It makes me sad when I think about what I was doing a year ago today....thinking about what all I needed for the coming weekend at Lake Anna. What all did I need to bring? How many outfits? What was I going to make? What time were we going down? Who all was going? How much fun were we going to have? Did I pack the sunscreen for my hubby so he doesn't turn into a lobster? Did I check off everything so I didn't forget a single thing?
This is what the driveway typically looked like...filled with LOTS of cars!
It makes me think about all the memories at beautiful Lake Anna. The great, the good, the bad and the scary! The lake house was part of our family, it was "The Sweet Escape." The Sweet Escape that was only an hour away. The sweet escape from life even if it was only for a weekend. To wake up and walk out and breathe in fresh, tranquil air, to sit on the back stone steps with a cup of coffee and watch the boats go by in the early morning hours, to look out onto the crisp lake water. It was the late nights of everyone laughing and drinking together, to fun at the bonfire, to watching movies together, to trying to catch "the alligator." The lake was a staple for the Garrison/Ryan family and how can I say I don't miss it? I miss it terribly and I mostly miss all the memories we made together. It's what made me feel like we had such a close family because we didn't mind getting together weekend in and weekend out to have a good time. That was where we spent many a weekend during the summer months. I sure am going to miss that place.
So I figured in honor of my sulking I would post some pictures of how last year's weekend went down. We were celebrating Shannon's birthday and we had a blast, a messy blast, but a blast indeed!
Haiden had a blast when she figured out show could blow bubbles.
Beautiful on her birthday morning!
Cami fishing with Jay & Jamie
Yes my family drinks...A LOT...I am usually the caretaker by instinct.
Let the birthday celebrations begin!
Some GG Poopa love!
And then the partying began...
And when you drink from the bottle it never leads to good things...well besides some of the GREATEST LAUGHS that is!
On a totally different, happy note I could not be happier with my decision to take the plunge and stay home. I bring this up again one because some days I am still totally amazed that we are even doing it and occasionally I wonder how, but honestly I know how. Two, I was driving to Warrenton today to take Cameron to a dentist appointment and getting off on the Meetze Rd ramp, coming to the stop sign and waiting for a chance to cross.....I thought wow...I used to do this every morning, racing against the clock to be to work on time, usually rushing like crazy, crossing at the first chance I got, only to do it all over again the next morning. Crazy how the smallest things make you stop and think and that's just what I did today. I stopped and remembered just how thankful I am to have a completely different routine for a morning now and how it is so much slower and so much more peaceful and ahhh I love it. If you had asked me last year where I would be the same time next year I surely couldn't have told you here, but I am and I couldn't love it more. It amazes me every day and like I said today sitting at that stop sign really made me stop and think....Life Is Good!
