The Staycation

Ed and I took 3 days off last week for a "staycation" in our new/old home town.  The Lolos were here so we had childcare and were torn between getting much needed chores done around the house and having fun.  Given that it was above 95 each day and the grandparents had acclimated to a yearly high temp of 65 on the Oregon coast we tried not to roast them in outside activities.  So what else is a more fun indoor activity than painting???  No clue; well try painting 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with 9 ft ceilings!!  Woo Hoo we really know how to have fun around here.  Our beds and baths look so much better now though and we do not at all regret it.  We are motivated now to get window treatments and pictures up on the walls.

We threw a little fun in too; on Thursday we drove out on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Chateau Morrisette for a fabulous lunch, a little wine tasting and some gorgeous views. 

Listening to the specials???

 On Friday we went back to finishing our painting again but Saturday after ballet class took the Lolos to one of their favorite East Coast restaurants: Cracker Barrel.  We then enjoyed crabs caught by Lolo in Oregon for dinner. They were delicious!  Are you noticing an eating theme here(keep reading it gets better)......I started exercising with a trainer at work this past Tuesday!

Yummy crab!

B loves our local tomatoes - Grandin Rd Farmers Market

On Saturday night my parents drove in from Kentucky to join the family reunion.  Ed and I are so lucky to have met early on in life(like high school) and being from a small town our families knew each other more or less.   Since we have been together for a number of years our parents have grown close and we are so blessed to have such a tight knit family even though we are all far apart.

Sunday we packed a picnic and headed out to the park along the Roanoke River.  We hadn't ever been down to the river before but one of our favorite activities pre-kids, pre-Atlanta days was canoeing so we are excited to get the kids acclimated to moving water.  Needless to say they loved it.  The whole gang wasn't prepared for wading so we didn't get pics of everyone but it was a blast. 

Ed's rock skipping perfect form

Sunday night we enjoyed a Filipino feast of our favorite foods prepared by Lola.  She has a few signature dishes two of which are Barbecue(marinated grilled pork skewers) and Pancit(a noodle dish with chicken, pork, shrimp and julienned vegetables). There is a family tradition of eating the skewers right off the grill - see below examples.



Cheers!



And the Pancit:

C likes it....she doesn't like much so this is big!

We ended the evening with some swinging and a roaring fire after a 90 degree day.  I did mention Ed is a borderline pyromaniac right??

On Monday Ed and I returned to work to deal with our food hangovers and the grandparents had a special day with the kids at the Mill Mountain Zoo.  Apparently it was a hit.  B loved the train...that is his new favorite thing now that we don't live 20 feet from one!



So we are back to reality with some extra pounds(thanks Lola), many mosquito bites, and I have a spreading case of poison ivy(not sure where that came from). I am not going to lie it feels sort of good to be back in the routine of things but it was a great staycation; a proper mix of "getting things done", relaxing, and family time.