Lake Love

 We just returned from our annual Gram and Grumps Lake Vacation. The kids had such a great time time last year and could not wait to return to the wilderness. Gram and Grumps reserve a cabin for each family, and our big crowd takes over Lake Russell. Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim joined us from Ohio this year!

We took separate cars and made a quick stop in Athens for lunch before checking into our cottages. Unfortunately my TERRIBLE sense of direction caught up to me. When I put "Lake Russell State Park" in my GPS, I did not realize that there are actually TWO Lake Russells in Georgia. When I could not find Jay and Tuttle upon arrival, I called for directions to our cottage only to discover that I was 1.5 hours away from the actual vacation spot.... I will not make that mistake again in the future.

The weather threatened rain every day, but it was very minimal and did not affect any outdoor activities.

Father's Day happened to fall during the trip, so the guys spent the morning at the shooting range. We hope all the daddies felt loved and appreciated Sunday and everyday because we sure are lucky to have Daddy, Grumps, Travis, Uncle Jim, and Chip in our lives.

My favorite part of the trip is the return to simpler times. Everyone swims, fishes, plays card games, rides bikes, relaxes in hammocks, and cruises around in the jon boat. 

Each family was in charge of one dinner this time, and Jay put together a delicious low country boil.

We spotted a lot of wildlife this year like deer, a raccoon, a snake, frogs, and turtles, but the winning find was a kitten that charmed Maggie. She named him Bagel and begged to bring him home.

Rosie was living her best life until she got overly comfortable and decided to wander off one too many times and earned a front row spot on our screened in porch.

We missed several grandchildren this year, but 13/18 were at the lake at some point during the vacation. I was able to snap a picture of the younger 10 on the last night while we enjoyed fireworks from a neighboring cottage.

Our spots are already reserved for next year, so the tradition continues! A HUGE thank you to Gram and Grumps for organizing this memorable trip every year. 

Summer Sports

 We hit the ground running with summer activities this week.

Tuttle joined a Sandlot team with Roswell rec for baseball. It is just a pickup game every Monday evening. No stress or coaching- just a fun game of ball. It is full of new players, travel ball players, and all players in between. We could not wait to see our boy back on the field!

Maggie is back in the gym and joined her new Excel Gold team with a few new teammates and new coaches. She is eager to perfect her back tuck and cast handstand as soon as possible.

Jacob participated in a sports camp all week, and he joined Maggie and Tuttle at piano lessons for the first time. He was very nervous to start because he "did not know any songs," but Ms. Becky made his feel comfortable, and he cannot wait to return.

No rest for the weary this summer. The Thorne kids are busy!

Home Again

 All three Thorne kids returned home after a fun week at camp. I was worried the rain would affect the activities at Camp Glisson, but Tuttle and Maggie were able to participate in every thing from the camp-out to the climbing wall. Jay and I enjoyed our kid-free week a little too much, and I had a tough time driving to Dahlonega for pick-up after relaxing in a quiet house for a week..... :) 

Tuttle found a huge surprise from Aunt Peach in his room when he arrived home- a fully equipped art studio! He immediately got to work on his first piece.

We planned a family day on Saturday with Aunt Peach and the girls at the Roswell Arts Festival. It was a HOT afternoon, but snowcones and shopping kept our mind off the heat. We even found Daddy a beautiful framed American flag piece for Father's Day to add to the basement.

After discovering caricatures at the festival, Tuttle was ready to try it out at home, too.

It is finally summer weather with temperatures hitting the 90s, so we are hitting the pool everyday. Luckily we have our resident lifeguard to keep us safe as she walks around (and around and around) the pool deck.

Flowers are in full bloom at our house and Grandmommy and Grandaddy's new house. Is it actually really summer if your bathtub is not filled with hydrangeas?

Camp for ALL

 All three Thorne kids left for sleep away camp today!

Jacob will be spending the week at Camp Gram with my mom and Grumps. Gram has volunteered to help at VBS, so Jacob can attend. She also has plans for swimming and playdates with neighbors. I know Jacob will not want to come home on Thursday!

Tuttle and Maggie were counting down the seconds until we dropped them off at Camp Glisson today. We will not soon forget the time that their mother forgot the sleeping bags and pillows at home, so we had to make a quick detour to Walmart for supplies when we arrived to Dahlonega....

There were still COVID restrictions in place during check in, so we could not help Maggie unpack or set up her bed, but we are just thankful camp is in session this year! Apparently boys have less risk for COVID because we were able to sneak in his cabin and see some of his old buddies from Brookhaven. :)

I know this will be their best week of the summer judging from the schedules posted at their cabins.

With all the kids come for the week, this means were have FOUR days KID FREE. We are not excited at all about sleeping in, uninterrupted quiet, and eating out alone. (We may not actually pick them up on Friday.)

Memorial Day 2021

 We kicked off summer hosting some of our favorite families at our house for a pool party on Memorial Day. We invited friends from all areas of our lives, and no one knew each other prior to the event. There were childhood friends, neighborhood friends, school friends, work friends, and even internet friends! :) I loved introducing everyone and watching our sweet kids (all sixteen of them!) become fast friends!

It was the perfect day with amazing weather, food, and laughs. Our one year anniversary of living in our Roswell home is coming up this month, and one of our favorite parts of living here is hosting parties in our backyard. 

I did not take pictures of everyone because the hours flew by. We cannot wait for a reason to invite everyone back over!