Banner Elk post #2

After Tuesday came Wednesday, which was picture day.
Picture day is the most exciting day of the whole week and all of the kids look forward to it with great anticipation because it is just so much fun to be stuck at the lodge for two hours when you want to be off hiking!!!!!
There was so much sarcasm in that statement it's practically obscene.
Wednesday came and it was overcast, and starting to drizzle.
The pictures didn't really turn out because the lighting was very much off, BUT we did succeed in getting a passable family picture.

 Aren't we all so cute??
Yes, we are. We're adorable.
After that, it was raining and we had to go inside. So I stuck around outside (oh yeah, rebel points!) and got artsy with my camera!

 Some more of the abundant interesting-looking plant life around the camp.

 Okay, I admit it: I LOVE this picture! It looks so cool!!! Whenever I get a photo that looks really neat, I'm like, "WHOA! I just did that!"

 Safely resting in the arms of Jesus.

 The cool chimney thing outside the lodge. I know I'm using the word "cool" excessively. Sorry, I am, after all, a teenager. ;)

 Me, walking down the walk to go inside the lodge: Hmmm....those stumps look pretty cool. Maybe I'll take a picture of them.
Stumps: YES! Meredith, please do!
Me: *click*
Stumps: ...
Me: WHOA! I just did that!

 PJ being his usual, cheerful self. David and Jacob at their favorite activity, eating. Cameron...well, it's Cameron.

 Another landscape that is RIDICULOUSLY similar to the one I took the day before.
And yet, it is TOTALLY different at the same time.

 Jacob, Caleb, Jeremy, and PJ at the creek terrorizing the fish. As soon as PJ saw there were fish in there, BOOM! He was hooked on fishing. (pun intended)

 Normally at Banner Elk, the sky is always really blue and all the colors are very vivid and bright. This year I got a little taste of the darker side, and I'm glad I did! I do believe my horizons have been broadened.

 This picture is kind of depressing and happy at the same time. Go figure.
There were water lilies all over the lake, and whenever we girls would go out canoeing or kayaking, we could come back with a multitude of lilies. I doubt there are any left anymore! :/

I was walking by these leaves and I noticed that they had a really interesting texture, they were almost fuzzy! It was so strange!
Looking back, I realize that I didn't get ANY pictures from the sports field, so as you're weaving your version of the Bunke reunion in your mind, just randomly add in some ultimate frisbee games, okay? Okay.
Post #3 coming soon!!! I am SOO excited about this one!

Banner Elk post #1

As most of you know, this past week I was out of town for our family reunion in North Carolina.
If you didn't know that, you might want to get with the program.
Anyways, there is SO very much to tell that I couldn't possibly do it all in one blog post, at least not a blog post within bounds of common decency. So I'm going to divide it up into four posts, one for each day! After all, four whole days of nothing but fun could take a little while to chronicle here.
It all started on Monday, I suppose, when we left home. It was a long, boring day and we arrived in Boone, North Carolina at about six thirty, then hung out at the hotel for the rest of the night.
And then on Tuesday, the real fun began.
We arrived at the camp to find this waiting for us.

We have been coming to this camp for our family reunion for nine years, if I'm not mistaken, this year being the ninth.
Tuesday morning I had to go grocery shopping with Mom (after all, we had thirty or forty people stuck in a lodge for four days and we have to eat!) and by the time we got back, the other families had arrived and the kids had spread to all corners of the camp and started leaving traces of our presence there.

 One of the little girls left these pretty flowers at one of the wooden crosses and it was a perfect photo op!

 This is the bridge from the woods to the lake, the labyrinth, or several of the hiking trails.

 Some interesting stuff growing on the stone bridge across the creek.

 There's been a boathouse at the camp for as long as I can remember, but we were never allowed to use the boats. But because we take very good care of the camp when we go, the directors trust us and last year we were allowed to use them! We had a blast and couldn't wait to use them again this year! There were a lot of good times had out on the lake....you'll hear about them later! :)

 There were more flowers and things there this year, or at least I noticed more than normal! These were some of my favorites!

This is the labyrinth, a new thing this year. There used to just be overgrown grass and weeds and stuff, but they cleared it out and built this! Apparently you're supposed to keep a certain attitude as you go through.

I chose apathy and stepped right over the boundaries until I had gone across.

 One of the gorgeous crosses. I spent a lot of time up here this year, just sitting quietly on the hill underneath the cross and watching the lake. I found a cool shortcut around the lake to get up here!

 Whenever we go out canoeing, the girls always collect water lilies from the many spots like this on the lake! I got sooo many water lilies that I didn't know what to do with them all!

 We always have a bonfire at Banner Elk, and we decided to have it on the first night this year. David spent most of the afternoon collecting firewood and kindling, and it paid off because several hours later, we got a roaring fire.

We had a really good time just sitting around the fire talking, kind of getting reacquainted with each other. The first day was really fun, but I had no idea then just how awesome the week would be!
Check back soon to find out what happened on Wednesday! ;)

The weekend was fun

Well, as the title says, this weekend was FUN.
Like crazy fun.
I tried two new things: playing paintball and going on a dolphin cruise.
Both were awesome.

 We were all out playing paintball for Andrew's birthday! Here's the whole group.

 The girls. We kicked butt.

 Mrs. Lee looks vicious, no?

Daniel was soooo cute in all his gear!!! :D

So I had lots of fun playing paintball and only got hit twice! Fun stuff, let me tell you! I'm not super eager to go play again, but I know I will want to eventually!
After that we had a busy day again, doing lots of stuff!
First we went to the farmers market...

SARAH!!! Where are you??? I missed getting to talk to you more. :( There's always next time!
Whoa...I just realized that we all color coordinate....creepy.
After that came the suuuuuuper fun part!
DOLPHIN CRUISE!!!!
Even though I am a Florida native, we've never been big on "living the salt life" or whatever, so I had never really been to the beach before I was twelve, and I have NEVER been out on a boat before.
Until now, and let me tell you...
It was awesome!!! (BTW, a huge thanks to my awesome photographer CAMERON!!!!!)

 Me and Ashley!!! <3

 Okay, I was getting a little artistic...emphasis on little.

 All of these little boats kept passing us, they thought they were so cool.
Okay, they kind of are.

 Oh yeah, dolphins baby! They were soo cute! When the captains on the two boats saw dolphins, the boats would come together and the dolphins like to play in the waves created behind and between the boats! :)

 Sorry about the blurriness, but keep in mind that I took these out of a car window going forty miles per hour!

Happy birthday Mom!
I'd say more but I really don't think it's necessary! <3
You know I don't like wishy washy stuff, but you know what I mean!

Once again, I am baking cookies.

Hopefully you'll all get some this time!