Friends of ours have a cabin near Deep Creek Lake that they let us use for a long weekend of fun. The weekend was off to a rough start. . .after sitting in pizza hut for 30 min (with the kids) the waitress came up to us and said she forgot to put in our order and it would be 30 more minutes! Dave and I looked at each other and our squirming children and decided that was not possible. We left there to get some fast food, ordered at the drive through, then we were asked to wait off to the side until it is ready.... 5 minutes later, we have our food and are on road. A few miles down the interstate we realize half the order is missing, no straws, no napkins. We debate going back or just giving up. At least when we went back the meal was free....finally eating dinner at 8 pm (glad I gave the kids a large, healthy snack before we left).

The next day was Friday - a cold rainy Friday - but we were glad just to be away so it didn't bother us any. Slept in (haha - to 6:20am), had a great breakfast, played around the cabin, watched TV, read books, golf cart exploring around the mountain, hiking by the lake, all of us took naps (three hours long thanks to the early rising and nice hike), then went off to explore the ski resort area and have some dinner.Dinner, shopping, scoping out what we were going to do Saturday when the weather cleared up and then back to the house for a movie and relaxing evening. Ahhhh!!!
Saturday we slept in a little longer and were off to have some fun.
There were awesome playgrounds near the ski resort and lots of ropes courses. There was a ropes course for little "chipmunks" but you have to be 4 AND 40 pounds. We debated lying about Luke's age - but decided against it. Needing to set a good example for the kids and the thought of being embarrassed when he tells everyone he is three years old!!
The weather steadily warmed up through the day and we were happy we ventured out early so that we avoided some of the crowds that materialized as the day progressed.
In between rides on the mountain coaster - the kids played on the playground. The mountain coaster was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! Each car is separate and responsible for their own speed. The first time Dave and Cora went down - they took it slow because she was scared. Luke and I did a medium pace and picked it up towards the end. After that first run - the next three times down the mountain were "SUPER FAST" and you could hear the kids laughing and yelling all the way at the bottom of the mountain.
I know they will love going to an amusement park this upcoming summer!!! After playing at the ski resort for a while we went for a drive to look at the Fall leaves and all the beautiful views that the area has to offer.
We weren't driving long before everyone started to get hungry. It was almost noon and the kids were ready to eat (and I suspect so was Dave).

Lunch was at a the Mountain State Brewery and I think Dave fell in love with food all over again. The kids were super happy that they got to have hot chocolate and pizza for lunch - what a treat!!
Luke made a mess and Cora was gentle. Dave and I smiled as we sat back and just enjoyed the moment... something we don't often have time to do.
When the pizza came - wow - Dave had a Buffalo chicken pizza and I had a Greek pizza. Both kids each had a pizza and we had LOTS of left overs!!!
That evening - after more long naps - we ate our leftover pizza and had a campfire. It was SO COLD!!! I forgot how cold it gets at night in the mountains!!
Cora and Luke didn't even complain about how cold it was - they were rolling down the leaf covered hill and throwing leaves at each other in between eating chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers.
Mom and Dad watched their children play while sitting by the fire enjoying the peace and quiet.


Sunday morning we had to head back - couldn't miss Cora's soccer game. Before we left we went on another hike, another golf cart tour, and one more exploring ride. The weather was a perfect Fall day and we found ourselves wishing we could stay longer.
This was definitely a trip that will sit in my memories for a while. It is nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of our weekly schedule. The days seem to be flying by and heading out of town allowed us to slow down the pace as I wasn't trying to stuff as many things into the weekend as humanly possbile. I need to learn how to relax at home. . . not sure how that works when there are one million things floating around in my brain that "I need to do."
Happy family outing!!!