I’m a mountain person.
There are beach people, but me, I’m a mountain person all the way. And after a few days on Lake Burton, I’ll amend my love for the mountains to include that I’m also a lake person.
We spent the few days leading up to the Fourth at a lake house in North Georgia with Ryan’s family, and it was heavenly. There were lots of memories made in those few short days — the genesis of E.V.’s love for boats; watching her dance on the deck like it was SB2k14; Ryan “sweeping” away a surprise snake from the deck (E.V. helped her dad with a feather duster); grilled food upon grilled food upon grilled food; my subsequent high-maintenance need for olive oil; a sunset cruise around the lake; tubing (I was the only old folk brave enough!); Cricket’s mischievous grin; Ryan coming to bed at 10 p.m., which is unheard of; Emma Vance snoring, asleep on the boat while the rest of us took a dip mid-lake…but the one that I think will stick with me is the fact that during our trip Emma Vance decided that she was going to call everyone else “E.V.” It was the weirdest little quirk, and every time she did it, I laughed. (It didn’t help that she can’t pronounce the “v” sound, so it really came out “E.B.”) She’d greet me in the morning. (Morning, E.B.!) She’d be polite. (Thank you, E.B.) She’d hand a toy to Cricket. (Here ya’ go, E.B.) It was strange, somewhat short-lived, and a perfect example of our little comedian in action. Although I’m sure we’ll have many lake house trips in our future (seriously, it was awesome), I’ll always remember this particular time as “The One Where E.V. Called Everyone E.B.”
The morning that our quick jaunt to Lake Burton was over, we rolled out of bed, threw our junk in the car and headed home. Emma Vance was confused and upset. She kept asking, “Boat? Boat?” and shouting to her aunt in the other car, “Wait! Lisa! Wait!” How do you tell a toddler her weekend adventure is over?? On the way up, both she and Cricket had (thankfully) passed out, making for a stress-free and pleasant ride up. On the way back, however, Emma Vance was upset and Cricket was uncomfortable. Ryan and I knew that we wouldn’t make the two-hour trip without stopping, so we decided to make the best of it and show Emma Vance where babies come from. Babyland General Hospital, i.e. THE Cabbage Patch, duh! I swear, only in rural Georgia, folks! (It’s our answer to the world’s largest tinfoil ball and other such intriguing tourist attractions.) Neither Ryan nor I had ever been, and since a sign for it popped up in the midst of a meltdown, it seemed like a fun family trip! ;) (Plus Ryan and I grew up in the 80s, so Cabbage Patch dolls hold a special place in our hearts.) Turns out that it’s basically a big store with a creepy “patch” where you can “pick” a special doll to adopt. I’m glad we had the break, but it was, well, weird. And I’m pretty sure E.V. is now convinced that Cricket grew in a garden and not in my belly, so, yeah. Let’s just hope that she doesn’t get annoyed with her little sister one day and try to return her to the backyard “where Mommy and Daddy picked her.” :/ The up side is that Emma Vance got her very first Cabbage Patch doll! Yay! #worthit
As a side note, I had forgotten how wonderful and distinct Cabbage Patch dolls smell. It’s like getting a whiff of childhood in the 80s. I may or may not have been sniffing E.V.’s baby randomly over the past few days in order to relive my own youth, so…yeah, there’s that.
Okay, so here’s our Lake Burton + Babyland General trip in pictures. Forgive our un-showered, un-brushed, un-makeup-ed selves, because, really, ain’t nobody (at the lake) got time for that!
