While we were there we went on a paddle boat ride. (Except they called it a peddle boat. That was a first for me.) All six of us were in one. The little boys were not too sure. Chris & Nathan were in the back and Ava and I were in the front. The littles got passed back and forth. Chris, Nate & Ava started talking about how their legs were getting sore and how it was quite a bit of work. I said, "Really, this isn't so bad!" Then Nathan told Ava to stop peddling. Yeah! Apparently, I was letting Ava do my part. Sorry about that, Ava!
Afterward, we ate lunch over looking the lake. Jonathan was curious about the sand, so I let him walk down and check it out. He is so brave! The next thing I knew he was crawling right into the water. It was about 70 that day, but the water was cold!
On Tuesday, we drove to Hendersonville to checkout the Mast General Store. It is a great store! We did some window shopping and walked around.
On the way home we stopped at an apple farm. We got cider, apples and pumpkins. It was a cute, little place. Jonathan slept through the whole thing.
On Wednesday, Chris & Nathan went fishing for a while and then Ava & I got massages. It was awesome.
That evening, Ava & Chris went on a date and we watched the littles.
After they got home, we carved pumpkins. These are Jonathan's and Nathan's.
On Thursday, Nathan and I went horse back riding. Before we went, Nathan showed Jonny how to fish.
That night, Nathan and I went out for dinner and the Mills' watched the littles.
On Friday, we went to Asheville. The weather was a bit dreary, so it was good to do an indoor activity. We were lazy for most of the day and left for Asheville in the afternoon. We went to the mall and looked around. Jonathan was crabby, so I walked up ahead of everyone while they looked at sunglasses. Around the corner was a lady working for the Picture People. She asked me if I wanted to get Jonathan's picture taken. I said no thanks because he was crabby. She said she'd give it a try and it would be free. So I went in, just the two of us. The session gets started and everyone else sees a baby in the window. Nathan got Hayden and decided to make faces at the baby getting his picture taken. As he got closer he realized it was his baby. Hayden ended up getting his pictures taken, too.
On Saturday, we headed home. We got up late and took our time getting on the road.
We had a wonderful time. We were totally relaxed and it was nice to be "unplugged" from life at home! Thanks, Chris, Ava & Hayden!!
As Nathan and I reflected on our time with Chris & Ava, we realized that one of the reasons we had such a great time is because we can totally be ourselves around them. There is no judgment in how we are parenting. There are no worries about keeping up with each other. We can dream our dreams together, and laugh and joke. There is honesty and we know we can share anything with them (and believe me, we have!!!). We know we can be real with them and that they love us and accept us just the same! Thank you, God, for our amazing friends!
What about you? Do you have people in your life that you can be real with? What are you doing to foster "real" relationships with others?
