Mini-vacation/ Independence Day

Recently my husband and I went out of town for a few days. It was nice to get away after the busyness of VBS. We went south, to the town where I went to junior high and high school, to visit a dear friend who was coming from North Carolina. We hadn't seen each other in about 18 years! We are glad for Facebook, because it keeps us up-to-date on each other's lives, but it is not the same as a face-to-face meeting. We had a wonderful time having two dinners with them and talking a lot!

 Our two younger girls had fun for a few days at their Aunt & Nana's house. I loved their pictures!

We enjoyed shopping downtown. I liked this tiny little, crammed bookshop.

We pretended to be tourists and posed...

We went on a 2 hour hike together to a nearby waterfall, it was lovely!

Nice to get our toasty toes wet!

 It was nice scenery too!

We ate really well! This was at a little crepes place downtown. We shared a savory crepe and a sweet crepe- so good!

 We went to a park and sat on the grass. We played on these cool xylophone type of instruments in the park too!

 Before we left, we enjoyed great views of the town from our favorite lookout spot.

 Then we went to visit our family that was gathering for Independence Day! We played lots of games!

 On the morning of the 4th, we drove to our favorite small town for the day!

 This is our family ready for the parade...

Bethany got an otter pop in the parade!

Cute big kids after the parade...

Cute sisters!💙

Our group all ready for the water fights!

The girls kept diving down when we would get wet!🤣

They were mostly short fights this year until the last one. One fight was under one minute!

We took our traditional family photos on our friends' porch since we stayed in town all day!

The squished together faces!

 The silly one!

 We also hiked in town to a local waterfall. It was hot but so beautiful!

 The mist felt so good!

 And of course, the day ended with fireworks! They echoed in the mountains, it sounded like thunder and we loved it! What a great week away from home!

What about you? Have you gone on any trips this summer? We'd love to go on another trip, we'll see what we fit in around marching band practices beginning soon!

Psalm 73:5
They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.

Psalm 119:45
I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”