Hebs and Hubs...and baby makes three: august cabin trip

Our trip up to Kelly's cabin the last weekend in August was awesome. Hurricane Irene (I'm sure you've heard of it!) was coming up the East Coast, and here we were, going on a mini-vacation. When our friends got to our house and we packed up cars and left in a hurry, I'm sure our neighbors thought either we were storm chasers going after the hurricane, or packing up and getting the heck out of there! Neither! Just off to enjoy a weekend with friends. :)

I was a little leery to spend the weekend away, though, being a new homeowner. I was afraid of two things: either the HUMONGOUS tree (dubbed "Home Tree" from the movie Avatar--that's how big it is!) falling into our roof OR coming home to a swamp in our basement, which had already happened once.

But, our friends convinced me that if Home Tree fell on our house, it'd probably be better if we weren't there, anyway! So, we went, though I did feel a little guilty leaving "the Furnace" (what we call our house) unprotected. Hubs and I did bring in all the lawn furntire, the grill, and even the trash cans.

The cabin is located in beautiful northern, central PA. If the rest of the East Coast was experiencing hurricane weather, we'd never know it. We had clear skies perfect for hiking, kayaking and swimming, which we did all weekend!

I had never gone out in a kayak by myself before, and it was amazing. The water was beautiful, the temperature was perfect and I had an absolute blast! Brie and I ran into each other a few times, which only added to the fun. It's like we were the only ones on the lake! That is something I would DEFINTELY love to do again! Being on the water, surrounded by the beautiful Pennsylvania scenery, made me feel very small and in full awe of what is around me.

I have checked something off my bucket list; something I never realized was there to begin with! Jumping! From high heights!! You know that old saying about not jumping off a bridge because all your friends do? Well, I did just that. My friends jumped off a bridge and took roughly a 15 foot freefall into a lake. I, shakily, followed. First, of course, I watched Hubs jump off. He was nervous, too, but he doesn't get scared of things like I do. I don't think he's really afraid of anything. I didn't realize this before, but as I'm standing on the steel bridge between Rob and Kelly's gentle encouragement, I am TERRIFIED of heights! And, more specifically, jumping off of high objects and flailing in the air before hitting the water. After about 10 minutes of hyperventilating and my friends trying to pump me up, I did it. I held my nose, closed my eyes, stepped off the bridge and landed safely in the water. And then I clung to Hubs, who was waiting to get me to make sure I was ok. I'm glad I did it, but I don't think I will ever do it again.

My friends absolutely loved it and kept going back for more! Of course after doing it, my mind started racing with all these "what ifs." What if I hit a sharp rock on the bottom? What if I hit the water wrong and broke my neck? What if I slipped on the bridge and hit my head before going in? What if the water was too shallow and I broke my legs? Gah. Once and done. Everyone was fine, and for that I am thankful. :)

Later that night we witnessed Rob's proposal! In front of a campfire circle of friends, Rob proposed to Kelly with a gorgeous white gold, three diamond engagement ring. Between tears, Kelly accepted! We toasted with red wine and enjoyed our dinner of "trail stew," or "Gunks gumbo," as we called it on one camping trip, before we witnessed another amazing site--A BEAR! THERE WAS A BEAR RIGHT NEAR OUR CAMPFIRE! Rob, Brie and I quickly moved the table and all the food inside as the rest of our group was trying to get pictures of it. Crazy. The bear wandered away and none of us were hurt; we just couldn't believe it happened!

Never did I think I would jump off a bridge, see two of my close friends get engaged, or see a bear outside of a zoo!

And, when we got home, Home Tree was intact, the Furnace was standing strong, and only a few inches of water in the basement. Not too shabby. :)