Melsey 2011

Our second annual Melsey Vaca...we went to the same little town that we love so much but stayed in a different cabin-declaring this one "THE ONE" for all times.  It was perfect for us-lots of room for the kids & for cooking & for running around.  We got to experience rain every afternoon & cool evenings.  We went for lots of walks, did some crafts (and moms got to sew), and even spent one afternoon in the neighboring town playing at the park.  We took a long drive up the side of a mountain to a lake that is so beautiful & calm...we were not.  It was so funny, here we all come, crashing through the trees and stumbling onto this serene lake with several fishermen.   We stayed a bit, threw lots of rocks in the water, took some pictures & played with a dead fish, then we let the fishermen get back to their fishing!

Rainy afternoons...

This is why we love the mountains in the summer!!  COOL weather!

Loving that pickle juice!

Probably the most exciting story this time was our encounter with a bear.  We enjoyed a big, huge, juicy watermelon out on the patio one evening (showing our true Texas nature) and never thought about rinsing off the deck.  Early in the morning (5:00am) we awoke to a strange sound...investigating it we learned that it was indeed a bear clawing through the kitchen window (that we had mistakenly left open-again, we are from Texas & don't remember things like bears come through open windows).  After recovering our wits we scared it off, got a good (yikes) laugh, went back to bed...then 15 minutes later did it all over again.  No harm except to the screen and no more visits from the bear.

 Ava loves to stuff everyone's pockets with rocks.

 Macy befriended a squirrel on one of our walks...if you look really closely you can see him!

 This is the juice that later attracted the big, hungry bear.

 One evening the kids all played charades...it was hilarious.

 The damage to the screen from the bear.

 These two are not shy around the camera...and full of poses!