Forty-Five Years

16, 425 days.

394,200 hours.

Almost 24.4 million minutes.

And I could go on.

That's how long my parents have been together.

And it matters.

It matters huge.

So we celebrated!

Love this shot - they were leaving their wedding reception.

June 26, 1966

(dated it just for you, Dad!)

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Poor Richards in Gainesville.

**it is a MUST stop, for anyone in the area**

We then enjoyed dessert and conversation back at the lake house.

All the family - kids and everything!

It was a great evening, 

celebrating a great couple ...

so proud of them

and the legacy that they leave not only to me,

but to my children as well.

Mom & Dad, with Aunt Jenny & Uncle Jerry (Mom's brother) ...

they are Gainesvillians and joined us to celebrate!

Love the whole-gang shot!

Mom was thrilled that Poor Richards had fried chicken livers.

Her favorite.

Gag.

But happy for you Mom!!

Enjoying the antics of my aunt and uncle.

They are hysterical!

It was a long table ... sorry I cut off all the kiddos!

Bowdie was totally posing for this shot (*shocker*)

but he really did savor every bite of his steak.

And he's pretty picky about steak.

Back at Riverhaven,

we gave Mom and Dad their gift ...

... a photo session so that Mom can get her whole-family

shot for Riverhaven.

Considering our last professional family photo was before I had

any kids, I'd say its time for an update!

Love them.

Thankful for them.

Looking forward to millions more minutes!

All glory to God!

RUH-roh ...

Out of all of our 3, Jacob is probably the most timid.

Especially at the lake.

So the fact that he actually likes to ride the tube now is huge.

We thought nothing as he road off with his cousin and his brother.

But when he came back to the dock crying,

we knew something was wrong.

And when he wouldn't lift his arm once we got him

on the dock, we really knew something was wrong.

And when I gently ran my hand across his right collarbone

and he went crazy, 

we headed to the urgent care.

And sure enough,

his collarbone was broken.

Funny thing about a collarbone -

there's nothing to be done but wait for it to heal.

No cast, no splint, nothing special.

They did give him a sling to wear, so that he'd be comfortable.

He loved every minute of the attention it gained him.

This would be break #2 for this child ...

let's hope that's it for a while.

Or forever!

He carried his x-ray around like a trophy.

He couldn't wait to show the neighbors once we were home.

I ended up laminating it so that it would survive!

It's now at home on his cork board above his bed.

I feel sure it will be there a while!

First 4th at Riverhaven

My goodness.

There is nothing better than the 4th on the lake.

My whole childhood was spent that way.

And even my earlier married days, 

thanks to my sister's in-laws.

But for the last 2 years,

we've done vacation the week of the 4th.

Not so this year.

Therefore, it was our first 4th at Riverhaven.

And it was GREAT!

There was:

Dock leaping ...

photo posing ...

wakeboarding (Jarrett's first time) ...

tube riding ...

(more on that in the next post!)

waverunner tours ...

noodle spouting ...

pontoon resting ...

break-taking ...

food eating ...

hugs & lovin' ...

and sneaky shots taken ...

It was a GREAT holiday!

The Peachtree

WE.  ARE.  BACK.

To the Peachtree that is.

After taking a 2 year hiatus due to vacation,

we were back this year.

Amount of training done:  ummm, pretty much zilch.

Does the training leading up to the half marathon

in March count at all?!

We stayed at Mac & Brenda's again,

enjoying Pasta Palooza the night before.

Good times, but stark realization ...

we're probably going to take an indefinite hiatus from the race.

Why?

Too much time away from the family.

Especially now that we can celebrate the 4th at the lake.

There is NOTHING more summer than the 4th of July

on the lake!

And we don't want to miss a sec.

So this may be it for a few years ...

we'll see.

This is Mac ... king of pasta and the Peachtree.

This year he nearly cut his big toe off the night before the race.

But ran it anyway - metal stitches and all.

I mean, after 30-something years of running, how could he not??

Bright and early ...

not looking so refreshed and ready ...

Waiting to start ...

not a fan of later start times.

It was H-O-T.

LOVE this big flag.

It signals the start line.

Post race.

Some crowd, huh??!

And back at the house afterwards.

So thankful for a cold shower!

Sporting our new shirts ...