Family Pics and an Anniversary Dinner

After everyone arrived back at the hotel soaked from getting caught in the rain, we scrambled to start over so we could take...family pictures! I feel that when all was said and done, we turned out pretty put together!

This is also when Lori, Julie and I recreated the picture from Father's Day, 1986. I got the idea from Pinterest...of course. It took some doing to get everybody situated where they needed to be, but I think it turned out well...and it was so fun to do!!

And then...the indoor family pic.

{Please note: if you are a photographer, I'm sorry for the shadows on the faces. We were working with the light we had...and a tripod. But for those limitations, I think it turned out really well!}

After we took all the pictures {there were more, but I won't make you sit through the slide show} - we headed over to The Blue Gate restaurant for dinner.

The Blue Gate has really good food - but we did struggle a bit that night. They have a family style dining room and an order-off-the-menu dining room, and we chose to order off the menu. We had to wait quite a while to get in to the dining room {party of nine, you know}...and when they finally called us, they weren't actually ready.

So there we stood, all gawking in the dining room...waiting for a table to open up. It was past dinner time {in my tummy} and I'd just ridden 14 miles on a bike. I reached the point of no return and Ryan resorted to digging the free samples of toffee out of a jar for me to keep me from keeling over waiting for a table. We were SO GRUMPY by the time we finally got seated that I apologized to our waitress for having to deal with us.

We got our dinner, though {Ryan had to go with plan B because they'd run out of fish on all-you-can-eat-fish night. Sigh.} and I was much happier with dinner in my tummy.

The waitress was kind enough to bring a little cake for Mom and Dad, and Dad was so cute - he reached over and helped Mom cut it...just like at their wedding!

I wanted to get some outside pictures, before the sun went down, and we were rapidly losing daylight, so we took some pics across the street beside a gorgeous bunch of flowers. I loved the way they turned out!

Shopping and Such...Heavy on the And Such

My mom and I have many things in common - and the love of a schedule is one of those things. But I was so proud of her...for our family vacation, she didn't schedule ANYTHING other than dinners. We were free to get up when we wanted, eat breakfast and lunch where we wanted, and do whatever we wanted all day long. And so...we did! :)

So Friday morning, we got up to have breakfast at the hotel. I love a hotel with a good hot continental breakfast. This one had biscuits and gravy...sausage...waffles...THAT is how breakfast should go. Except it should be a lot later in the day.

My parents...

Ryan...who is training for retirement...

And me. I really do hate mornings.

{Although getting up at 8 a.m. on vacation is considerably better than 4:30 a.m. on work days. I will give you that.}

After breakfast, we got ready and headed back into town to do some shopping. This is when Ryan and I did our coffee date you read about earlier this week in the county tour post. But here are some random glimpses into our shopping day.

I don't know if you're noticing a THEME or not....

...in the afternoon, my sister thought it would be fun to go on a bike ride. My niece had wanted to kayak with Ryan and me, but there were threats of storms and rain showers and party-pooper-Bekah did NOT want to be in a foreign body of water if that materialized, so biking seemed safer. {Keep that in mind, if you would.}

So Lori, Jeff, Cassie, Ryan and I rented bikes from a little shop in downtown Shipshewana and got directions to the Pumpkinvine trail just outside of town. We had to bike about a half mile from the rental shop to the trail - and that part was on a highway. No biggie.

{Also keep in mind, if you would, that I broke my leg on a bike at age 11 and have ridden one exactly TWO times since. Once in November of 2010 in Kansas and once {on the tandem bike} on our honeymoon in December of 2012. So it was about time again.}

So here we are at the start of the trail:

Couple quick things. Yes. Ryan is riding a girl's yellow and pink bike. It's because there was only one guy's bike at the shop and I knew Ryan wouldn't care if Jeff took it, so I gave that one up to Jeff. Ryan also carried my Vera Bradley backpack the entire trip - because it was heavy with the camera and tripod and he's a classy gentleman that way. He's rather bike through Amish country wearing a Vera Bradley backpack than make me get a sore neck carrying it. Husband of the year award.

The trail was GORGEOUS. It was scenic and smoothly paved and pretty much a straight shot. We went about seven miles before turning around to head back.

Some pics from the trip:

Right about the time we arrived back at the trail head and turned onto the road to bike the half mile to the shop...those storms they mentioned? SHOWED UP. Thankfully it was a rainstorm vs. a thunderstorm. I would have just keeled on over in a dead faint if there had been thunder and lightning.

Ryan took off the Vera bag and carried it like a football to protect my camera and my phone {which he had used to take all the above pictures.} Everyone pedaled like crazy to get back to the shop.

Except yours truly.

Apparently I am broken {in one of many ways} and in weird Bekah trivia...I cannot open my eyes in rain. Can't handle the water on my eyes. So there I was, even with sunglasses on to shield my eyes, trying to BIKE DOWN A HIGHWAY, with traffic and horse poop abounding, in the pouring rain, with my eyes shut.

