My witching hour

I discovered that I, along with thousands of babies around the world, have a witching hour. For babies it usually happens between the hours of 4-7 p.m. and coincidentally mine does as well, except in my case my witching hour is also known as the dinner hour. And, I think the term is sometimes appropriate for me. :)

There are days that I'm organized, have a plan in place, am clear-headed and eager to feed the hungry troops, and there are other days that I've been running around all day, tired, unmotivated and just generally "fussy".

Today for instance is a good day, while Ev is in preschool, I easily prepared corn chowder which is happily bubbling away in my crock pot, and all is well with the world. The other day was another story... it was after 6 when I arrived home from running around all afternoon and was quite tired and grumpy. I set to task making what I had in my mind was going to be supper for that night only to realize that I was missing one key ingredient. The rant fest began.

Ran offered to run to the store and get an ingredient for my plan B supper which was easier than my plan A idea, and he took Ev with him and headed off. Thank goodness we have two groceries stores within a mile of our house, that has saved me on numerous occasions. Other moments of relief have come from a very culinary happy husband that enjoys cooking (unlike myself most days) and will offer to make dinner (and is also good about throwing random ingredients together to make something delish). I do try to not make that a habit though, as tempting as it is, because he's worked hard all day and I like to have something at least set in motion when he arrives home (except on weekends where I unashamedly take advantage of it :). Thankfully though his expectations and demands on me are nil and none and most days I manage to pull off something decently tasty and usually nutritious. :)

Anyways, going back to the day in question, as I was busying myself around the kitchen, grunting and grumbling, Ran and Ev arrived back home from the store, and Everlea came running in the kitchen, saying "Mama, we have a surprise for you, close your eyes." She presented me with the following, which she originally took all the credit for, but then admitted that it was daddy's idea, but she picked them out. :)


And all was once again well in MY world.

Night at the Park

Last Saturday evening we discovered that a nearby big park/playground was hosting a Night in the Park. (We brought Ev there to use the playground equip. earlier in the aft. and they were closed for the day getting ready for the event, so we came back later to check it out.) It had a few rides, bounce houses, live entertainment, etc. and all was free (except the food). Ran and I continue to be pleased with the many little inexpensive outings we find to do around here.


Ev is the little blueshirt at the back, got her just climbing off, so not a good one.

She was such an independent big girl that night. :) She was all smiles and thumbs up on the chair swing and would yell "It's Ok mama, see I'm not getting sick" hee hee. It makes me want to go to a bigger amusement park with her again now that she's a little older to enjoy more of the rides.

Ran took one for the team in going on the spinny ride with Ev. She was determined she wanted to go on it even though I kept saying, "are you sure, it's fast and spinny, you could get sick", etc. etc. but she said she wanted to, but as we waited in line I just wasn't sure she should go on by herself. Well we discovered when it was almost her turn that that was the one ride that required you to be 42" to ride by yourself, so she had to go with a parent. Because she was so excited about it, Ran volunteered (neither of us do well with rides that spin) but he fared OK and purposely found another mother and young daughter that weren't going to spin it ridiculously out of control like some of the older kids and teens. :)

After the rides we got some fried dough, pizza slices and I managed to get Ran some free ribs, fully intent on buying them, but they were packing up and gave them to me for free.

So, it was a good time. I didn't get great pics, but I was having camera and battery issues that night. Oh well.

You Go Girl!

Our pastor briefly mentioned this incident in his service this morning, so I wanted to see it for myself and went looking for a youtube clip, and found they did a little segment on it on Hannity & Colmes.

A brief background, the vulgar host of the VMA awards last week thought it was funny to keep ridiculing the fact that the Jonas bros. wear purity rings. Jordan had something to say about it. Yay for her for having guts to stand up for what is right, especially in the setting they were in!

A big milestone today...

No training wheels!!

Everlea was in her glory, Ran said he had a big grin on his face the whole time, and I had to fight back tears a little... this was just another big milestone that shows me have fast she is growing up.

