Blowing Rock: Our Backyard Hike

This past weekend, Randy & I went to Blowing Rock! It was so much fun! Rebecca & the girls, my mom, aunt (Peto), and my in-laws all came along too! It was a bustling house for sure, but I really enjoyed all the company.

The weather was beautiful - chilly in the mornings but perfect in the afternoons to go exploring in just a jacket & maybe a layer or two! :)
The original plan was for to go to Grandfather Mountain for the day on Saturday, but my in-laws ventured out first & called in to say that the traffic was so awful. Apparently we chose to hit the area on the busiest weekend of the year - ASU homecoming weekend! YAY! The traffic was impossible to get through & my inlaws ended up heading back to the cabin because they were so over it.
While we hung back at the house for the day, we decided to go on a little backyard hike! There were plenty of sites to see right on the border of the Pisgah National Forest, so that is what we did.

The kids collected leaves & rocks & we went looking for "gold" in the creeks. (Now, we knew there was no gold, but it made for some excited kids to think they might find something amazing!)

The hike was a lot of fun! I was a little worried at first because there were several big hills to go down initially & I was carrying Sara Beth on me because Rebecca's neck was in (really) bad shape! But she was a trooper & fell asleep almost immediately! And thankfully, I only slipped on wet leaves or a tree branch a couple of times & never actually fell! Whew! It's hard hiking when you can't see your feet!All the kids turned into little explorers & were each pretty independent in looking/searching for treasures on the walk.

I think we missed peak weekend in Blowing Rock by a weekend or so, because a lot of the leaves were already fallen. BUT, there was plenty of color left to capture! It was beautiful. It's truly my favorite season of the year.
Here is a shot of a pretty tree reflecting in the pond. I loved all the floating leaves that were perfectly still on top of the water!
Just across from the pond was a little creek running through the ground. Peto "dared" Emma to put her bare foot in & Emma took the dare! They ended up in there together!

Sisters! I caught a great shot of two of my favorite women in the whole world! You don't know what a true aunt is, until you've had a "peto" in your life! I don't know what my mom or my aunt would do without each other!

Closeups of all the kiddos on the walk....


Who's that across the pond?? Hi there!!
Somebody's up from her little hiking nap...
I also don't know what these two sisters would do without each other!
What can we say? There is just a whole lot of love to go around in this family!
We had a wonderful time in the mountains together! Leaving the hustle & bustle of our normal days behind & basking in God's glorious creation. It's amazing all that we can look at & see His wonderful hand! And some of us really wanted to look long & hard..... (She was proud of her treasures!)

Gem Panning

Since our Saturday plans in Blowing Rock were kind of derailed, we decided to go gem panning on Sunday on our way out of town. I personally had never been gem panning & neither had my kids. Randy was apalled that I had never been - he is a wannabe geologist. Really. And he knows his stuff! As it turns out, he had a rock / stone collection as a kid & I think Jackson might be following right in his footsteps! He is pretty intrigued with all things "outdoor." Randy was able to identify just about every gem that the kids pulled out of their trays!! They'd start out looking like this:

Our official "refiller" for the kids!
And after some washing, rinsing, & searching.... (Well, Sara Beth just wanted to rinse!!!)



They'd end up coming out looking like these:

This, my friends, was the prize of the day.... This is a ruby that Eli had in his tray! Wowsers!
After we had emptied the huge bucket of gems & dirt, we headed back inside to learn about what gems we had found.

It was a lot of fun! And I think I will definitely be back! (And maybe with that ruby! I think it needs to be cut!! :)
Thanks to Nanny for footing the bill on the ginormous bucket! It was money well spent! The kids really had a blast!

Coolest Field Trip, ever!

