i'm back...

Sorry for the lack of posting recently. I was out of town for a Fourth of July vacation with Rob. We went up to spend some time with his family in their cabin in Suches, Georgia. We left on Friday after we both got done with work and stayed through till Tuesday afternoon. It was a wonderful time of relaxation and fun. The cabin is up on a mountain, so the last leg of the trip there (around 2:30 am) was a winding one. I spotted several deer, but Rob was unable to catch sight of them, as he was more importantly watching the road. We were greeted by Grandma Jessie and Mrs. Barbie (Rob's mom) and headed directly for bed as soon as we walked in the door. The next morning Rob's Uncle Keith arrived prior to the two of us waking up. Saturday was spent seeing the area, and more or less just bumming around the fire and the cabin. Sunday we attended a church service at the lake, which is apparently a regular event for those who are staying on the mountain. We then headed down to the valley, Dahlonega, to get lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The afternoon was relaxing, then later that evening we went to the Woody's home (long time friends of the family) for a barbecue. It was a good time. It was cool to see a bunch of families who have been friends for an incredibly long time all together and enjoying each other's company. Probably the coolest part of the evening was towards the end when everyone gathered inside around the piano and we all sang old hymns together for hours. It's such a connecting thing to me when families sing together. It was really neat. Monday, the Fourth, we said goodbye to Grandma Jessie and Keith as they were leaving, and then the four of us went into Dahlonega for "Family Day" where they have a bunch of tent vendors and what-not set up in the town square. I think the event was smaller than it normally is, but it was still fun. And while there, Rob surprised me with a really nice Willow Tree figurine that he says reminds him of us. I really like it... it was really sweet of him. We went back up the mountain and waited for the rain that had settled in again to stop, but later in the evening we went to see the fireworks, but again had to make accomodations for the rain. The fireworks were entertaining, if nothing else, because it's at the local school and they set up all the fireworks on their outdoor basketball court and a bunch of guys run around and light them by hand, all while this countriest-of country man talked to the crowd on his karaoke-type microphone. I was certain one of the men with lighters was going to die before the night was over. Especially when they had to do an all-of-a-sudden finalie, setting off hundreds of fireworks at once to get them finished before the rain began to pour. After getting home and drying off, Rob and I played team Rummy with his parents (girls v. guys) and had a great time laughing and joking around. He and I both agreed it was probably the best time of the trip. Tuesdsay we ate lunch at the Mexican place again and then headed for home. It was a great trip. I would close this post out with a better summary statement, but I'm about to be late for my leadership meeting, so I have to go. Later.