Living the Good Life

At the end of July, we had the pleasure of joining some of our best friends - the Speyers - at their family lake house in Pennsylvania.  Omar and I have known Karen and Max since college.  We lived together and were in each other's weddings back in the day.  They currently live in Denver with their two daughters, Kendall and Karson, so we don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like.  So when they invited us to spend some time at Max's family lake house just north of Pittsburgh, we jumped on the chance!

Everett and I flew up on a Monday, and Omar joined us on Thursday. What a lovely trip! Max's family was incredibly gracious in opening their house to us, which is a beautiful old home dating back to the 1800's. They have every water toy known to man, so we had a blast going out on the various boats, jet-skis, and floats. In particular, I loved getting to know their daughters better and watching EJ make new (hopefully lifelong) friends.

EJ, Karson, and Owen 

 All the kids had a blast together, whether eating, going on a golf cart ride, or playing on the iPad. This trip made me realize how non-tech friendly EJ is.  Kendall (almost 4) was - predictably - great at operating the iPad. Karson (a month younger than Everett) is also a whiz, I swear she was better at it than I am. And I went to Georgia Tech. My poor child only knows how to press the (only) button to turn the screen on & off. Karson was solving Mensa puzzles on it. We probably need to step up our game.

Kendall (age 3.5), EJ, and Karson (same age as EJ)

Somehow EJ always talks the other kids into pulling her in the wagon.

I have yet to see her pull someone else in the wagon. So, perhaps she doesn't need to know how to operate the iPad: she will just get her minions to do that for her.

Boating with my girl!

 Pretty girl! She loved being out on the water!

So nice to spend some quality time with Karen!

EJ & daddy

Nadi family picture!

Speyer family picture!

Triple-trouble

Captain Omar drives the boat.

Team Nadi goes tubing!

EJ had a blast!

Slip-sliding!

Omar learns to wakeboard!

Tired girl after all that fun.

HUGE thanks to the Speyers for having us - we hope to do it again at some point!  I wish we got to see them more often, but for now this will have to do. Great memories were made and it was a wonderfully relaxing break to an otherwise hectic summer. 

The Days of Summer

First, let me apologize for how incredibly delinquent I have been with my posting lately, but perhaps I can blame it on all the fun stuff we had going on this summer - no time!  So here is a quick rundown on just a few of the great events we had:

Maddy & Emmy's birthday party! Thanks, mom, for the super-adorable seersucker bubble dress!

 Cousins Mimi & Alina spend the night and participate in the train parade!

Brunch with friends!

Brianna, Elliott, and EJ

The Brautigan's annual 4th of July party!

Fun with Matteson on the trampoline!

 Playing in the rain!

 Enjoying the Summer Olympics!

Everett practices her riding skills while being inspired by the Olympic showjumping - that's my girl!

All in all, we had a fantastic summer and I can't believe it is already over. We spent many a fun afternoon in the backyard with our friends and the baby pool/water table; we celebrated the birthdays of many of EJ's friends; and we spent a lot of good quality time with family. Sad that the dog days are coming to an end but thrilled to usher in the fall weather!

In Memory

We learned late last week that Omar's mom's oldest brother, Don, passed away.  We had such fun with him at the reunion last month and are so glad we got to spend that time with him.  Our thoughts are with his wonderful wife, Margaret, and all the rest of his family.  He will be missed!

Father's Day!

For Father's Day, my step-mom thought it would be fun if we surprised my dad with a visit to Charleston.  I thought that was a fantastic idea, so EJ and I drove over for the weekend.  

We got in a day early so we could spend some time with the Tufts family.  They were the bestest hosts, per usual.  It is so much fun to watch our kids play together, not to mention I cherish getting to know my BFFs kids any chance I get.  EJ, Brayden, and Peyton had a lot of fun together!

Ok, first of all, how freaking tall/grown up does EJ look here?

Second of all, how freaking cute is Peyton???

 EJ had a blast in the Tufts Family Water Park.

 This picture makes me flash forward 15 years and then I get nauseous. 

Kristen and her adorable daughter Peyton.

 BFFs right from the start. Just like their moms.  =)

The rest of the weekend was spent with my dad, Jan, and sister.  We had a wonderful time catching up, going out on the boat, and enjoying the sun & sand of Charleston!

World's Cutest Boater

 Captain Pop-E steers us straight through the Charleston Harbor

Aunt Merrill helps EJ navigate the tidal pools.

 

So thrilled to be able to spend this very special weekend with some of my favorite people!

 I love my family and miss them every day!

Mama-J showed Everett the proper way to build a sandcastle!

Our last morning there, we went to see the Madagascar exhibit at the aquarium. It was fantastic!

 EJ loved the big tank!

Of course we booked it back to Atlanta in time for EJ to spend Father's Day with her father. Omar had a great weekend celebrating being the best dad ever by playing golf every day, sleeping in, and getting to snuggle the world's best daughter at the end of the day.  

It was a wonderful weekend all around!!!

Kicking off Summer

At the beginning of summer, Kristen came into town so we could attend The Greatest Country Concert Of All Time (aka Jake Owen/Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown).  Of course that meant two things: my daughter got in touch with her country roots, and our kids got to play together. Both of those events were picture ops, of course.

My little cowgirl

Funtime at the park with Brayden!

 EJ loves swinging!

 ....aaaaand, she's off

 Brayden is king of the world!

 Typical EJ:  She finds the tallest, twistiest slide (which has clear signs stating this is only for kids over the age of five) and climbs right up there and demands she slides down on her own. Over and over again. 

 So proud of herself.

 The betrothed.