Ran was a good teacher. He was patient with her and knew when to let go, unlike me that just wanted to hang on and keep her safe. He let her use training wheels for 3-4 weeks, just long enough for her to feel comfortable on a bike and strengthen her legs, but not too long so that she felt she needed them instead of using her own sense of balance. He handled the occasional scraped and skinned knee with high fives, while I inwardly cringed a little. He spent hours with her and didn't squash her enthusiasm when she said "I could do this all day!" He is a good daddy.

She's definitely got Ran's biking genes and we were joking that maybe she'll be the next female freestyle trick rider and Ran said he could even build her a mini ramp in our backyard. Ok so that'll probably happen, never, but it's funny to think about. lol. She already watches daddy doing tricks on his freestyle bike and tries to do her version of it (very cute and funny) and says "look at me mama I'm doing a trick!) :)

She also told him today that "the bike is like a part of me" and later she said "this is so fun it's like a party."

Her joy was contagious and her tenacity was admired by one proud mommy and daddy.

Some of the "wildlife" in our yard this summer...

Just thought I'd share some pics of the variety of creatures in our yard that I took throughout the summer.



Hummingbirds are a plenty at this little feeder on our breakfast nook window, so frequent in fact that the feeder has to be filled every couple of days. We never tire of watching these little beauties.

Little lizards are a common sight on my hydrangea bush out back. These little green anoles are the ones we see most often as well as little blue tailed skinks. Randy managed to catch a real small skink at a park a few weeks ago (they are very fast so it was not an easy feat). After putting him on a post to get a closer look we were certain we had killed it from fright. It just sat there completely unmoving. I was feeling kind of bad so I poured some of my water in front of it and a few drips on it and that revived him. He drank a little and it's side were heaving like crazy. We let the poor little thing go right away, but it was neat for Ev to see one close up, because they are cool with their electric blue tails.




We have a variety of butterfly bushes, so butterflies of all shapes and sizes are always fluttering around the yard. Ev was able to hold this pretty little blue one last week, as it's wings were pretty beaten up and it did not fly really well. She was thrilled to have actually held one, although I was a little sad for it as I knew it probably wouldn't survive too long.

We have a wooded section in the backyard that is a little bird haven. The cardinals have always been a favorite of mine, and were a rarity up north, but extremely common here. They are a little bit bullish with some of the other birds though, especially when I fill this particular feeder with safflower which they love and go through quickly. When I fill it they come in large numbers.

The least pleasant (& it does actually gross me out to look at it too long) but still fascinating to me is our Argiope aurantia, commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider or Writing Spider. This picture doesn't do it justice as to it's size, but it's quite large. It has the most interesting web designs and I think I should nickname it Charlotte as it is also called a writing spider "after the mistaken idea it's web stabilimenta was correspondence" according to online information. The funny thing is that it's web is directly under (or was until I moved it) my hummingbird feeder that gets low so often, I was constantly filling it. It required me to teeter on a stool to reach the feeder and I feared many a time I was going to tumble right into our little friend here. Randy's solution for me was to just move the feeder. This was what Everlea said that made me laugh "Mama, you should really move the feeder so you don't get freaked out." hee hee. I figure if it stays in the one spot on the back of the house (which it has for months now) it can stay. They are also not harmful to humans which is another reason it's still able to hang around.










This last little creature was hard to identify, as it passed by so quickly, that I was only able to get a picture of her big beautiful eyes. We know she's a female, and I must say one of the cutest little creatures I've ever seen, and we have come to realize she is extremely huggable and kissable. She is sometimes shy at first greeting, but is sweet natured and friendly to humans and will not bite or sting. We welcome her presence around here to the point where we she lives in the house with us and even has her own room. :) She has a pretty little singing voice, is adaptable, loves the water and because she is still young, cannot swim yet, but is learning. Most definitely our favorite of the "wildlife" around here. :)

Goodbye Uncle Eddie

Today I learned that my Uncle Ed passed away in his sleep last night. I've had waves of sadness throughout the day when I think about it. We've not experienced alot of death as a family, on either side, so when it happens to an uncle (my dad's older and only brother, he has 2 sisters) it hits close to home. We didn't seen them often, but I definitely have memories of/with him/them. I did see them on my last trip to Canada this year and they were able to meet Everlea. I never imagined that that would be the last time I'd see him.

