Happy 50th, Mom and Dad!

Memere and Pepere's 50th anniversary was this summer, and the entire extended family celebrated by going away together. We rented a large house in the mountains and spent the week doing fun activities and enjoying each other's company. 

The house was incredible. It had amazing views, tons of bedrooms and bathrooms, a massive kitchen large enough for all of us, a hot tub, and a rec area that was kid heaven (who am I kidding -- the adults had just as much fun there!): video games, foosball and hockey, air hockey and ping pong. There was even a "hidden" wing of the house only accessible by swinging open a bookshelf. The property included a waterfall, a koi pond, several play houses, rope swings, a cool tree house, and a putting green. MJ and I spent quite a few enjoyable hours out on the porch rocking chairs, enjoying the view while reading. 

One day we visited Grandfather Mountain State Park. We did a fun but intense hike that gave us all plenty of opportunities to rock-climb and explore tunnels and crevices. Afterwards we went to the nature museum and saw animal presentations. One of the bears kept playing with her toes, which was adorable, and the otters were so friendly and playful!

That afternoon, we went to Mile-High Bridge, which I'd really been looking forward to. Halfway across the bridge, my phone fell out of my bag .... and I watched it fall, spinning, all the way down into the gorge. Ugh -- I couldn't believe it! On our way back across the bridge, the kids tried to spot it. I told them not to bother -- there was no way you'd be able to see a tiny phone all the way down there amidst all that foliage. Until CC yelled, "I SEE IT!!" And sure enough, there it was, waaaaaaay down there on top of a boulder. A woman walking by mentioned that there was a path down below the bridge. So I asked a park ranger, who brought us down the path and ended up finding my phone. And it still worked perfectly! I'm in shock that we found it, and that it's functional. I mean, it didn't even have a scratch on it. How is that possible?

Another day, we went to an outdoor adventure park. We started with the ropes course, which was really fun. Sweet Pea wanted to stick by my side, but together we were the first ones up to the top to ring the bell! CC tried to start the course twice, but couldn't get past her fear of the heights and wiggly ropes. Little Man figured out the carabiner system immediately and was off like a spider, not needing any help to navigate the course.

Afterwards, we rode the alpine coaster. It was fun, fast, and not nearly as scary as the steep one we did off the side of a mountain at Grand Tetons!

The next morning, my dad and I took Dane and Little Man out for a long hike on a nearby part of the Appalachian Trail. We had great weather and wonderful views, and we learned about the rare Gray's Lily (actually red, named after an American botanist) which only grows in this region. It was a really nice outing, and Dane and Little Man were full of energy and had no complaints about the duration of the hike.

Memere and Pepere treated us to a lovely meal out in one of the cute mountain towns nearby. Patrick and Karen introduced MJ and Jon to pickleball (and they got their butts kicked by some local geriatrics). In between outings, we relaxed at the house and spent precious time together.

One of the most special parts of the week was having a photographer come take family pictures. It's never fun to wrangle the kids into "nice" clothes, but it's totally worth it for pictures like this!

Happy golden anniversary, Mom and Dad! It was the BEST way to celebrate -- by enjoying time with the family they created!