True. Story.

Yes. I was crying. Everyone was so far ahead of me, they were almost out of sight and I was pulled over in somebody's driveway, trying to figure out how to get home. My clothes were soaked. I looked like a drowned rat. And I couldn't see.

I managed to catch up with them and the rain let up slightly and we got everything back and returned.

And we got our after photo:

Oh. And did I mention next up were family pictures??

Also a true story.

Despite the debacle, I had a BLAST biking with the fam. And I am gaining confidence on a bike again too, which is also exciting.

So that was that day!!! :)

Wednesdays in the Word: Verse T

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how I needed this verse today. Yes. It's one of those verses.

I believe the Bekah version of this verse goes something like this: "Trust in Him when it's easy to do so, O Bekah. Pour out your heart to Him and hope He shows up."

And this is why I was not called upon to write the Bible and we can all be very thankful.

Trust in Him AT ALL TIMES.

I don't know what's part of your "all times" right now - but for us, it goes back to the broken record of selling houses. Trusting Him to bring buyers. Trusting Him to work out details of financing. Trusting Him with the timing of all sales and all future living arrangements. Trusting in Him AT ALL TIMES. Even the days when no one calls. When no one makes an offer. When nothing changes on my horizon. Still trusting.

And the part of the verse I absolutely ADORE is this: pour out your hearts to Him.

I love the invitation to gush my thoughts. To have a meltdown, if that's what I need to do. To beg for mercy, for help, for intercession, for intervention. To be gut-level-honest, even when said honesty is gut-level-ugly. To know that I'm safe in being completely vulnerable. To know that my words don't surprise Him.

He is my refuge.

Do you know what a refuge is? It's a place of safety and protection. When those days come that I feel I can't hang on one more second...He is my refuge. His protective arm circles around me and holds me close. His protective arm circles around these properties we own and holds them close as well. He's the refuge for me and all that concerns me.

So I don't know what He's teaching you through this verse today, but my target phrase today is "at all times." My assignment.

Gulp.

Gulp and lean...right into that perfectly safe refuge.

First Ever Freelan Family Vacay

One of the disadvantages of the wide age gap between my sisters and me is that we've never...since the year of my birth {which amazingly, I don't remember}...gone on a real family vacation together. This August, my parents will celebrate 60 years of marriage, and rather than having a big party, they wanted to have a family vacation. With everyone. So we all consulted our day planners and found that this past weekend was the time all of us could actually get together and enjoy the first ever Freelan family vacation.

My parents took care of all the details. They wanted to get together in Shipshewana, in northern Indiana, because it's one of my Dad's favorite places to go. Mom reserved rooms at the Farmstead Inn, and I was excited about that, because I love the Farmstead! I've stayed there a few times before - including twice for spiritual retreats I went on before I was married.

We all gathered there on Thursday afternoon...which was pretty great. Ryan and I took the whole day off work, slept in, went for an exercise walk that morning and out for breakfast...and then enjoyed our drive north.

Mom met us all at the door of the hotel to take our pictures - just like she does on Christmas Day when we arrive at their house:

 Ryan and I - and of course, our fountain pops and my camera. We are so blessed predictable when it comes to a vacation.

 My sister Julie and her husband, Tom - all decked out for golf. They are so blessed predictable when it comes to a vacation. :)

My sister Lori, her husband Jeff, and their daughter Cassie won the prize for longest drive...making the trek all the way from Kansas to join us for the weekend!

We had some time to kill on Thursday between arriving and heading out for dinner, so we went around town and shopped a little bit.

Yeah that's Ryan and my dad supervising a mural painting in town. Good thing they were there to keep it going!!

 Awwwww......

 Sometimes you can't wait. Gotta use what's open.

That first night, we had dinner at the Essenhaus over in Middlebury. It is a HUGE {whatever's in your mind right now - double, possibly triple it and you've got the Essenhaus} home cooking restaurant where you can eat either family style or buffet. We went with the buffet.

Dinner was fabulous!!

After dinner, we walked around at the shops near there...and Cassie hung out with Ryan and me for a while. We found this shop that had a silo on the side, and you could walk up to the top of the silo to look around:

So...we did!

 Fun to look out over the grounds:

 And I don't know if you can see him or not but look who I spied meandering through the car show? My Dad! He's right in the middle in the tan pants.

While we waited on Mom and Dad to stop socializing...because it's true that they actually found people they KNEW and were talking in the parking lot...we had some photo shoots of our own!

Sisters!!

 And checking the photo....

 Photobombing my Mom's phone....

Oh...and here's a nice one of the lovebirds:

After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and Ryan, Cassie and I hit the pool for a while. We found a beach ball and played some hard-core volleyball...which I believe canceled out our entire dinner, thankyouverymuch.

And that's how family vacation, day one, went down.