Winter Retreat

This past weekend Josh and I went to Sunriver with the high school group from our church. It was our third year going on this trip, and it is always a lot of fun. Our kids stayed with my parents for the weekend. It was our first time being away from Griffin overnight, but he did great and we didn't worry (: Both boys had a really fun time at Memaw and Papa's house. They got to eat at McDonalds, help with yardwork, and go in the hot tub! Ronan was especially excited because he got to sleep in Uncle Erik's old room and use the lava lamp that was left there as a night light (:

OK, back to the retreat...
We arrived at the house on Friday evening and got settled in. It is an amazing house with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 family rooms, and a loft. There were 25 students and 8 leaders. Eric shared some excellent teaching throughout the weekend that challenged us all to think about making wise decisions.

Josh and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with the students and develop stronger connections with them. We also had fun being free from our responsibilities at home for a few days (:

On Saturday, the snowboarders & skiers woke up early to get to Mt. Bachelor by 8:00 am. The rest of us got to sleep in and take our time getting ready. Jill and I took a group of seven to the tubing park at Bachelor. There are 6 runs and a pulley/lift system that pulls you up the hill on your tube. It was great...we all had a blast!

When we got back to the house, our good friends, Mark and Robin, came to visit. They live in Sisters so it was a short drive for them. It was great to see them...I so miss having Robin in Eugene!! I joked that she came by just to see me, but really they are close with all of the leaders and many of the students (: Everyone was excited to see them.

Saturday night was awesome. There was a poker tournament going on in the dining room, Guitar Hero up in the loft, movies, boardgames, and the hot tub to go in. Josh and I ended up staying in the hot tub with 9 other students for over an hour...we kind of felt like we needed to be there to make sure everyone was making wise decisions (: But, we also were just having a great time hanging out with them. Someone had put dish soap in the hot tub earlier in the day, so every time the jets went on the bubbles would suds up. It also started snowing on us..it was so cool (:

On Sunday morning we ate breakfast and had one last teaching session, then we all packed up and left Sunriver at noon.
Above: Catherine, me, and Lindsey
Below: The whole group!

We had such a sweet reunion with Ronan and Griffin when we got home! They both were so cuddly and happy (: Griffin even gave us real kisses--pucker and all! He was only giving "open mouth" kisses before that. It was great to come home to our precious sons.