Hello Monday - Hello July!

Well, look at me. . .two posts in one week :). It does help that we've been busy and I have stuff to share.

Normally this would be a blog link-up but the ladies are off for the Fourth.  Glad the holiday is on a Tuesday so many people can take advantage of a long weekend.  I will not. . .I like having a job to go into 20 hours a week :)

I led with a picture from Saturday, our 28th anniversary, out on our favorite lake -- Dale Hollow Lake.  We weren't sure if the weather was going to hold up (we've had so many thunderstorms in East Tennessee this summer!) but decided to risk it.  It's a 2-hr drive from our house to the shed to pick up the boat -- our first stop was Buc-ee's!

It was funny because this last week at work during an all-company lunch/all-team gathering one of the partners asked what the draw to Buc-ee's is.  Boy did a lot of us have something to tell him!!!  Apparently the new one in Sevierville is now open and a field trip destination for many folks in the area.  There is one 1/2-way between our house and my sister's in Ohio and one 1/2-way between our house and the lake so we stop often for gas, coffee, and snacks or sandwiches.  Since it was our anniversary I got more pictures than "normal" -- ha!

If you're not familiar, you can get all kinds of food and drinks at Buc-ee's but you need to take it with you -- there is no where to sit and stay. . .they have you get what you need and get back on the road so a lot of people "tailgate" in the parking lot.  We also get ice here too -- we use what is in our freezer for the meat section of the cooler until we get there and then fill the rest.

We got to the boat shed, supplies loaded (we keep tubes, skis, kneeboards, lifejackets and ropes in the shed with the boat).  We bring towels, food, drinks, etc. with us.  It's only 5 miles from here to one of the marinas on the lake -- we've been storing our boat there for a dozen or more years.

Gotta fill 'er up on the way -- again the convenience of storing it away from the lake and having a filling station on the road to the marina.  Plus, this week, we changed drivers at this point and Stephen towed the boat for the first time!

Tom is NOT used to being in the passenger seat!

Stephen backed the trailer into the lake and dropped the boat while Laura drove it off the trailer -- I'm tellin' ya, having adult kids is GREAT!

This girlie elected to get up on skis right away (we were out there early enough to avoid weekend/holiday traffic) and did GREAT.  It's so fun watching the kids have fun on the lake :)

Laura and Emmie took the big tube and Stephen was on the single for a few rounds. . .Erin eventually got out there too. . .I can't imagine my body taking the hits and bumps but they are young ;)

There's a picture of Erin!  Everyone but Emmie usually takes a turn on the single tube -- I don't know how they do it -- you have to have so.much upper body strength to hold on!!!

As we drove by this campsite my thought was "I love this landscape/view as much as the coastline of Santorini".  Really!!!  *I* don't want to be the one camping, let's be clear, but I like that view as much as any I saw on the water in Greece.  I am a through-and-through lake person. 

The boys tossed a new water football I got for the boat (a blogger recommendation, of course) and the girls ate sandwiches.

A few "boat staples" - apples, Pringles, and Oreos.

NAPTIME!!!!

And, as soon as I sat down to read, the boys wanted sandwiches.  Hey, it's my only "job" of the day so not a big deal to get everything out again and make their stuff.  I'd much, much rather be the only one getting into the bags and cooler to make sandwiches -- I know where everything is and everything gets put back (you know what I mean, right???)

Ummmm. . .it was super cloudy most of the day and not everyone was very good about the sunscreen (Tom and myself included -- oops)

By now we have pulled out and while the boys are doing "boat things" the girls are usually cleaning up the boat and packing up the stuff that will go home with us.  Look!  We even brought our rain jackets to make sure it wouldn't rain.  Otherwise, of course, we would have gotten caught in a downpour. . .you know how it is ;)

Boat is parked back in the shed and ready for Robert to take her out next weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday.  I specifically took this picture because Emmie and I spent some of our floating time cleaning this back deck and interior of the boat with, for me, a scrub brush and cleanser, and she had a magic eraser and another interior cleaner.  It looks so good!!!  

This boat was "new to us" last year and there are a few things we'd like to replace/upgrade over the next few years -- the next thing I'd like to do is get it waxed.

Looks like we pulled out just in time -- look at that sky in downtown Livingston!

We were headed for our customary stop at the Dairy Queen -- it poured while we were inside but then had passed over by the time we left.

Just enough to blow some trees around and get the ground wet.  The kids have decided fast food is only good in small towns -- ha!  

Happy Anniversary to us -- I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate any other way.  We could not have imagined this life we've had together 28 years ago and I can't wait to see what we're up to in another 28.  

On Sunday we went out to celebrate with Tom's parents and our framily, the Maxwells.  It's Tommy's birthday Tuesday so this was an early celebration for him too.

Hope you all had a great weekend too.  This is a weird week with a holiday on Tuesday -- most of us are working and then we'll do appetizers and a birthday cake for Tommy Tuesday to celebrate.  Tom's sister is also coming in from out west to spend the next six weeks with their parents and it will be nice to have her around.  

Let me know what you are celebrating this July in the comments - or leave your blog link so I can go read all about your summer :)

Jenni