He was 72.

Love and prayers go out to my Aunt B and the rest of the family.

Weekend update...

This weekend was filled with yard saling, house looking and another trip to Lake Norman on Sunday.


I met my friend Carol (and a friend of hers) and hit a bunch of community yard sales bright and early on Sat. a.m. I got some clothes for Ev, some arm floaties (something I've been trying to find around here and most places are out cause they are seasonal). I got the ones pictured below for 0.50 cents and they were ones I saw in Target for $10, and they were new in the pkg, so was happy with that find. The church we attend did a children's consignment fundraiser too, so got a few things there as well. It seems other churches in the area are doing the same thing and they have a 2 hr slot at the end of the sale where everything is 1/2 off, so I may have to hit a few more of them this month. :)


In the afternoon we went to see 2 houses with our realtor, they were both good finds and deals, but one went under contract that day and the other I think has offers on it too. So we probably will end up continuing our search.


On Sunday afternoon we decided to make another trip to the Lake, even with the gas prices kind of a crazy range right now and shortages in certain places. We were still able to find gas for $3.85 near the lake and even though we only needed 5 gal., we filled up anyways. After the hurricane (which didn't affect us at all) the prices shot up, but Ran was given a heads up about it at work the day before, so we filled up and were glad we did. It's weird though, depending where you go, even within a mile radius and sometimes even across the street from one another, the prices range from $3.80's to $4.70's. It looks like more had gone down a little as of today and I hope continue to this week.

Anyways... we had a nice time again there at our little private beach area. We came prepared this time with snacks, chairs, my book, swim suits, floaties etc. so we swam, relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. I was reading (just finished last night) a great book that I couldn't put down, so I was glad for the time to just chill and read. The water was great too. The only drawback there were my frequent trips to the "wooded facilities" as there are no bathrooms around, the iced coffee I drank en route was probably not the best idea. I did come prepared with a little pkg of tissues, but I was sure I was going to moon someone somewhere in the process at some point. Thankfully it was pretty quiet around where we were, and at one point I had to go so bad I didn't care if I was in a crowd of people. hee hee :)







Ev was able to swim with just her arm floaties and her new one piece speedo which has compartments in the front and back for removable floatie things. We were laughing and saying she was her own personal floatation device.

This weekend did feel like it went especially fast for some reason... and I hate that feeling. I wish long weekends would come around more often.

Swim Lessons...

plugging her noise about to go under with the teacher saying 1, 2, 3...

So Everlea started swim lessons last week at the gym I go to. It's a great deal, $25 for a 4 week session, 2 x's a week for 1/2 hr. I was all excited last Tues., it being her first lesson. I knew she was nervous and would repeatedly say things like "I can't go to swim lessons, Mama, I can't even swim" hee hee. I tried to be patient and reassuring, thinking she'd be OK once we got there. I also assumed it was a child/parent thing, I'm not sure why I did, but it wasn't, it was parents stay to the side while your child has his/her lesson. That suited me fine actually, because I know she does better with other teachers than with me when it comes to something like that. Well, that first lesson was a nightmare! Everlea pretty much cried almost the entire time, would call/yell for me over and over again (meanwhile I'm trying to watch and hide behind other parents so she wouldn't see me). The whole thing did seem a little odd to me as she loved the outdoor pool at our subdivision this summer so I knew it wasn't a fear of the water. I figured out that a big part of the problem was she was cold (her little body lacks little to no body fat) as well as being nervous (thinking she was going to be made to do something that scared her), so she was shaking like a leaf and her little teeth were rapidly chattering the whole time. Needless to say we left there, with both of us emotionally drained. She from crying, and me from a mix of frustration, embarrassment, etc. It was one of those rare moments that I told her that I was too upset to talk about it and I wanted a quiet car ride home. So yah not one of our shining mother/daughter moments. When we got home I made her go in her room to quietly read some books or color while I just sat until Ran came home about 15 min. later, and he could feel the tension in the household from his two girls. :)

