River Floats, Reunion Revelry, Lake Laughs & Montreal Memories

The peak of summer continued with Hanleigh volunteering at the YMCA as a camp counselor, her second year in a row of doing this. She already has over 100 hours, which is typically the minimum needed before you graduate high school to get an honor cord (plus, it also looks really good on a college resume!). She watched our neighbor’s pets up until the point where the four of us hit the road for the annual family reunion…this time, it was in Asheville, North Carolina (the Virginia Creeper Trail wasn’t quite ready for us after the damage from Hurricane Helene). There were about 40 of us this year in tow and we had rented two absolutely amazing homes, that overlooked the river. Each of them were four stories tall and had plenty of amenities, including a playroom on the top floor of one cabin that had shuffle board, air hockey, foosball, a hot tub, and a beautiful view! There was a ton of space for everyone to gather and the kids to play. The beds were very comfortable, the kitchens provided us with everything we needed to feed this crew, and the host was incredibly friendly and responsive! We couldn’t ask for more. It was the perfect setup for another incredible get together!

After the first night of gathering and laughs, Trent, Brayden, Bryce, and I woke up early and went for a run. A little bit later, a larger group of us walked the greenway and enjoyed taking in the beautiful wildflowers. We came back, chilled at the house for a while, and then the “middles” (a new term for the younger second cousins that are in the 13-24 year age group) went to play a round of Putt-Putt together. I love watching them all bond! Meanwhile, a group of the “cousins” (first cousins) and a few of the aunts made a short trek to the Grove Park Inn for some bougie cocktails. We attempted to sit outside, but it was way too hot, and then miraculously found an entire row of rocking chairs to sit in right in front of one of the beautiful huge fireplaces (that wasn’t on). It was so awesome to have some chill time together as a smaller group (let’s face it, no group is truly small when this reunion happens!).

The cousin’s had our annual night out, where we bounced around to different breweries in downtown Asheville. As always, the evening was full of laughter, silliness and amazing conversations! The next day was July 4th and we made our way to the French Broad River around 10am for what was a very fun river float. I think there were about 33 of us and we enjoyed watching the kids jump off a rope swing, seeing a bear drinking water by the river, making a pit stop at “Topless Rock” (the site where Edna lost her top a few years back), and capping it off with a drink and some lunch at New Belgium Brewing Company. Later that evening, we donned our wigs and funny clothes for dinner, followed by more games upstairs. The Byers introduced a game that many of us had never played: the Saran Wrap ball game. One person puts on two oven mitts and then proceeds to peel apart layers of a very large Saran Wrap ball that has little prizes scattered within it while the person next to them is quickly rolling a pair of die until they get doubles. It is at that point that the person trying to unwrap the ball has to stop and pass it to the next person. It sounds silly and simple, but everyone was really getting into it and doing a lot of screaming, yelling, and laughing. We capped the night off with celebratory fireworks, and then headed home the next day after breakfast. Another incredible family reunion in the books! This crew is gold! 

Hanleigh began training for her new job as a hostess, which I’m not sure how much she enjoys work, but it’ll definitely help fund her shopping habits. I think she will find that she really likes it. She also began practicing for flag football, even though the tryouts are not until the end of August. I’m really excited for another season of this sport, as is she. It is just so much fun to watch! Heather and I had a great dinner together at Flower Child, and it’s always so wonderful to spend time with her! 

We made our way to Lake Tillery for our annual family weekend. Unfortunately, Aunt Patty and Uncle John were unable to attend this time. It was so great to see all the cousins converging together on the lake in various watercraft like the sunfish, kayak, and paddleboards. It warms my heart to see all of them hanging out! On Friday night, we set off some fireworks, and the next morning, we had some fun skiing. Most of us got up on the first try! The Snack Shack was open for business, complete with wigs and other antics, and later that afternoon, there was an amazing (and very lengthy) water balloon fight with their next–door neighbors! It was comprised of sneak attacks, super soakers, and lots of smack talking! So much fun! The next morning, before we left, we got in one last round of skiing. Unfortunately, Trent ended up taking a hard fall on his left side after whipping around an island and cutting back across both wakes. But, like the trooper he is, he got back up and did another run before calling it a day. I think his ribs were sore for a week or so afterward! Overall, it was a great trip and we can’t wait to go back next year! 

Out of my Triple B’s, Shelly, Kerri, and Momo all got tattoos! It was the first for each of them and they all went together in Mebane and then had dinner afterward! Bees unite! Hanleigh continued volunteering at camp at the YMCA as well. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of drama right now about that YMCA closing down in about a year. It has really rocked our community and there are many groups doing whatever they can to change the outcome! Let’s rally! I attended my annual marketing meeting in Spokane, Washington and it was great to see all the extended team, as well as Sierra and Fani, two of my direct team members. The all–day meetings were very productive and fun, and we had an awesome time doing a teambuilding activity one evening that comprised of putting together a puzzle, which was a photo of our annual marketing meeting from last year. Our team did not finish it, but we had a great time working on assembling it. I capped off that week having dinner with Haley, which was definitely a highlight! I hadn’t seen her since last year and catching up with her is always incredible! 

