Fall Getaway

We all know how I love traditions...and I hope a new one was born this year.  We took off for a much needed getaway to Brown County with some of our favorite people on the planet during the kids fall break last week and had a fantastic time!  This is the same crew we will be traveling with to Fort Myers Beach for spring break next year and I know we were all a little bit nervous about how our 2-day fall trip would go.  I was worried if it didn't go well, we would all be dreading spring break.  Well, fear not!  I thought the trip went better than I even expected and aside from a few tears and tantrums along the way, it was a relatively drama free and super relaxed getaway.  Amy and I even found ourselves laying down and reading books for a few hours one afternoon!  Seriously.  I never expected that.  It was a treat for sure.

As best I can remember, this whole trip was kind of a spur of the moment decision made one night around our kitchen table when the families were all together for one of our monthly get-togethers.  Someone said "hey, we should go to Brown County during fall break."  Everyone agreed, and Dean, Stacey, and Amy got out the laptop to start searching...the rest is history. 

In total there were 6 adults and 8 kids ranging in age from 2 to 8.  The kids are all the best of friends so they were beyond pumped to get going and head south!

our "before" shot...unfortunately the sun was a little bright :)

Our cabin had the perfect setup for our families with 3 levels and a bedroom/bathroom on each level plus 2 pull-out couches.  Dean and I were on the bottom floor, which was also the game room.  Macy, Joey (and I) ended up sleeping on the pull-out couch on that level.  The first night Alex and Drew joined the party on an air mattress and Dean lucked out with a full size bed to himself. 

The  weather was absolutely perfect the first day...and absolutely terrible the second.  It didn't seem to bother the kids though.  They had worn themselves out the day before, hiking, playing football, cooking smores over a bonfire, and hanging in the hot tub.  They seemed content to just bounce around the house playing ping pong, pool, coloring, and making lots of noise!



 

The girls all headed to Nashville for some shopping late morning on Friday and the boys went into town as well to check out a Boomer dunk show at a local school!

 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent watching movies, reading, playing cards, and enjoying lots of snacks, beverages, and some more hot tub time.  I was happy to accompany Mae and Joe to bed early again.  The sacrifices I make ;)

 

We all headed home the next day with smiles on our face...well, most of us had smiles.  Madelynn had a minor moment.  Love her in this picture right before we headed home.

Nathan, Macy, Ben, Joe, Drew, Alex, Madelynn and Tommy Joe

 

 

We even had Nathan take a final picture of the adults, sleepy eyed but happy as well!



Love my friends and can't wait for the next trip...though I am dreading the 18-hour car ride. Bleh.