More from Mary: Lake House Weekend

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful weekend vacation with the family at my sister’s lake house in North Texas! Usually when I travel to Texas, we hang out in Waco or Dallas and things are always busy with people coming and going and me trying to see everyone I possibly can. But this time we were out in the country just hanging out and relaxing. I can’t remember the last time that my immediate family was together – just us.

I had quite a frustrating day of travel on Friday due to flight delays out of Portland because there was a problem getting fuel into all airplanes that morning (first time I’ve heard that one!), but I finally made it to Dallas around 5pm and my parents picked me up and we drove 80 miles north to Bowie, Texas. Sarah and Emily and fam were already there when we arrived. Hannah and Alice Anne gave me a tour of the house, we walked down to the water, had a quick bite to eat, I beat Brett in a game of ping pong, then the adult sat on the back patio and chatted before it was quickly bedtime.

Saturday morning we went down to the lake and toured around on the jet ski with Emily at the wheel (hold on tight!). Then the whole family piled in the boat and cruised around Lake Amon Carter (no relation – that we know of). After lunch, the clouds rolled in so we quickly covered the outdoor furniture, came inside and all sat around the back windows to enjoy the thunder and lightning storm. I love a good storm because we never get those up in Portland. While it rained, Hannah and I used our “quiet time” to pull out the sewing machine and make some summer scarves. We worked on this project off and on all weekend and ended up with some pretty great new accessories. That afternoon we played cornhole, a little more ping pong, laid in the hammock, the kids went four wheeling, and then we grilled burgers for dinner. We had just enough time for a quick dance party before bedtime.

On Sunday morning, we all went back out on the boat and took the tube with us. Tubing was one of the highlights of the weekend! Everyone took a turn, even Jammy! The kids couldn’t get enough of it and we had to finally drag them out of the water. We enjoyed relaxing in the early afternoon before it was time to head home. Wow, there were so many fun things to do at the lake house – we probably could have stayed there for another week! Thanks, Emily and Brett, for letting us all come out for such a great weekend together at the lake. I think this should be a new summer tradition!

The Belfs, Jammy and I drove back to Dallas together and stopped for some delicious Tex Mex on the way home. On Monday, we all went over to the Coleman’s house for lunch with Judy, Bob, Claire and kids, and cousin Kristyn even stopped by for a bit. Last night, we met up with the Dallas Carter crew for dinner at Fernando’s (I just can’t get enough Tex Mex and margs!). It was especially great to see little Lottie, who is actually turning one year old this week and is not so little anymore! This morning, the girls and I only had enough time for a few card games and breakfast before it was time to head to the airport. I was sad to leave these little princesses (they were literally dressed in princess dresses and crowns) and their mommy, but what a great long weekend we had!

Some other highlights from the fun weekend with the fam: getting to spend Father’s Day weekend with my dad, getting to cheer for Henry when he successfully used the big-boy potty, Saturday night firework show by Brett and Taylor, laying in the hammock with Sarah and all the kids, teaching Dad to play corn hole and then beating him, getting dating advice from Sarah (who I’m sure is rolling her eyes as she is reading this), seeing the McCalls for a brief minute when they came to take Mom back to Waco, trying on fancy hats at a shop with the girls, having a beauty parlor (or “beaulor partner” as Hannah says) morning with haircuts, hair color and manicures on the back porch with the girls, a brief theology side discussion with Uncle Les at dinner, Alice Anne crawling in bed and snuggling with me in the morning. Thanks, fam, for making time to hang for a long Texas weekend with me – I had so much fun and can’t wait to do it again next summer!