The Great Outdoors

After our roadtrip (and stop for frosties, of course), we arrived in the Poconos around 10:30 last night. We were given a tour of both the main house and carriage house, as they’re both pretty different than when we were here last year! A fairly large addition has been put on the main house, and the renovations in the carriage house are complete. Very nice, I must say.

When we were finished unloading the cars, we all settled on the porch to catch up with each other. It was a really warm night, as even the Pocono Mountains have been touched by the Northeast’s heatwave. Everyone else enjoyed drinks while I just enjoyed the company. :) Once we realized it was after 1:00 a.m., we all decided to get to bed so we could be up to take advantage of the day today.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many pics to share from today. I didn’t even break out the SLR yet. Oops! But the thing with the Poconos is that we don’t ever *do* much. It’s a completely relaxing getaway, so it’s hard to remember to take photos sometimes.

We all woke up on our own time, ate breakfast, and walked down to the pond to hang out in the sunshine (or inside the shady gazebo, where it was considerably cooler). Tessa became “nature girl” and really enjoyed her time off of the leash today. She even abused it a little by wandering into some really tall grass in a field–Michael had to go chasing after her so we wouldn’t lose her. Little stinker!

Marie and the boys did a little fishing…

…and Miller did some wading/swimming. Amazing, since Tyler really tried to get him into the water last year, without much success. Today, Miller was swimming like a pro. When Tyler was out fishing in the paddle boat, Miller actually jumped in and swam out to the boat to get in!

Pretty. So, so pretty. (The scenery. Not Trevor. HA!)

Hunter and I, hanging out in the gazebo.

In the early afternoon, we put together a grocery list of things we were going to need for the weekend, and my mom, Susan, and I took a ride into town to do the shopping. When we returned, we all had a late lunch, then spent more time talking and being outdoors. Around 4:00 p.m., everyone was feeling pretty tired (up too late last night!), so most of us retreated to our respective bedrooms. I didn’t think I would nap (I tend to be a terrible napper), but like two pages into reading my book, I was out. Next thing I knew, Michael was waking up, saying that it was 5:45. Nice! And let me just say, afternoon naps are SWEET. I wish I could do that every day.

We all gathered at the bar in the carriage house, where Vinny made everyone (minus me, *SIGH*) some happy hour drinks.

We took them to the picnic table outside and–you guessed it–just sat and talked and joked and laughed. Eventually, we all got cleaned up and showered, and it was time to get started on dinner–I made roasted potatoes, we had a great salad, and the boys grilled corn on the cob, burgers, and white hots. We didn’t eat until after 9:00 p.m. But who cares when you’re on vacation, right?

After getting eaten alive by mosquitos tonight (bastards!), we’re all zonked from the sunshine and fresh air. We’re hitting the sheets at a more reasonable hour tonight so we can get up and do all of this over again tomorrow.

Have I mentioned how much I <3 the Poconos? I look forward to this trip every year. It's so great to be here.