Trip highlights

So after two years, we were finally able to make it home to Texas. Even though we could have done without the 100+ degree heat, it was a great time with family and friends. You can read about the first few days here. Here are some of the highlights from the rest of our trip:

-Pool party and dinner with precious friends.
-Celebrating my sister in law, Kelly's birthday with her.
-Enjoying a family reunion & amazing fish fry with Aunts, Uncles, & cousins (& meeting our newest family member, Dax)
-Throwing my beautiful sister a baby shower to celebrate their first little miracle. I'm going to be an aunt!!!!
-Going shopping with my mom & sis. (The men were there too, but their job was childcare - yay!)
-A couple of days of golf for D (before 7am so it wasn't quite 100 degrees yet)
-Going to the flight museum with Grammie & Granddad. Afterward, Joshua built a model airplane with Granddad of the B25 Mitchel, the plane Joshua's Great Granddad flew in WWII.
-Getting to go out for a quiet evening with my hubby while Grammie & Granddad babysat.

So those are the highlights. You can see the plethora of pictures here. There were a few snags along the way: Joshua throwing up in the back of Aunt Kelly's car (we love you, Kel!) The 100+ heat (did I mention that already?), both boys getting car sick in Grammie & Granddads RV, & Caleb getting a nasty burn on his arm that required a week of gauze dressings. But hey, what would a vacation be without a few stories to tell. I may be a Nuzum but I still have certain Peek genes that are specific to vacation disasters. Oh, it's true - just ask my parents. It's a miracle we're all still alive to laugh about it...and laugh about it we do.

We did come home to a wonderful harvest of tomatoes & cukes from our garden (thanks to our precious neighbors who kept it watered for us - thanks Al!) We've been eating salad every night & Joshua gets so excited to go out & pick them each night for dinner. We didn't have a perfect garden. We lost our carrots, broccoli, & lettuce, & got bugs on our pole beans. But for our first time, I would have been excited about one tomato! The best part was planting it with Joshua and watching his excitement grow right along with the garden!

Nuzum Reunion 2009

We're anticipating 21 adults, 5 children and 2-5 dogs. Multiple people can sign up for the more expensive or multiple variety items (e.g., canned drinks). Feel free to add any item(s) that you traditionally provide if they've been left off of the list below.

Menu items that are needed:

Hamburger patties - Ron & Linda

Hamburger buns

Cheese/Onion

Lettuce/Tomato

Pickles/Relish

Hot dogs - Ron & Linda

Hot dog buns

Potato salad

Chips

Pies - G & G

Dessert

Canned drinks

Bottled water

Cups/Ice

Plates/Napkins

Utensils

Texas Vacation Days 1-5

We began this 2 week adventure Thursday morning. We drove from Charlotte to Nashville on day 1 and spent the evening with our friends the Allens. The kids enjoyed a much needed time of playing in the backyard after 8 hours in the car.

Friday we left at 5:00 AM in hopes of making it to our final destination in TX by dinner time. However, with all the food and bathroom stops it took us a bit longer than planned....3 hours longer than planned. Ugh! It was a long day, but we arrived safely.

Saturday we enjoyed the Blooming Grove July 4th Parade. It lasted 10 minutes. :) After the parade there was a flag raising and singing of patriotic songs followed by some refreshments and fun activities for the boys. Tonya enjoyed her first (of many, I'm sure) snow cone of the trip. Later that night we enjoyed a very patriotic meal consisting of beef brisket sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, etc. It was yummy! We concluded the day by shooting a ridiculous number of fireworks. Well, everyone except Caleb and I. He is terrified of fireworks...so we went inside and watched Cars. I was able to go back outside at the end and watch my stepfather drop what appeared to be a small WMD in his pond on their property. Let's just say there's definitely nothing alive in the pond anymore.







Sunday we enjoyed a great afternoon at the lake. Caleb and Ella had their first experience on the boat and Josh braved the tube. We were having a great time until we heard thunder. We hauled everyone back into the boat and headed for the dock. As we approached the dock it began to sprinkle. By the time the boat was on the trailer and being pulled out of the lake, it was pouring! As I carried kids one at time from the boat to the van we all got soaked, as did the inside of the van. Wet van + 100 degrees = funny smell.



Monday afternoon we tried the lake again. Everyone got a chance to enjoy the water this time. Josh tubed again, this time with his Aunt Nicole. I found a way to get up on the skis and Nicole displayed her mad skills on the wakeboard and surfboard. Good times.

Mix in some movies, Wii and Mexican food and you've experienced all there is to mention of days 1-5. Another update coming soon.