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.

And then there were six...

Welcome home Ellie!!!  We are so excited!!!  And so ready for a cocktail on the back patio.  :-)

 

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was another great success this year in Nashville.  Tyler helped with all of the preparations from making cookies to decorating to wrapping presents.  Grandma CC arrived early on the scene to help out and play with Tyler while Kenny and I went to work.  I think CC sometimes gets worried that Tyler wont remember who she is between visits but hopefully the little munchkin put all of those worries to rest by the way she ran up to CC with the most excited hugs and kisses ever.  I almost cried I was so happy.  CC and Tyler spent every moment together leading up to the rest of the Christmas festivities.  They read books non-stop  (must have read Aladdin 100+ times), made sugar cookies, went shopping, cuddled and watched movies, among other things...some I'm not supposed to know about, I'm sure. 
 
Grandpa Captain, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeremy arrived on the 22nd.  Tyler had the same enthusiasm with everyone as she had with CC...she was just in Heaven with all of her guests.  She was also thrilled to share a room with mommy and daddy for a few days while the whole gang was here(Jenny and Jeremy set up camp on the air mattress in Tyler's room). 
 
Activities included a Garth Brooks concert, ice skating, games at the park, Christmas Eve Children's Mass, Christmas Eve dinner, birthday parties, and of course the crescendo to the arrival of Santa.  Tyler also had a lot of fun learning how to watch Netflix movies on Captain's iPad and jumping on the bed with Aunt Jenny...ohhh...and running around naked...one of her favorite pastimes. 
 
We woke up to snow on Christmas morning and it couldn't have been a more "Tender Tennessee Christmas." Christmas is so much more fun with little kids...the look on her face was pure delight all day long...all week long for that matter.  Santa brought the shiniest red retro kitchen.  The rest of the family must have had a hunch as to what she was getting because they, by coincidence, got Tyler all the accouterments of a properly equipped kitchen.  She went right to work busting with excitement as she made eggs, pancakes, and pizzas...which were some of the first in her growing repertoire of recipes.  She got very nice gifts from everyone...probably too many to name here...but thank you everyone for making her Christmas so special with your thoughtfulness!
 
CC and daddy got a pretty good bug leading up to and through Christmas but they were tough and powered through it.  I got sick right after Christmas and thank goodness family was here to take care of me because it knocked me on my butt.  Besides that and CC's accidental run in with her toe pic on the ice, there were no casualties to report.  We miss you guys and want you to come back now.  I wish Christmas came twice a year!