Happy birthday to my dad, who celebrated his 74th birthday and to Terry (Trent’s dad) who celebrated his 81st birthday! Hanleigh continued training at work and then went to see Megan Maroney with a bunch of her high school friends! It was so cute seeing them all dressed up in their cowgirl boots and country attire!

We had a pool party where many of our amazing neighbors and friends attended, including two amazing and unexpected guests, Carol and Craven! They were in town for one of Julian’s basketball tournaments and reached out, so the timing was perfect. It was an awesome afternoon relaxing with them! The next day, Trent and I had a couple’s massage at The Ballantyne hotel, followed by a bit of time relaxing by the pool there. It was great to get pampered! I had my monthly facial with Amy and then also met my mom for dinner at a new revolving sushi bar named Kura. It was definitely a bit of a gimmick because they had robots delivering you drinks and food comes flying on a conveyor belt as you order it. However, everything was really fresh and it didn’t even cost that much. Brayden’s besties from her sorority drove up from Georgia to spend a long weekend with her and it was so awesome meeting all of them! They hung out in the pool and hot tub, walked to the greenway and got Starbucks, did some shopping, went to Emory’s house and met the Cookout Crew, and had dinner at Barcelona Wine Bar. It was an activity–packed few days and I know it was awesome for them to see each other before the school year kicked off. Hanleigh babysit for our neighbor down the street as well. 

I flew up to Montreal for a girls’ trip with the Crazy Beaches crew from college! On average, we see each other about every 12-18 months. It takes a lot of planning to get up to 11 girls coordinated in terms of schedules when everyone has kids, spouses, work, and plenty of other activities to contend with. But, there were seven of us this time, which was a great turnout! Jennifer hosted everyone and was incredibly gracious. She even kicked her husband and kids out of the house and made them stay at her in-laws’ house so we would have enough space. When I arrived, we set our bags down and walked around her neighborhood, which was absolutely adorable and had so much to do! We had some sidewalk cocktails, and later that night had dinner at Barranco, a Peruvian restaurant. This was followed by fireworks by the river. It was a great way to cap off the evening! The next morning, I woke up and went running in a very beautiful park near her house. We walked around some more in the afternoon and then all got cleaned up and took the metro to the beautiful Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal where we saw the Aura light show! This is the same place where Celine Dion got married and it was absolutely stunning! The light show was so breathtaking…it was set to music and there were various themes with the lights. We were not allowed to use our phones, so I don’t have any evidence of the show, just what my mind captured. A few times during the show, I had to tell myself to take a deep breath because I think I was just awestruck! Later that night, we did the coolest experience: we went to a spa that is on a boat, called Bota Bota. This boat is docked in the water with a beautiful view of downtown. There are hot tubs, cold plunges, saunas, steam rooms, and various other spa activities scattered about. There are even pools and other relaxation areas on land. We did this amazing dry sauna ritual, where the facilitator placed huge ice balls that were infused with various oils onto the hot rocks and then did a dance using a towel as a prop to guide the humid and fragrant air in our direction. The room was incredibly hot, very cathartic, and very relaxing! The cold plunges were set at 50°, which was bone chilling, but Tara gave me the great suggestion to put my fingers in my armpits to help delay the onset of my Raynauds symptoms and it worked! The next day, we ventured to the best farmers market I’ve ever seen. The fruits and vegetables were so vibrant and extensive…they had everything you could possibly want. There were tons of flowers and the entire market was bustling with people! After that, we ventured to a riverside brewery and relaxed. Later that night, we got all dressed up and had dinner at an amazing restaurant! This, of course, was followed up by dancing, something this group lives for! We went to the first club and the DJ was playing okay music and it was just somewhat crowded, so we went to the club that was owned by the same owner where we had dinner and that place was off the hook! It had great music and great crowds, so we we shook what our mamas gave us and then called it a night! Another amazing trip in the books with my fabulous college girls! 

Before Brayden headed off to school, she and Hanleigh had lunch with Aunt Patty and GG, which was nice for them to get together one last time before the semester started. She had another lunch with Nana as well. Brayden gathered most of her stuff and had her staging areas set up on the dining room table and the kitchen tables as she was getting ready to head back off to her second year at Georgia. We knew this year would be different because Hanleigh would be getting her license in the fall, meaning we needed an extra car. So, we got Brayden a brand new Kia Sportage for her to take off to school! It’s a beautiful car and she absolutely loves it and it was well deserved after such a great freshman year! Plus, this gives Hanleigh the Sequoia, which provides her with a car for her to drive to school and sports. Brayden ended the month with a lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, too!

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