off to NC

Late Thursday night we headed out on our first family road trip -- 8.5 hours to Andy and Elizabeth's lake house in NC. Gathering at the lake house has become an annual 4th of July tradition for the Bowersox clan. This year we decided to make it the weekend before since the 4th is a Wednesday and would require too much time off work. We always look forward to this mini-vacation, but this year was especially exciting with our kids experiencing everything for the first time. The drive down and back went well thanks to Mom Bowersox's generosity in loaning us her car. (Our Toyota was still in the shop after last week's excitement, and our Isuzu can't handle long trips anymore.) The 3 days we spent with our family were fun and relaxing. Our kids experienced lots of firsts, and it was fun to watch their reactions. It was especially exciting to see our fearful oldest boy go from panic to pleasure as he experienced new things. By the end of the weekend, he was trying to swim by himself (with a life vest on). He even overcame his panic when Daddy started having a little too much fun and dumped himself and Joshua off the jet ski! (That was error in judgment #1. Keep going for a photo of error #2!) Here are just a few pictures from our weekend adventures.