More travels

We went to an Apple Orchard in Boone and then traveled around Blowing Rock, NC on Saturday. We were fortunate enough to have some friends touring us around. Thank you C, E & K! :) My family had a wonderful time! The kids said several times today how much fun they had and wondered when we'd get to see you all again.

My daughter with her picked apple


and son with his.


Those two not only look alike, but walk alike too... hee hee!


C & E's very precious and VERY good little girl. I don't think we heard much of a peep from her the entire trip!


From the Orchard we saw this view... it was breathtaking!


We hiked a ton through the woods and some of it was uphill. So... both the kids took a break on this bench on the way up.


Boaters on the lake.


At the peak of our hike... we stopped at an outlook and were able to see down on the beautiful falls.


We also visited an old house (now shop). This was taken from their front porch. Can you imagine being able to wake up to this view every morning?

First baby in Kindergarten

*sniff, sniff* I just wanted to take a moment to dedicate a little post to my little man. He's such an active boy... always thinking... very detailed and must always finish his thoughts (or whatever he's doing that I've told him to stop doing). *smile* He's also very affectionate & caring and his kisses are the sweetest little things! He enjoys playing rough and taking things apart. Always wanting to inspect things and know how they work. He's going to do great in school! I hope that he's challenged enough, but for now... it's new and he'll be adjusting. He's my little man.Good luck sweetie - I know you'll do great and be a superstar!
I love you!

Random photos

We went down into Waxhaw this weekend a couple times. I love our little town! I grew up in a very small town, and although Waxhaw is a smidgen bigger, it really does make me feel more "at home". They have this great little park that the kids love to play at and several wonderful restaurants. Too much to go on about here... but I feel blessed to have found this place!

My big kindergartner (!) was about to go down the big slide, but I caught him at the top with a big grin! :D

And another one of him and his very wonderful smile - it makes me melt! *heart*

There's a train (or several - hee hee) that runs through the town and any time we're at the park and hear the train whistle blow that prompts us all to RUN to the top where these benches are and watch as it goes by. We even get a special wave from the conductors from time to time! Talk about a treat!

And this may sound silly to some but oddly (ok so I'm admitting it's a little odd that I find this cool), I'm excited that the kids can finally play on the seesaw together! Baby girl had a blast!!

And in case you don't believe me here is more evidence... in color.



Not only do I love a lot of things about this town, one thing is for sure... they have the best little shops with some wonderful ice cream!! Above is a quick shot of one of the newer shops. Wine & ice cream... there's no going wrong with that combo!

We took a walk around town and of course over the new bridge. The old one was wonderfully rustic and fit the town, but I feel SO much better walking over this one!


And of course we had to all check out the view from atop before heading home.

Wild and Wonderful West Virginia

Wild is right! Hee hee. We had such a wonderful time in WV hiking through the woods (both marked paths as well as crazy off-trail hikes up steep hills with a 3-yr old *thanks Mom*! <-- just joking!), watching waterfalls, swimming in the pools & more hiking!

On Friday we got off to a bit of a slow start, but it didn't keep us from doing some sight seeing! We went to a state park that had a tram *note very very small tram* that took the 6 of us down the mountain so that we could ride a boat around the Summersville Lake and to the dam. During our boat tour we got the chance to see how real W.Virginian's live it up next to the water! Our next stop was to see a waterfall and then if was off to dinner!

Saturday was more of the same. We went on close to a 4-mile hike out to a point on Summersville Lake. *Autumn & Ray ya'll might remember this hike about 4 years ago!* It was such a good time. The men stayed up front for most of the hike while us girls (Kalea) took our time checking out all of the little flowers, sticks and bugs along the way.

This is what we saw scattered along the river

The waterfalls were really beautiful. It would sprinkle and then the sun would come out and shine right on the one spot. Gorgeous!

The WILD part... this is the "Mystery Hole". Talk about a different experience!

What a fun hike!

Kellen and Pap before leaving on Sunday.

I took SO many more photos, but too many to post them all here.

If you are checking out my blog, why don't you post a comment and let me know you're here! ;)

Evenings out

Last week we spent some time at a Knights baseball game and then also dinner out with a dear friend. Thank you Jennifer for meeting us and then listening to the speaker with me. I had a wonderful evening and learned a lot. Since it was raining while I waited for Jennifer, I took a few photos of the kids with the umbrella.
At the game:


Waiting in the rain:

My lil model

Thank goodness she loves being in front of a camera. Bless her heart - I love you sweetie.

And this is one I played with a little bit from when my parents were in town.