Monday, July 2, 2012

Chillax and enjoy the ride.

Anyone who knows me knows that i am super fun! (Okay, maybe I am the only one claming that....whateves.)

No, but i do like social settings and i do enjoy good company, conversation and fun!  I love getting together with friends.

As long as i get to go back to my house at the end of the day.

As i've gotten older (or became a mother with kids who don't sleep well anywhere but our house) I have really become a home body.  And i think that is totally okay.  Its a season, or who i was now becoming. 

What i am saying is, I like adventure, but at a safe distance from East Bethel.

Well, this year something changed in us. (keep in mind, my hubby--thought he claims to be adventurous--liked being home just as much as I did)  We like to leave, but we love to come home.

That is, until the Summer of 2012. When we started saying "yes" to more things.  The kids are at a totally rocking age and are so much fun. And that makes things easier. They are ready now.

It all started the second weekend in June when we had the pleasuer (and i mean PLEASURE) of joining our wonderful friends at their parents house in Pipestone.  4.5 hours away.

We went with basically no expectations because we had no idea what to expect. Where was this place called Pipestone? Who are these parents that we would meet?  What would the sleeping situation be?

We knew none of that information. Just that we were trusting our friends. And that was easy. 

So when we drove up to the house we were going to be staying at something in me just clicked. It was going to be perfect, and I just knew it.  Something in me relaxed. (and if you know me, relaxed is not how you would probably describe me...but maybe you should seriously consider it now?)

As many times as Jeromy and I tried to grasp the words to describe how that weekend went, there were none. How do you describe perfection?  How do you describe the feeling of being welcomed just perfectly by a family you hadn't known 36 hours prior to this?  How do you explain the feeling of learning skills you never would have otherwise? How do you describe the feeling of total gratitude? 

We didnt know. We still don't know. But we still feel it.  It was the best weekend that we had ever experienced as a family. I can't tell ya why, cause there are no words. But all of the Boones felt it and we're so gratful for it.

Why i was suprised? i don't know. Becase knowing my friend Dave, and how awesome he is, how would he not come from a family that wonderful?? Of course it makes sense. Duh.

That weekend was perfect. We said "Yes". And we embraced it, and God totally blessed the pants off of us through it.  There's not much I wouldn't do with Dave and Tiffany.  They are just our people. Its as easy as that.

                                  
It was quite the system and process to butcher chickens

                                                             
              My beautiful friend and her daughter and my beautiful daughter and a childs dream--barn kittens! (theres a lot of beauty going on in this one, huh?)

 My "expert" at butchering chickens hubby and me. (the non expert, that takes three cuts to do it and traumatizes myself for life...life i tell you!)

I just love this picture. Its says nothing and everything all at once.  Perfect.
                                              
                                                  Theres not much this man can't do.
                                    
                          Enjoying the wonderufl weather, company and warmth on the front porch.
                                    
                       !!BARN KITTIES!!! That seriously kept the kids busy for about 8 hours straight!

Then this weekend we were invited to our friends parents house to celebrate the 4th of July.  And we said "yes". They live on a lake and we never would have guessed how that day would turn out either.  Though it was just a day. It will always be a memorable one. We were so grateful to be invited and embraced with this whole family. We just joined right in and it was perfection.  There was pontooning, paddle boating, knee boarding, skiing, bean bag tossing, food, family, and fun. Oh and sun....hot, hot, sun!

I was boating with Josh as we drove his brother around on the knee board and Josh would randomly just abandon ship himself and dive in to the water.  Leaving me floating in the unmaned boat. A little concerned. But relaxed...cause remember, i am relaxed now?

--side note. I did not bring a swimming suit. Becase i had no intetnion of going in the water and why would i want to be in a suit? Ever. Never, ever. Not my thing.

Okay. So My captain in in the water and i feel highly pressured to just jump in. Why not?  Its only a gross lake that may have an ameba that happens to float up my nose and plant itself into my brain causing my immediate death...right?  (doesn't anyone else watch House and take his cases seriously?) That was my first thought.

My second thought was how refreshing it felt as i flew off the boat (fully in shorts and a shirt. yep. white) and hit that water!

And boy was that fun!! Not something i would normally do, but it was just so freeing. I didn't have a care in the world. I might as well of been 12 years old again.

Snapping turtles? Bring it. Sturgeons? Who cares?

I was free.  And then i looked to the pontoon across the water and my perfectly little and wonderful 5 year old was standing on the top of the pontoon and flying off into the middle of the lake. Not a care in the world.  It was be-a-u-tiful. 

Perfection.

Childbhood as its best.

Then in goes my darling little timid 7 year old right off the end of the boat and into the water!

Summer.

This was Summer at its best.

By the end of the night we all ended up on the pontoon. Adam, Aubrey, Caleb, Sarah, Jeromy, me and our three kids.  Laney went running off the end of the boat followed by Ruby, followed by Jeromy, followed by Aubrey, followed by Caleb, followed by Adam, followed by Sarah (only after we gave each other the "why not?" look) and lastly but not least-ly (that didn't sound right...but i am going with it cause its Summer and i don't care about grammer!) I went it.

We all jumped in the water! (again, i was still dressed in my hooker outfit. Wet shorts and a wet, white, teeshirt. But somehow i didn't look half as attractive as a hooker since my mascara was running down my face and my ponytail was stuck to my head...

...actually that might be exactly how i would describe a hooker?)

Anywhooo...It was magical. And to do it with all my family on the boat, together, full of joy?  Priceless.  You should have seen their faces. Heck, my face. (minus the mascara situation). I felt like we were living out a commercial. You know the ones where you see people joyfull jumping into water and smiling and full of laughter and happiness? One you wouldn't believe becaues you think it doesn't happen like that. But it did. It does.

I felt like i should have turned to the camera and said "Mentos...the fresh maker." With a cheesy smile and a wink.

The day was glorious.  I forgot my camera, but maybe that was okay. That way i didn't concentrate on capturing the moment instead I focused on living it.

Here's a few pictures Sarah got that capture the fun yesterday.


Taking a little break after all the swimming.


Getting ready to take the pontoon out.
        
                                                   

       And the photo that pretty much describes the day perfectly! 1-2-3, JUMP!!
  


We are so grateful for the amazing friends we have. And the amazing and priceless memories that our kids are making through these beautiful moments.


Real life. Its soo much better than those darn ipods, texting, and facebook....AMIRIGHT? :)