Raising Schuurmans: D is for Deep Creek

     Last weekend Mark and I loaded up the boys and headed for Deep Creek Lake, Maryland to meet up with Greg, Lisa, Emma, Sam, and Alyssa. Titus had not yet met them, so it was a special meeting. We're thankful they were willing to drive down so we could see them before Christmas. We got there REALLY late Thursday night and the children were already asleep, but bright and early Friday morning, all five were up and at 'em, playing together and acting like they lived next door to each other.
     Sam and Marcus hit it off immediately playing with Sam's nerf guns. Alyssa and Emma were enthralled with Titus and the feeling must've been mutual because he followed their every move and smiled at them every time they spoke to him. Alyssa said, "Titus is so cute!" at least one hundred times. It was adorable. For the most part, all the children got along really well and we all enjoyed each other's company.
     There was snow still left on the ground Friday morning and it was bitter cold. Well, bitter cold to us since we were used to 70 degree Fall weather. We went to the Nature Center attached to the lake and the children walked and played on the outdoor trail as well as toured the inside museum where there were lots of exhibits. They had a few live creatures like frogs, toads, turtles, etc. It was a short trip, but nice to get the kids out and let them see a little bit of nature.
     Back at home, the older kids discovered the hot tub! Once the temperature was turned down, they played in it like it was a heated swimming pool. Marcus did not like the jets, but other than that, they splashed and played in it for what seemed like hours. We had take-out pizza for supper and when Lisa walked in with it, we all laughed out loud. I've never seen a bigger pizza in my life. It was HUGE! To show you perspective, the picture below shows Titus beside the pizza. Big or small, it was delicious. No one had naps that day, so the children went to bed relatively early and easily as well.
   On Saturday we all got prettied up and took family pictures outside the cabin. The scenery was beautiful and the pictures turned out so nice. I can't put many of those below because we may use them for Christmas cards. :) You'll see it eventually. After lunch we took the kids to Wisp Resort. This was a very cool place. It's a ski resort in the winter, but on this day they had ropes courses for kids, a FANTASTIC play ground, and a very fun mountain coaster. It was a little pricey but certainly worth the fun. Mark and I both took Marcus on the mountain coaster which pulled you up to the top and gravity took you back down. It was butt cold on your face because you were going so fast, but again, lots and lots of fun for all. While Alyssa and Marcus were playing on the play ground, I fed Titus, and Sam and Emma went mining for gems. They ended up with a LARGE amount of gems and were super happy when they got home and sorted them all out.
     It was a WONDERFUL weekend, but as always, too short of a visit. We absolutely adore our family and loved seeing them, but it was time to go. They started their trek back up to Canada around 11am and we left around 12:30pm, headed back home to Asheville. As good of a visit as it was, it was also good to sleep in our own beds and be home again. However, we're DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing those sweet children (and their parents) again at Christmas. :)

*Note* The pictures are in two sets. The first set is from my camera, the 2nd is from Lisa's. For whatever reason, I couldn't put them together in order. Oh well, the Type A in me has to let this go. :)