Tyler enjoy the early morning cool breeze on the balcony.

And now we head to the playground:

even Mommy had fun on the "turny thing"

We came home in time to get a party together to watch the Oregon Duck v. USC game which was to be broadcast on ABC. After making all the calls, getting everybody over to the house and the cook-out all set up...we found out THE GAME WOULDN'T BE BROADCAST ON TV IN OUR AREA! Big bummer; but as I understand it, my Ducks for some reason lost so it was alright I didn't get to see it. Instead, we just hung out with friends and everyone had a good time regardless. Here's a pic of Lauren all ready for the game.

And today, Sunday, we invited Tera over to come play while the Daddy's watched football. (Matt actually worked on the basement for half of the day but was able to find a couple of hours to watch some football.)

Here are the sweet little angels dressed as princesses

and here is the group (Joshua came over to play too) The favorite thing to play with, as of late, is our cars. They get to punch and push and pull all the buttons and levers they like but they all understand the ONE RULE we have in Daddy's car.....Do Not Touch The Emergency Brake. So far so good...and the trees in the line of fire thank us for that rule.

looking tough as they eat granola bars

looking sweet as sugar as they eat their granola bars

and pretty much...here in the South they don't really care. Driving ages are simply meant as guidelines. [wink, wink]

For dinner tonight we invited Tera, her brother Tyler (Big Tyler) and Mr. Mike over to eat. I made the kids spagettios and chicken tenders and us adults had Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna. Delish all the way around.

And now I'm trying to get caught up on e-mails and Tivo'd shows. Enjoy your evenings.