After awhile she was playing quietly in the living room and as I was watching her and I started to feel a little remorseful. It was a new experience for her and I could have been a little more sympathetic. I called her up on my lap and we had a good heart to heart little chat which ended with hugs and kisses and an agreement from her to give it another try.

One of the main points of our little talk was about being brave. I told her that being brave means that we do things that seem scary but we do them anyway (something along those lines).

Well Thursday rolls around for swim lesson number #2. I could tell the nervousness was starting to kick in again and when I sat her down to begin the lesson she started to cry. Great! I thought lesson 2 would be a repeat of number 1. But, as I walked away and blended into the background she stopped crying and the rest of the lesson went great. A few changes we tried this time were that I picked out a few little rewards for each week of lessons she completes, and instead of just telling her what they were, I showed her the first one, a little princess movie (it was good motivation, as she loves these specific line of movies). Also, I got her a one piece speedo outfit, until the neoprene Warm Belly Wetsuit thing I got for a great deal on ebay comes in the mail. Both things seemed to help a little, and she was a trooper. She went on her back without crying, and she even went completely under water with the teacher...both big milestones... and the best part when it was all done she said that was so much fun! (both her female and male teachers have been really good with her). Also, I was able to be visible the majority of the class and she was Ok with seeing me (our first lesson she cried worse when she saw me). So yay, we were both able to walk out of there with big smiles on our faces!

The video is a little running race they did through the pool at the end of the class. My little competitive girl (hmm wonder where she got that from! hee hee) was ahead of the pack and kept checking back to see her status. When she got to the end she looks at me and yells "Mama I won I won!" Somehow I think she took the race a little more seriously than the other kids did. lol.

Anyways, tomorrow is lesson number 3, and we'll see how it goes! :)

Biking with daddy and built in safety equipment...

Ran and Ev share a love of biking, and it's really fun to watch them together. The best time for us to go is in the evening, partly because that is when Ran is home from work, but also because the weather is cooler (I follow behind walking with Rogan). I found her runners at a children's consignment store last week and I got the Ariel flasher shirt on a great clearance at W-mart a few days ago. The other evening when she was putting the shoes on for the bike ride, I had the ever so brilliant idea :) to have her put the shirt on too, and she'd have built in night flashers. It worked out quite well.

Sorry about the sideways video, I saved it upright and I thought it OK, but it still loads in this way.

Also, I can't stand my voice in videos, and have to wonder do I really sound like that in real life?

A yummy dessert recipe to share...

At church last Sunday they were doing an outside bake sale fundraiser for the Women's Ministry. As we were leaving I checked it out and mostly what was left were some cake slices you could buy for a $1. I was buying Ev a chocolate cupcake when the lady pulled out this decadent looking cake and I saw it read on the side 'Boston Cream Cheesecake'. They must have originally been trying to sell the whole cake but decided to sell it by the piece and I bought one for Ran and I to share on our ride home. Oh Man! Sooo good!


When I got home I googled the recipe (not sure if this is the exact one but they were all very similar so I'm guessing it must be). It has a cake layer then a cheesecake layer and then iced with chocolate. So if you are looking for a new dessert to try/make, this is a yummy one!


Here is the link with a pic!

http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/653/Recipe.cfm

A few hours at Lake Norman

As mentioned in my previous post, here are some pics from our little Saturday afternoon excursion to Lake Norman State Park. Such a nice day!

