Callaway Gardens

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We just had one of the best weeks ever!

Callaway Gardens' aptly named "Summer Family Adventure" program is a great experience for kids and adults alike - it's summer camp for the whole family!

But the best part is the history with our family in particular - the Hightowers first came 35 years ago and kept coming every summer for a decade, meeting some life long friends in the process. So not only was it nostalgic for Jason & his brother to come relive their summer camp days, but bringing the grandkids to Callaway was a truly special experience for Yaya & Papa!

So in celebration of Yaya's well earned retirement from Knox County Schools, we all met up in central Georgia for a week at the lake - sharing old memories and making new ones!

Possibly one of the greatest parts of camp was sending the kids all off for the day - to do more in 6 hours with their camp counselors and new friends than they could ever imagine!
(Oh, and did I mention that the FSU Flying High Circus has a big top at Callaway where they perform, train and best of all - serve as camp counselors to our kids!!! I was so proud...)
Seriously though, their camp schedule included golf, tennis, archery, laser tag, swimming, circus skills, mini golf, the Butterfly Pavilion, nature hikes, arts & crafts and more... it was awesome!
Anyway, most days we watched them ride off in the morning on their bikes and reveled in their independence and our freedom! But we also had golf carts with which to toodle all around the Callaway property so some mornings the kids would just all pile up and hitch a ride.

And what, you might ask did all the parents do while their kiddos were all off at camp?!

Well, we were right in the thick of Callaway fun, too.

In fact, there was a schedule as full for the adults as it was for the kids - including golf, tennis, water skiing, wine tasting & cooking classes, art & crafts, trapeze, kayaking, beach volleyball, etc. (and yes, we did ALL of those things!)

But perhaps the favorite activity for us adults was the Treetop Adventure - a ropes course and zip line that was not for the faint of heart!

brothers - hot & sweaty, but pretty proud and excited to be on the ground!

And when camp was done for the day - I assure you we did not want for anything to do!
Though the program offered evening activities such as a beach bonfire with s'mores and live music and dancing... we all seemed to prefer to just spend time together cooling off in the pool or the lake!

here's the crew ready for a trip to Aqua Island (the big playground in the lake!)

Then again, another of the family favorite post-camp activities was taking the kids tubing on the lake!

Not only did they love the ride, but the parents thoroughly enjoyed watching them have fun!
(and isn't it always fun to ride in the boat?!)

a beautiful evening to be on the lake!

I know, I know - there were MANY "best parts" - but truly the circus at the end of the week was a highlight! It was especially fun to watch the boys recognize and cheer for their camp counselors who were performing (see Hamp reaching up to high-five his fave counselor!)...

So many pictures... 

(these are just a few, and I don't know if they are lined up correctly but you get the idea!!!)

But there were a few videos...

And the winner for best family moment?!

Seeing Hamp & Sam spend time with BOTH sets of grandparents!

For us, not a usual occasion and so a very precious memory indeed.

Thanks to Yaya & Papa for making this possible - especially to Yaya for retiring and giving us a very special reason to celebrate! Too bad you can't retire every year...

Where's Minou?

Minou, the greatest cat ever, decided it was time to go.

Literally, she left.

She hung out with all of us on the back deck on the 4th of July...

... and we haven't seen a trace of her since.

She was 15 years old. She never went further than the yard. She is gone.

I am going to believe that she knew it was her time to go, so she simply excused herself from her family and her comfy couch pillow to rest in peace somewhere.

It is difficult to let her go, without knowing for certain what happened to her.

But I will regardless remember her as the best pet - one that adapted so easily to a plane trip, road trip, new houses, new cats, new people and a dog. And I know that her last years have been full of warm places to sleep, saucers of milk, lots of love and plenty of reasons to purr!

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4th of July

The holiday weekend is drawing to a close... and Jason and I just sat down with old photo books and talked about all the Independence Days we have spent together!

We have been in Meeker for every 4th of July since 2007 - and many times with friends or family visiting which is the most fun (and memorable)!

This year it was just us... and I think it takes the award for most mellow of all our Independence Days. I walked the 5K in the morning, Hamp walked in the parade to support the 4-H Dog club, Sam waited excitedly with his buddies for any parade participants to throw candy, and Jason left half way through with a pulled back muscle!

The boys and I did play downtown for a while, leaving Jason home to thaw out some steaks for the grill and make Xochitl's home made salsa! Which made for the best part of the day - an evening on the back deck with food and friends. We sat and visited until dark - then watched a fantastic fireworks show from our own backyard!

It was another wonderful 4th of July in Meeker - and although there were rodeos, concerts and barn dances to attend throughout the weekend, we spent the rest of our time having game night and movie night at home, taking the boys to see Despicable Me 2 (so fun!), and having a nice long hike Sunday morning.

Hoping next year we'll have some friends or family come celebrate with us!!!