vacation = Splash Country!

The climax of our week at camp was a full day at Dollywood's Splash Country - an amazing waterpark!

The day was perfect - overcast, so not too hot and not too crowded - and the kids (both young and old!) had so much fun riding rides, cruising the lazy river, playing in the pool and being together.

The best part was that YaYa & PaPa rented a cabana for the day so we had a retreat where we could keep our stuff, eat our meals and take a break if needed...

Our cabana happened to overlook the lazy river:

(this was particularly great when the bigger boys did laps on their own and made sure to check in with YaYa every time they swam by!)

For a good part of the day, the kids played in the kids' park - not too intimidating for the little guys and fun for everyone! I believe the slides were definitely a BIG hit!

Remember that cabana idea? Well it paid off in spades when the boys needed a moment to rest between riding rides and having dinner and low and behold, there was a TV in the cabana!

This is, sadly, my favorite picture - something about the fact that all four of them are totally glassy-eyed and zoned in on cartoons is kind of funny!

They did get a second-wind - and it didn't take long to move 'em on to the wave pool, and more rides!

Absolutely the best day ever - we were the first to arrive and the last to leave and we loved every minute of it!

Thanks to YaYa & PaPa for sponsoring our visit and for watching over the kids while we (the adult-kids!) got to ride the really fun stuff!!! (I have never laughed so hard...)

What a great way to wrap up a fantastic visit - missing "camp" already!

vacation = the forest!

So, after a relaxing week at the beach with the Etheridge clan, we headed north to Knoxville to "Camp Ya Pa Pa Ya" (aka the Hightower home!) for a FULL week of family fun and activities!

Our early arrival allowed the boys to get some much loved one-on-one game time with YaYa:

Then the Mississippi crew arrived just in time for Father's Day - and we celebrated in style with some of Aunt K's very special homemade creations!

Once everyone was there, "camp" was officially in session.

What better way to kick off the week than a dance party with all the cousins!

As if dance parties, Legos, foosball and catching butterflies wasn't enough to keep the kids occupied - there was so much more planned for the week at camp!

POOL TIME

First and foremost was the neighborhood pool... and the ride on YaYa's golf cart to get there!

COOKIE DECORATING

Did I mention Aunt K's amazing cookie creations? Well she brought along a bag of cookie dough, some fun cutouts and lots of icing so the kids could make their own!

What a great activity - fun to make and even more fun to eat!

FORT BUILDING

"Camp Ya Pa Pa Ya" is a beautiful, wooded retreat with a creek flowing through the back yard and occasional frogs or turtles to entertain any aspiring explorer!

This week's mission for the latest back yard addition was a fort - and PaPa played foreman to a pretty respectable troop of day laborers:

the final product:

You would have thought they'd be hiding out there for the rest of the week, but they just had too many other fun things to do...

FIRE PIT

... like watching Uncle T roast weenies over an open fire!

Seriously - how fun! A weenie roast and full-fledged backyard picnic.

(there were, of course s'mores ingredients available as incentive to eat all your dinner!)

Yet, even with all the fun things to do... I'm pretty sure the reason we keep coming back to "Camp Ya Pa Pa Ya" is the great staff! (ha!)

Seriously - it's time spent with family that makes it all fun. And PaPa and YaYa do so much to make it great - the food, the toys and games, the food, the activities, and especially the food!!!

We even took a moment to get the Hightower men + one traditional picture:

But don't worry, YaYa got plenty of photo-ops with the grandkids, too!

Here's the best part - THAT'S NOT IT!!!

The grand finale of the week at camp was a day at Dollywood's Splash Country - and there were so many fun pictures from that day, it'll have to wait for another post...

so keep in touch!

vacation = the beach!

Well, it's hard to know where to begin...

Mojo & Dado arranged a perfect family beach vacation for us all - complete with beach toys galore, dinner reservations at some of our favorite places (and one new favorite!), a tee time for the big boys, and an order for excellent weather all week! We even had a signature drink for the week:

(don't ask me, it was a bunch of yummy juices and rum...!)

Anyway, the beach was gorgeous, but most of all it was the company we kept that made it all so great!

Here's an idea of what we did all week: set up camp on the beach and hit the waves!

and a few (just a few!) of my favorite photos...

Here is our daily beach camp:

umbrellas, chairs, towels, snacks, drinks, books, sunscreen...

... oh, and lots and lots of toys!!!

There was a new sand castle every day:

But once the sand started getting into all our crevices, we jumped in the ocean and over the waves!

Some of us needed a little help getting over the waves:

But Hamp really took on the role of resident surfer this year... with a little help from Uncle Alec, he learned how to catch a good wave all by himself and loved every minute of it!

In the evenings, once we were beached out for the day and had swum to our hearts' content... we would gather for happy hour on the porch and watch the beach clear out and the tide come in.

The time spent together as a family was quite special - we laughed and chatted, tried to give "Baby E" a real name, had a couple of great home-cooked meals (thanks J & A for the shrimp & fish tacos - they were great!!!) and stayed up late playing games.

The boys with Aunt J and their future cousin!

Everyone had a "favorite part" of the week... surfing the waves, swimming in the pool, happy hour, good food, and beach camp were all on the list. But my favorite (and here's where the "momma" in me comes out!) was by far watching my boys play together on the beach.

My two favorite people at my favorite place!

Thank you Mojo & Dado for an amazing week at the beach!

It certainly could not have been any better - and I will cherish these memories always!