I'm so thankful that our weekends have become some great family times, we have fun inexpensive places to go, and those 2 days a week aren't filled with yard work, Ran's job, or set schedules, etc. (besides Sun. morning church which is just time with a different type of family :) The hours of all of us together in our element are special to me.

I want our family to have good memories and moments filled each other. Life is just too darn short not to enjoy what God has blessed us with... and the precious little girl and sweet dog in these pics are at the top of our list of blessings!

She who hesitates, gets what she wants and for a good deal too!

I've been wanting bedside tables for our bedroom ever since moving. The ones we used in our last house have been moved to the living room, which I like better there, but left our bedroom lacking. I've been keeping a lookout for awhile, finding ones here and there that I liked OK, but nothing ever stuck out like "Yes, that's it" or, the price wasn't right.

So, I went on a mission last week to a nearby Pier 1, we have 2 in opposite directions about 10 min. or so from us, how dangerous is that for me! hee hee. Anyways, in an odd section of the store tucked under some rugs I'd found what I'd been looking for! It's actually a decorative asiany wooden box (for lack of a better description) resting on a stand, but I loved it! The size, color, shape etc. was just right. And, the frugal bargain queen that I am took over once again. It was regular $169 and was on clearance for $69. I managed to dicker them down even further with 15% off because of some blemishes and then got another 10% off with my newly acquired Pier 1 card which brought the price to $53.54. The only problem with all of this was that I needed 2 of them and this store only had the one... so long story short is they called around to a bunch of other stores that claimed to have had 1 or 2 but came up with nothing. When I got home I tried one more store about 45-50 min. from us and lo and behold they had 2 left!!

So, we ventured out on Sat. afternoon to get my 2nd table. They had one new in box and the other a floor model. The lady was about to take the new one to the checkout when I said I actually might take this one (the floor model) if the manager is willing to take some money off for once again some blemishes it had. She said she'd ask but wasn't sure. I walked out of there with my floor model one with an additional 25% off bringing that one to $51.75. YAY!

They are perfect and they look great with my newer asiany bed frame we got a few months back. So hurray, my bedroom is not lacking any further!

Oh and another neat thing that happened that afternoon...to try and turn our 50 min. drive into something more practical than just getting a table, I found a nearby State Park about 15 min. further north. It's on one of the big lakes in the area, and what a great find. It's free to get in and they have some great trails. So we spent the next few hours walking and finding some great little secluded sandy sections you could walk down to from the trails, where Rogan had great fun swimming and Ev and me enjoyed going in up to our knees...the water was a nice temperature, and Ran so wanted to jump in swimming but didn't want to walk back and drive home wet. But, now we know it's there and we'll have to make another visit soon. It also made us want a little motor boat more than ever. Something we've been talking about for weeks now, but we'll likely wait til next summer, hopefully!! We are a water loving family, so it would be fun to spend our weekends on the lake! :)

I'll add a few Lake Norman pics in the next post. But here is my bedroom with my new little box tables...

Aaah, the joy of Mondays...

So I'm sitting in a quiet house, and it's a little weird after a busy and full summer, but, I know Everlea is having a good time in school and it really does allow me to get caught up on stuff... let's see how productive I am this week! :)

It was a rough start this Monday morning. Everlea is so much like me in her dislike of getting out of bed in the morning. It's awesome the majority of the time that she likes to sleep in like myself, except for those mornings that we need to get up at a set time. She did alright for the most part this morning, it takes her a few minutes to get her bearings, but is usually pretty agreeable. I think as we adjust her bedtime a little back each night, it'll get better, although she really is a little night owl and has a hard time falling asleep earlier than 10 p.m. There is the odd morning when she pulls the covers back over her head and Randy laughs and says "You are so your mother's daughter" hee hee.

With her school only 4 min. away and a start time of 9 a.m., we really only have to get up at 8 a.m., which is heaven compared to last year when it was 7:15.

