Upstate NY.

(warning AGAIN: longest post ever... and picture overload haha)
We had the greatest trip to Upstate New York.

We were able to spend lots of time with our family,

and we loved every second of it!

My uncle and aunts house on Keuka Lake is gorgeous!

It sits up above the lake, and has the most beautiful yard with a big patio and outdoor fireplace.

There is the most picturesque boat house,

and they have all of the fun toys to keep everyone busy!

The house itself is amazing.

It was built in the early 1900's.

The woodwork in the house is incredible,

and of course my aunt has it decorated to a T.

Every room looks like it is straight out of a Pottery Barn magazine.
Not kidding!

Sunday night when we got there my Uncle Lonnie took us out on the boat to see all of the amazing houses that line the lake.

We were begging my dad to buy the house next door to my cousins.
That would be just too good to be true...!

Monday we just relaxed at the lake, helped my Aunt Tammy get ready for the rest of the family to come, and then went to lunch at the Glenora Vineyards.
My cousin works at the front desk there, so we decided to go pay her a visit.

It was beautiful.
All I can say is,
the East Coast has certainly won me over.
I love the trees,
the lakes,
the houses,
the people,
etc.
After going lunch at the winery, we headed down to Watkins Glen for a little hike.
All of the Finger Lakes have these glens that spill into them,
and they create these amazing waterfalls.
It was really fun and pretty!

Tuesday all of the family started arriving...
so we helped everyone get settled.

Wednesday everyone piled in the cars and headed to Enfield Glen.

This was the waterfall that my dad and his siblings and cousins always came to as kids.

It's really neat because they have built a diving board right into the rocks.

The water is freezing, and the goal is to try and make it all the way across the waterfalls.

It's so slippery and the water pounds extremely hard on your back!

It is so hard to breath, and it's certainly a rush!

We met up with some of my cousins at Enfield Glen and it was so great to see them, and their kids.

Little Koby and Tyler were immediately drawn to Blair.
They were best friends the entire trip!
It was so cute!

Thursday we headed to Palmyra to see all of the Church sites.

First we went to the printing press, where the first Book of Mormons were printed.

It was such a hard process back then, I can't even imagine how long it would take to even print one book.

Then we had lunch and played at a park!

Then we went to the Joseph Smith home, the Palmyra Temple, and the Sacred Grove.
It was a really special experience,
especially being there with our entire Fowler/Drake family.

And of course, it was stunningly beautiful.

After the Sacred Grove we headed to the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
I thought it was going to be a simple production, and boy was I wrong.
It was a huge production!

They did such a good job telling the stories from the Book of Mormon.
The spirit was so strong. We absolutely loved it!
It was a great day!
Friday and Saturday we spend the entire day on the lake.
On Saturday, all of the Drake cousins came for a big family get together.
We had a huge BBQ, tubed, wake boarded, knee boarded, laughed, sang, and just enjoyed each others company.

It was so fun seeing our relatives... some that we had never even met before!
On Sunday we went to the Penn Yann branch for church.
It was so tiny! We made their branch twice it's normal size.
We spent the rest of Sunday and Monday doing fun things with our family.
Sunday night was especially memorable.
Some of our younger cousins went to play night games in the cemetery.
Right after they left my Aunt Tammy gave us the great idea to go scare them.
So... Austin, Kellen, Sarah, Courtney, Jordy, Kayleigh, Blair and I all dressed up in crazy black outfits and headed to the graveyard to freak them out.

We all held candles in our hands, and we walked in a straight line all through the cemetery.
Once we knew that our cousins could see us (they were all FREAKING out) we surrounded a grave and stood perfectly still.
We could hear them all running away,
saying things like:
 "Who are those people?"
"Are they doing a ritual?"
etc.
It was hysterical!
Then my cousin Austin told us to blow out our candles and chase them!
So we did.
They were terrified.
We have all never laughed so hard in our lives.
Then of couse, the cops came!
But we told them we were just scaring our cousins, and they let us all go home.
It was such a great night. I am still laughing about it! haha!

***
We were so sad to leave NY.
We had such an amazing time with our family.
It is defiantely a vacation we will never forget.
We are already looking for a time when we can go back to the lake house and see the Drakes.
We miss everyone so much already!