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A Royal Affair

Just a normal Tuesday evening with Princesses and Princes and little munchkins with masks. Terra and Carson came over to play and keep us company while Daddy is out of town on a work trip. It was a royal affair with Terra and I leading the kingdom as the Queens. The horses were played by Ellie's toy golf clubs. And the tent was the royal palace. Good times.

July 4th Weekend 2012

Jump Off Rock

4th of July weekend was spent with Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeremy and their friends in a mountain house in Hendersonville, NC. We were the only ones to bring kids but I think we kept up just fine. Every room was completely occupied, included an air mattress out in the main living space. So each morning I would get up with Ellie and we would head out to town for breakfast, so not to disturb everyone else. Friday we were there at 6am and Saturday all four of us were there at 7:30am. Town was so cute! We ate in an old diner called Mike's on Main and I felt like we stepped back in time. Since Ellie and I got such an early start on Friday, we also drove up into Laurel Park to Jump Off Rock. Soooo beautiful!

Ellie and Me on our early morning adventure

Friday, when Ellie and I were back at the house, the crew was packing up for an adventure to Sliding Rock and then to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Both took my breadth away, one because of the water temperature and one because of the views. I didn't get any pictures or videos of Tyler sliding down the rock, but she was so brave and went down twice. Se almost wanted to cry at the bottom, but not because she was scared because the cold water was such a shock to her system. I was so proud of her for being so brave. After Sliding Rock we took a nice leisurely drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Saturday morning all four of us got up and headed into town for some breakfast at Mike's on Main, so not to disturb all the sleeping beauties in the house. When we got back we were all off on an adventure to High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls. We hiked all the way to the top, Tyler on Daddy's shoulders and Ellie in the Ergo carrier with me. We played and swam for most of the day. There were some places to slide down the rock here too. So Daddy did that and then at Triple Falls the adults all jumped off the water falls into the swimming hole. After our water adventures we headed to the closest BBQ restaurant to refuel and then to an ice cream parlor for dessert.  

Trivia: All the water falls and the park were used to film The Hunger Games. We were in District 12. :-)

Balance Beam on Top of the World

Triple Falls

High Falls, NC

Wanting to swim out and sit on the rock like Ariel

Success!!!

Parents win!!!

 

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Ellie Belly Laughing

It seems like it would be pretty miserable to be Ellie.  She just smiles and laughs all day long and makes everyone around her happy.  She is such a little...well maybe not so little...ball of fun.  Her big belly laughs are just the best!  Kenny, Tyler, and I have so much fun trying to see who can make her laugh the loudest.

Back at home, doing our thing

Tyler's love for her baby sister is probably deeper than I can even imagine.  This picture demonstrates her subdued display of affection for her.  You now understand why I am sometimes concerned for Ellie's life.

 Guilty...just caught pumping lotion from the changing table like it was going out of style.

 Getting the hang of this multi-tasking thing.  Really just wanted to post a picture to demonstrate my argument/need for a third arm.  Today we somehow made it to Costco, Post Office, Kroger, Trader Joe's and Walgreens, all before nap time.

Fun Summer Weekend

We spent Friday night at one of Tyler's best buddies house...Helen's.  These two are peas in a pod.  They even have matching ballerina bathing suits.  A great night, pizza, pool, and then a bath.  What made it even better is that the moms got to enjoy a cocktail poolside while the dads handled bath time.  We need to do it again soon.

 Saturday we also enjoyed poolside with one of Tyler's other good buddies, Carson.  Ellie was a trooper in the 90 degree weather.  We kept hosing her down to cool her off.  Most exciting part of the day by far...Tyler's discovery of a turd in the baby pool...which she decided would be fun to squish between her fingers.  I was paralyzed and my emotions were somewhere between horrified and hysterically funny.  I had a flashback to my own childhood...Jen, Marie, and Emily...ring any bells?

Roll'n Roll'n Roll'n

Ellie's first time to roll over.  Almost exactly at 3 months.  Since she was being so experimental we decided to get out the jumperoo for the first time too.