Family Weekend

This being our last weekend before football season starts and every Saturday is booked from now until November, we decided to head out for a night and have some family time. It seems that the only time we are able to really have family time is if we get away. So, we loaded up and headed out of town as soon as Jason got off work on Saturday at noon.

The boys were glad to be away and truthfully so was Jason and I. We've basically been going nonstop for weeks now between football practices, Vacation Bible School, church website meetings & Bible studies, school starting back, Fair Board committee, PTO member for the school, work, home, laundry, selling a house, buying land, yard work, getting ready to build a house, planning a move. What is that old saying, "If you want something done, then give it to someone who is busy." Well, that has been our motto lately.

So, we headed out to just have some family time, some fun with each other and to put everything else out of our minds. And we were pretty successful. We made it to Pigeon Forge and went to the Comedy Barn. It's been many years since the last time that Jason and I went there. We really enjoyed it...laughing until it hurt. The boys weren't all that impressed. It is however as I explained to them - sometimes you do things that you don't necessarily enjoy because someone else in the family does enjoy it. Being the parents, we do that often. I think it was good for our kids to do it once for us. They did think it was silly when Jason got picked to go on stage and be part of a skit. (Got that on DVD by the way!).

After the Comedy Barn we went and rode go-carts. That got rained out but the tickets we purchased are good for any day. Perhaps we'll make it back up there this fall and be able to use them then. On to a lovely dinner where we played Tic-Tac-Toe and other games on the Kids menus. We had a great night sleep then up yesterday morning for a day of fun. While Jason and I got ready as well as bags packed up, the boys played their Nintendo DS games. Then on to breakfast and to Splash Country. This is Riley's most favorite place on earth. Yesterday was not the best day to go to Splash Country from a weather perspective. The sun never really did break through the clouds and it didn't get hot temperature wise either. However, from a crowd perspective it was perfect. We were able to go on the rides without hardly any wait in line. We enjoyed time with the boys talking and being silly. I got lots of pictures of them as they played and swam in the water.

We headed back to Sparta and each napped at different times on the way home. And only one fight in the car....towards the end of a trip....over a DS game. I would like to insert that Jonah took his nap after this fight (must have needed it, huh?). We also stopped in Knoxville and ate at the Mellow Mushroom. I'd eaten there once before but none of them had. It wasn't busy and it was something different for us.

The best thing was the time that we enjoyed just the four of us. All in all...a perfect family weekend.

The very first time

Well, we had our very first.....our first friend to sleep over and our first trip taking friends with us. I was SO excited. Really....I know that some people might not be excited about such but I was. Growing up in my house, I can remember having friends spend the night often. I remember friends wanting to spend the night at our house. It was fun there. My mom would often cook brownies or cookies at night as a special treat and then cook breakfast the next morning. And I can remember many trips with friends. Now usually this was a church activity and there was quite a group but my parents being the pastors were always chaperones as well. So, I think that kind of counts as a family trip.
One great memory is my Senior Trip. I know that typical senior trips don't include the parents going. However, I attended a Christian school and in order for us to have fundraisers during the school year for our trip we had to follow certain guidelines. That included having a chaperone. My parents weren't the first choice. Actually during our entire junior and senior years as we raised money, planned our trip, etc. we had a couple of teachers who were going to go with us. But on the day before graduation and one week before we were to leave on our trip, both teachers backed out. Can you say traumatic???? What were we going to do? Well....the senior class looked at me and said "Will your parents go?"
I asked and they said yes. So that's how my parents and brother ended up going on my senior trip to Virginia Beach to a house known as Sand Pearl. Wow.....I was so proud that they were my parents at that moment. They came through and didn't just drive and "chaperone" but they sacrificed and helped us to have an awesome senior trip. All the seniors and mom piled into a 15 passenger van for the long trip to VA beach. My dad drove our personal mini-van loaded down with all of the luggage. We made it there to the house and spread out into rooms. Mom and dad got a room on the bottom floor with their own balcony - they would need a break from all of us at some point! We went to the grocery store with mom who helped not only figure out the budget for food but shopped getting good deals so we would have snacks, breakfast, and a dinner or two at the house. We played on the beach, enjoyed the sun, mom got together a trip to Busch Gardens (great budget work again). We had some dinners out but then cooked at the house as well. Mom again being head chef. And we do what teenagers do best...we "hung out". And everyone was comfortable because they'd all been around my parents from the times hanging out at my house or spending the night.
And that is just one of the awesome memories that I have. I hope that I can recreate that same thing for my boys.