Homecoming

This year's Homecoming week was fantastic - it had all the parts that make it a fun week:

a parade!

a football game!


a date!

and friends!

Flaming Gorge

For just a couple of days, this was our life:


We set up our little lake community with the 'wagons' (aka campers) circled and the tents all along the outskirts, and hammocks strung around the picnic tables which were piled with coolers & bins full of every kind of junk food!
And of course, 6 boats pulled up to shore at the ready.

At sunrise, a few of the hard core skiers would catch a few turns on smooth morning waters...



... and by the time the sun was up and breakfast was finished, the boys all dispersed to the boats!



All day was spent either on the boat - or being pulled by one!
Regardless, it was always with good company...


I have said before how very grateful I am that we are able to have such great adventures...
and this Labor Day weekend was no exception!

summer found

Like almost every year... the first day of school was bittersweet!

10th & 7th grade

While it's always nice to return to a schedule, it felt like we had just finally gotten into our summer groove.
Days were warm enough to be on the water, so we spent a weekend on a friend's boat, tested the river waters on our kayaks, and floated around at the lake with friends.

Hoping to have a few more lake days before fall sets in!

Hightower family at the beach

And sometimes a plan comes together and we get the perfect opportunity to get away!

So for our H-family vacation this summer we rented a house in Watercolor, Florida and did all the fun beach resort activities:

~ rode bikes or golf cart all through the beach towns and everywhere we went

~ kept cool at the resort pool with lazy river, slides and fountains

~ enjoyed snowcones and all the delicious offerings at the Seaside plaza

~ went paddle boarding in an alligator infested coastal lake (no sightings!) then opted for paddling in the gulf waters instead!

~ spent as much time on the beach as we could... including every night for sunset!

Join the love of family with the love of being at the beach and it was a perfect vacation.

Etheridge family in the mountains

Sometimes playing in your own relative backyard is the most fun!
We didn't go far for our E-family vacation this summer - we rented a house in Glenwood Springs and did all the fun mountain activities:
~ rafted the Colorado River
~ enjoyed gorgeous views from the hot tub on our back deck
~ played a little mini-golf
~ spent a day at the hot springs pool and enjoyed the new slide and fountains
~ took a gondola ride up the mountain side to the Adventure Park

But this was much more than your average family reunion/getaway. It was also a pretty momentous occasion - Mojo's 70th birthday! We celebrated on the deck, with a view and a beautiful birthday cake! Couldn't ask for better...