Anyways... all was going well this particular morning when around 8:30 she managed to spill pretty much a whole drinkable yogurt all over the table, my fabric kitchen chair, her nightie, 2 stuffed animals she was holding, her hair and the floor. I always feel so bad for her when accidents like this happen, and despite my frustration I find myself consoling her as she instantly bursts into tears, saying between sobs "I'm so sorry Mama, I'm so sorry it happened" over and over again. Awhile back when a similar juice spilling "accident" happened, after all was said and done she tells me "I know it was just an accident Mama, but I'm still really sorry it happened." How do you ever get or stay upset with a sweet little thing like that!! :)

Despite our unexpected little clean-up in the tub etc., we still managed to get to her school 3 min. early. Oh how I love the close proximity to our house! We did get there to find her regular teacher wasn't there however, another lady was filling in, and I think the unfamiliarity of her made Ev a little more clingy this morning, but thankfully no tears and the teacher was able to distract her as I slipped out.

So, now it's just me and Rogs for a few hours. I'm hoping to get some long put off things done, the one main one thing is getting us set up on an online finance/budget program. I have a few other projects too, some filing and organizing etc., so it's all good.

One more fun little outing with Lis, Bri & Piper...

Yesterday Ran ended up getting the day off, so after picking Everlea up at her pre-school, we headed to Landsford Canal State Park in SC. It took us about 45 min. to get there, we picked up subs on the way, and ate at picnic tables by the water in the park. It's a historic area and a pretty park with a nature and a canal trail. Here's a little blurb about it taken from the web.

"Stretched along the Catawba River along the South Carolina fall line, the park is home to the well-preserved remains of the canal system that made the river commercially navigable from 1820 to 1835. Locks, a mill site and the lockkeeper’s home are among the numerous intact structures from that era. Out in the river is one of the largest known stands of rocky shoals spider lilies, tough plants that hang tight in the swift water and bloom spectacularly in a huge blanket of white in late May and early June. An easy-to-walk trail along the river leads to a viewing deck. This crossable spot on the river (that’s what a ford is, of course) also played a role in the Revolutionary War, as both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter crossed here before and after pivotal battles".

Bri, Lis & Piper headed home around 9:30 this morning. We had a really nice visit and now with summer, vacations and out of town company behind us, I feel that fall has "officially" begun... :)

My little lovey's first day at her NEW pre-school...

Although not her first year in pre-school, she went two mornings a week last year, this was Everlea's first day at her new pre-school here in NC (her first day was technically Sept 2nd, we were in the Mtns still, so she started on the 3rd). She goes three mornings a week, 9 a.m - 12:30 p.m., and it's only like a mile or so down the road, which is extremely convenient (especially for us non-morning people, both of us girls being in that category). :)

So far so good, I really like her teacher, the classes & rooms are small and unintimidating, her friend Carly goes too (although they are in different classes) and it's held in a small baptist church, so they learn their bible stories etc. which I like.



I surprisingly only got mildly teary on her first day on the drive there (as short as it was) when the Plumb song "In My Arms" came on the radio. Good timing! :) I didn't come home to an empty house either which likely helped, L & B were still here...It might be a little different this coming week, as she's my constant little sidekick around here. sigh. Although bittersweet, I know she'll love it (does already) and little breaks for me here and there are healthy for both of us, so all is well...but, it doesn't make it any easier watching her grow up before our eyes, taking those baby steps of increased independence from mommy and daddy. (Although at 4 yrs old I think we are #1 in her book still. :)

I'll leave you with the lyrics to "In my Arms" in case you've never heard it. Such a pretty song, check it out on YouTube, it's worth the listen. :)



your baby blues

so full of wonder

your curly cues

your contagious smile

and as i watch you start to grow up

all I can do is hold you tight



knowing clouds will rage up

storms will race in

but you will be safe in my arms

rains will pour down

waves will crash around

but you will be safe in my arms



story books

are full of fairy tales

of kings and queens

and the bluest skies

My heart is torn

just in knowing you'll someday

see the truth from lies



when the clouds will rage

and storms will race in

but you will be

safe in my arms

rains will pour down

waves will crash around

but you will be safe in my arms



Castles they might crumble

dreams may not come true

but you are never all alone

because I will always

always love you

Our Blue Ridge Mtn Getaway with family...

