Some things are just worth the recovery time

Seriously? Who gets a cold at the end of MAY? Apparently half of Oklahoma City... and this girl. This morning I woke up to a god awful amount of snot and disappointment. I begrudgingly downed a hefty dose of Airborne, Dayquil, and Mucinex, did my Nettipot rinse, and headed off to Whole foods for some lunch.

SURELY a plate full of steamed veggies, and a baked potato with vegan chili would cure whatever the burly dose of drugs didn't. If that doesn't do it, then I'm counting on the extra large size of "Electrolyte Enhanced Water," (which I'm quite sure is just tap water with a fancy label), to do the trick.

So far, nothing has done the trick. FLURGE. This is so not the week I would have chosen for Mr. Mucus to come for a visit.  Tomorrow is jam packed at work, and Saturday is my first full day of wedding shooting.

Eek! That's right, J and I are will be packing up all the video equipment we bought and heading out to Yukon for the day, where we'll be filming Chris and Emily's wedding. This will be our first of 3 weddings have booked this summer. I am so excited about our new adventure (but would be totally lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous).

All I can hope for between now and Saturday is some solid sleep and a mucus miracle. I really shouldn't be complaining about being worn out and sick, I'm sure my lake trip last weekend didn't slow down the onset. But, honestly, I'm not sorry about it. I wouldn't give up a Memorial Day weekend at Lake Eufala for anything.

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend:
Last Year vs. This Year

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is in my top 3 favorite days of the year. Seriously. Its the official start of summer and lake season for us. And this chair, in front of that water... One of my happy places. This year we took our dear friend Abbie with us. All the way to the lake we tried to prepare her for the weekend she was about to experience. I don't think words do it justice.

On the drive back home Monday afternoon, Abbie informed us she'll be
going back every chance she gets! :)

I've been going to the same lake house every summer for 6 years now, J's been going much longer. The house belongs to OUR best friend Tommy and his family. (Tom is Justin's best friend from Shawnee, but I get in trouble if I don't claim him too.) His family, the Smith Family, have been incredible friends to us. In fact, last summer when we announced to people we were getting married, the Smith's were second only to our parents when it came to spreading the news.

Their family is so dear to me. Every single one of them. They are doing it right, just about as right as it gets. Ted and Rhonda are so often the people J and I look to when it comes to having a thriving marriage. I can't even tell you how many things we have tried to mirror after them. I have often wondered how their partnership can be so strong after so many years. Who did they look up to? Who was their marriage mentor? This weekend I got a really great glimpse of it.

For the first time in a LONG time Tommy's grandparents, Oma and Papa, came to lake house for the weekend to hang out with all the young bucks. They are 93 and 94 years old, and this year they are celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary. I've never seen two people still so in love after so many years. I even caught a couple of butt smacks exchanged between the two of them! And up until recently they were still going out dancing...every single weekend. They may look old, but they have as much youthful spirit as any one of us young'ens. Saturday morning Papa woke up with a Bloody Mary just like the rest of us, then headed outside in his cowboy boots to help ted cut down tree limbs with a chainsaw. Oma sat in the living room with all of us kids and handed out her fair share of life lessons.

"Hey Amy!" Oma yelled as I was walking away. "Yes Oma?" I replied. "Don't you wait." She said "Wait for what?" I asked. "ANYTHING." She said

If there is anyone in the world I will take advice from, its a wise 93 year old who's happily survived 75 years of marriage. "Don't you wait for anything"...I'll never forget it.

Memorial Day weekend is also home to the annual Beer Olympics. It's not exactly what the name implies. Last year when I won, (that's right, I was the champ), my mom seemed less than impressed when I called to tell her that I HAD WON BEER OLYMPICS. I guess she thought that meant I had chugged the most beer. The fact is you don't have to actually drink any beer during Beer Olympics, (but most people do). Its a 6-8 hour tournament of yard games like Bocce Ball, Bags, Ladder Golf, etc. Last year me and our friend Jen were the first women to ever win the Beer Olympics championship, and this year I had to hand the title over to Tommy and his brother Ken.

Last Year's Beer Olympics Champions

This Year's Beer Olympics Champions

A weekend full of friends we call family, Bloody Mary's for breakfast, loads of sunshine, and Beer Olympics.... Ya, it was worth getting the cold.