The Kendall Memoirs: Vacation Part 1

July 3rd-8th

When a vacation is combined with a wedding, there are a lot of happening events to blog about! For our big vacation this year, we went to the mountains in Georgia for my childhood best friend's wedding. I lived down the street from Mary Beth for about 10 years, and we were inseparable. When I moved away, Mary Beth and I promised to stay friends and have done a great job! Mary Beth and David chose to get married in Big Canoe, Georgia for the central location for family and the beautiful scenery.

We left on Tuesday after Nathan got off work. My parents left earlier that morning and were arriving as we were leaving. The drive up was a little stressful. Natalie still does not like the car or her car seat! After sleeping for a little while, she was up and unhappy for the rest of the trip. We arrived later that night and enjoyed a very late delicious dinner.

The next day was spent enjoying Fourth of July festivities. Big Canoe is a gated community in Northern Georgia. There are many large neighborhoods with tons of houses. There are two pools, a beach area, a few lakes, a couple of restaurants, a gorgeous golf course, a chapel, and lots of other things. For the fourth of July, there was a small festival with bounce houses, games, and a pet dress up competition. We had a great time!

Gabriel getting set up to win the Tug of War competition.

Grandma and Natalie at the festival.

In the bounce house.

Me and the lovin'.

Gabriel paid to do the dunking booth and did awesome!!

One of the dogs showing his Patriotism.

Having fun together.

Poppa, Natalie, and Grandma.

Once we left, we stopped by the McAfee's house to say hi. We went out on the pontoon and stayed for lunch. It was great to see Mary Beth for the first time in a long time, and I got to spend some one-on-one time with her before the big day!

Ready to take off.

A great family picture.

Natalie loved it but didn't want to stay still!

Poppa and Natalie.

Being a cutie patootie.

Old neighbors, life long friends.

Natalie helping Poppa driving the pontoon.

Me and the Bride-To-Be

Dipping her toes in the water and loving it.

The remainder of the day was spent exploring followed by a community fireworks show. Our house was located on the steepest mountain slop ever! You had to ride the brakes the entire time and brace yourself when going around the curves. It took some getting used to, and it was really intense. Once the guys found scooters they were dead set on riding them down the street. It took them forever to climb uphill and the ride down lasted only a few seconds. If they needed to stop for any reason, they would have been out of luck! It was scary to watch, but of course it happened more than once!