So as mentioned in my previous post, we hooked up with Lis and Bri (en route from NH) at a cabin I had booked for us in the Blue Ridge Mtns in NC. The actual place was called Alluring Views B & B, but they had a single cabin on their property that was also available. The cabin was great, it had 2 master bedrooms (one upstairs, one down) with their own bathrooms, plus a half bath off the living room/kitchen area. It had a washer and dryer and was fully stocked with every utensil, appliance etc. that you could possibly need. It also had a pull out trundle bed, which Randy's brother Lyle used on night 2, and they had a twin blow up mattress in our room for Ev too.

We did a lasagna meal one night (I pre-made and brought with us), made our own breakfast and grilled steaks and got some fresh veggies at a nearby farm stand on the next day/night. I decided I liked the conveniences of cabin living better than tent camping. :) hee hee.

On our first day, since we all got there in the afternoon we decided to do a close outing/hike to some nearby trails with falls. It was a good and challenging hike to the Upper and Lower Falls. (Ran and Lyle went back the next day to slide down the rocks (a natural waterfall area)...if the weather had been hotter I would have joined them, I didn't want to go in the water then, but kind of wished I'd gone to get a little video of them, as Ran said it was alot of fun.

Day two we ventured out for a drive along part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Although it was overcast that morning (big rainstorm during the night) it still was a pretty and scenic drive. We stopped at an apple orchard shop (where some event was going on with many older folks dancing and bbqing there), got some goodies and eventually headed over to another hiking waterfall area (didn't have my camera on me), that was beautiful and had nicely manicured trails. Lyle found us on the trails (had come from the Raleigh area) and stayed with us through the next two days. It was fun having him and he and Ev had a grand ol' time running up and down the trails, he could match her energy level. :)

On day three we packed up (had breakfast at the B & B which was memorable in its yumminess :)) We had the option of adding on breakfast each morning for $15/couple, so we did the 2nd morning. The owner (husband) is a chef from Austria and we were treated to quite the yummy spread, including bacon, egg fritatta, homemade biscuits, grits with cheese, apple dumplings with an orange sauce, fruit, coffee, oj... oh man, I'm reliving the tastiness again writing about it... lol... (We had it all to ourselves as we were the only ones there at that point). :)

We headed from there to Grandfather Mtn, a must see place in my opinion if you are in that area. The highlights were the views, the mile high swinging bridge, a natural wildlife habitat with eagles, otters, cougars, bears and deer, and a museum. We enjoyed all that, ate lunch outside (small restaurant on-site) and went on a great trail (mildly challenging in places) but one of the most interesting trails I think I've ever been on, and it ended at a huge rock you could climb up to see more breathtaking views. Of course my camera batteries died right before the hike, but it was a good time!

The only downside for me there (if you could call it that), was some scary mommy moments after crossing the swinging bridge. There is a large outcropping of rocks that you can walk along/stand on (with no rails or anything) and I felt kind of sick to my stomach having Everlea anywhere near the edge (and I'm really not usually a nervous mom, nor do I really mind heights myself) even though Randy kept assuring me that she was 100% safe with him and that I wasn't getting an accurate perspective of the edge. From where I was (close enough to the edge but not as far as them) it looks like it drops sheer off, but apparently he and Lyle said there were ledges etc, under them and she was no where near anywhere that was dangerous. Hmmm, still not convinced. :) Needless to say I breathed a little sigh of relief when they were safely back on the other side (even though it was truly magnificent up there).

We headed home from there with Lis and Bri staying with us til week's end.

It really was such a nice way to end the summer with a getaway, surrounded by God's beauty once again... and it was great to share it with family.

These are only a handful of pics, alot more posted on facebook!