Our Fun-Filled Family Labor Day Weekend
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This past weekend we stayed at Getaway House for Labor Day with PJ’s cousin Lauren and her daughter and ate everything in site, stayed up way too late, and took the kids rafting for the first time.
It all started on Friday night when we arrived at Getaway House. We’ve stayed there before, but this was the longest period of time we’ve ever spent at GH. PJ’s family came and his aunt Karen and cousin Rachel brought us the sweetest little gift basket as a thank-you for letting them use The Pavilion at Ocoee Farm for Rachel’s son’s 1st birthday a few weeks back. How thoughtful is that?
The basket was filled with all of our favorite things: cheese, crackers, chocolate, wine. They hit the nail on the head (and maybe had a little help from Lauren in picking out the items).
We ate dinner (hotdogs and chips!) and talked for hours. It was the perfect night to start the weekend off.
The next morning PJ headed off to the farm first thing to take care of a few loose ends for a few hours. Lauren and I let the kids play in the creek while we made a little setup for ourselves complete with a hammock, lounge chair, citronella candle, and our books.
After a while, PJ came back to Getaway House with a brilliant idea on how to spend the rest of the day: rafting!! The kids had never been and it felt like the perfect way to do a little resting while also having fun. It had rained all morning but by then, the rain had let up, so it felt like a sign. We loaded up and drove a few miles down the road to Webb Brothers to get our rafts and oars and life jackets.
If you’ve never rafted down the Hiwassee River, I highly recommend it. It’s peaceful and fun and slightly thrilling all at the same time. And might I suggest you use Webb Brothers? They load you into the back of a truck and drive you to the top of the river to let in so you can float all the way down.
The 10 minute truck ride is fun all in itself:
Once we put our rafts in and all climbed in each of them, the ice cold water hit me like a breath of fresh air, invigorating my senses and I instantly felt grateful for PJ suggesting we do this.
We all took turns with the kids and they were constantly (and safely) switching between rafts. Sometimes it would be one of us alone in our own raft and sometimes we’d be with all the kids. That was part of the fun and freedom of it all.
When you’re out there on the water and it’s just you and the trees on either side of you and the fresh air, you feel like you might as well be the only person alive. Just you and nature. But then you look around and see your kid’s face grinning from ear to ear because how cool of an experience is this and suddenly you’re so glad it’s not just you and nature.
We both were so happy we got to experience this with the three of them (and our cousin and her daughter!!).
Though you had to use your oar most of the time, there were many calm parts to the river where you could put your oar away and just peacefully float on down. There was a certain stillness to these times that I wish I could freeze and bottle up forever.
It’s a good thing I brought my camera to do just that.
Riah and PJ spent the most time together and every time I would look over, PJ would be messing with him with his oar or rubbing his feet in Riah’s face, much to Riah’s delight. I love how his legs are propped up on PJ’s shoulders in this picture, just hanging out. He’s so cool.
As we were nearing the end of the trip, we passed under a bridge filled with Muscovy ducks.
The next day it rained nonstop, forcing us to slow down and play card games inside Lauren’s camper while we ate cinnamon rolls. We watched our favorite Disney movies and drank soda and ate chips and did whatever we wanted. A true staycation, no?
Later that evening, with the rain still going strong outside, we were staying nice and dry inside with some wine and calming jazz music playing. My mom drove out to spend a few hours with us and decided to stay for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, PJ made one of our favorite recipes that we haven’t had in forever: Shrimp Scampi with Roasted Peppers and Spinach. It’s so easy and only takes a few minutes to throw together. Aren’t those the best kind of recipes?
2/3 of my entire world in one photo:
The kids didn’t care too much for it but everyone else enjoyed it. I made a salad and cut up some French bread and it was a hit.
We ended the night with chocolate chip s’mores, a genius idea from PJ.
Yes they were as good as they look.
By Monday morning, the rain was still pouring down. We sipped on our coffee while we made bacon and eggs and biscuits for everyone before packing everything up to head home. This weekend made us realize how much we love spending time and raising our kids with Lauren. PJ and her were best friends growing up and I love the idea that our kids will be the exact same.
She is so easy going and if we forgot something, she had it on hand (salt and pepper, medicine, bug spray, you name it). I'm already looking forward to our next adventure together.
And though we were sad to be leaving everyone and heading back to real life (and work), there was something so refreshing and rewarding about walking in our front door. We immediately started cleaning up and unpacking and putting things back in order.
It felt so incredibly good to be home, as it always does when coming back from a trip, no matter how close or far away.
