Labor Day in Ohio

I'm not sure how I did it but I convinced Mike to drive all the way to OHIO for Labor day weekend this year. We left at 3:30 on Friday afternoon and got there at 1:15am! Traffic was HORRIBLE getting out of town. It took up about 3.5 hours to get to the Del Water Gap and it usually only takes us 1.5 hour to get there. After that it was 6.5 hours or easy driving. I had Mike listen to the book "Maze Runner" on the way there so it kept him alert the whole way there.

Saturday Morning we got up and went to the Gym with my dad. With his sports medicine and nutrition background he is a great person to have lead your work out. It was seriously one of the highlights of our weekend. He is a stud!

Later that day my Aunt Becky stopped by, which was nice since she lives in Columbus (2 hours away.) It was good to see her even if it was only for a little while. We of course had the OSU game on, even though it wasn't very much of a game. I hope we can keep our head above water this year and stay in the top 25. It will be pretty tough though with all the drama that has unfolded over the past year.

That evening we drove about 2 hours north to the Johnson Farm Chapel where we attended the wedding reception. The reception was for Jenna and Robbie who were absolutely adorable together, but I didn't get a picture of the happy couple. I did however get a picture of her beautiful sisters and one of my dearest friends, Sarah! It had been far to long since I had seen my former maid of honor and roommate. It was wonderful to catch up and I really hope to see her soon since she only lives about 5 hours away!

My beautiful sister was ecstatic to go to the reception since her boyfriend is the brother of Sarah and Jenna (what a small world huh?)

Aren't my sisters beautiful?

Sunday we of course went to church in the morning. It was actually my second fast Sunday there in a row since I was there just a few weeks ago. We had a lovely Sunday lunch together (this time we missed Bryant since he is now out at BYU for the school year.) I even got to take a short Sunday nap, which was BEAUTIFUL!!

That evening my dad did his back to school fathers blessings. I haven't had one since I was married. I am going back to school though and I am in serious need of guidance, direction and comfort. So I got a blessing too! It was pretty special since my dad, grandpa and husband all stood together to give me my blessing. The words spoken were also very special. What a huge blessing it is to have the power of the priesthood here on earth. To be able to have the men I love speak as a mouth piece of the Lord and tell me the things he would have me know. Amazing. It is a memory I know I will NEVER forget. It was the highlight of my trip and made all the driving worth it. I am a truly blessed women.

That evening we had a few family friends over for treats and games. My mom and I's friend Sheryl was there. She helped so much with my wedding and threw me a beautiful bridal shower. I never gave here anything to show her how much I appreciated her, so three years later I finally gave her little gift. That was also one of the highlights of my trip. There were so many people who helped so much with my wedding and in my frazzled bridal state I don't think I ever thanked them properly so starting with Sheryl I am trying to show my appreciation.

Monday morning we just visited with my family until 11:30 when it was time to make the journey back. It was another horrible drive. It was pouring rain the whole way which made it really hard to see. We only had a little traffic but because of the rain it took us another 9.5 hours to get home. LAME. Don't worry Mike had book # 2 (The Scorch Trials) to listen to on the way home.
At any rate even with all the time in the car traveling for only a few short days with my family IT WAS WORTH IT. I can never get enough family time and the older I get it still doesn't get any easier to say goodbye. Like I said I am a blesses women.