A couple of weeks back, Eli got to go on the coolest field trip to date! And I got to go too! Yay! His class was invited to the NC Highway Patrol Training Center which is a closed facility. I am not sure how his class got the invitation, but I think there must be a 4 year old whose parent is a Highway Patrolman. Either way, this was a cool afternoon. We got to see patrol cars going around a speedway at speeds up over 100mph. They were simulating a high speed chase & learning how to handle their cars without rolling over, etc on the turns. It was cool. I didn't get any photos because they were going so fast & all I had was my phone camera which has a delay to it. Bummer. I did however get some photos of the other thing they demonstrated for us (which was way cooler anyhow!). They simulated a helicopter rescue of a man in a high tree.
First, they flew in from behind....And then they landed in the road so they could drop their rescue gear out of the helicopter. Then they attached a rescuer to the bottom of the gear & flew back up & over to the tree. (Look closely... the yellow spot on the picture is the man hanging from underneath the helicopter).Then they had to maneuver the rescuer into the tree just based off of a second person in the helicopter telling the "driver" where to go because he can't see underneath him. It was pretty crazy to watch them rescue this guy from the tree.
Then they landed the guys & they switched off so the rescuer was the one in the tree being rescued. (So they each had the practice). It was hot, but awesome to watch!
The Highway Patrolman who was talking to us was telling us how it takes years of training elsewhere before they are even brought here to even get into a helicopter. Then it takes them about 4 years of practicing simulated events before they are ready. Apparently flying a helicopter is way harder than a plane just based of off the fact that you have to use controls to keep the tail steady, the helicopter going side to side, front to back, & up and down. I thought men couldn't multi-task!? Ha ha! But seriously, that is a LOT of training!

I enjoyed my afternoon with my little E!

Camping at Kerr Lake

It's been a couple of years since Randy & I have had a chance to camp at Kerr Lake. Jeremy & Marie invited us to go over the first weekend in October, so we went. It is our favorite of all the places to camp. There is just so much opportunity for the kids (& the dog) to roam & get their energy out, exploring & playing.

This weekend was no different, except for one thing: It was COLD. And i mean, COLD! The entire reason we went this weekend was to hopefully be able to allow the kids to still play in the water for the last time of the season. It wasn't to happen. The wind was whipping around the campsite like crazy & in the mornings, it was in the 40s. Water wasn't a great idea. It didn't stop Zack though! He had no problems running into that water for a frisbee!

Despite the very cold wind, the guys were able to fish on the shore with the boys. One of the joys of camping here is that we can have a water site which is right on the lake. At this particular site there was water on 3 sides of the camper... and a park across the street. It was fabulous. The boys could go to the park, & we could stay on the campsite & see them. Or they could play baseball on the sandy shore. All this area made up a little loop too which was perfect for the kids to bike ride. It had to have been the best site we have had yet. Again, endless possibilities for little kids to have some safe freedom & get a LOT of energy out!

A little "rock climbing"...

fishing...

Kaleb was the first one to brave putting his feet in...

I also think that this is Zack's favorite place to camp! He doesn't love being on a lead, but he isn't on it too much, here. There is so much more room to roam free here rather than at a campground like a KOA. I guess each has it's perks, but being able to run & play is Zack's thing, so he loves it here. Plus, once we are here for a few hours, he tends to understand where his "territory" is & hangs close to us.

On the first night there, the campers next to us moved in & they had an American bulldog. It was instant friendship!His name was Zeke! So Zack & Zeke played together all weekend!Where's the frisbee??
Searching high & low for anything the boys would toss in the lake for him!
We had a great time despite the cold weather. I wish we had more opportunity to camp at Kerr Lake throughout the year. But those sites fill up quickly & it is hard to get in! Maybe next year we will have better luck!

Heart Walk 2011

Sunday afternoon, our family participated in the Triangle Heart Walk. This was my first time walking in this event & when my friend, Joye, sent out information about joining their team- I just knew I wanted to join! Not only does her son, Ethan, hold a special place in my heart, (i mean- seriously- the most adorable & fun 2 year old ever!), but the topic of Congenital Heart Defects runs really close to home. As in, we live with that here every day. Randy was born with a CHD known as Pulmonary Stenosis & we visit Duke each year for a physical & usually a cardiac MRI and/or EKGs, Echocardiagrams, etc! We are happy to say that so far, Randy has surpassed all odds when it comes to his heart valve! When he had his heart valve replaced when he was 12, they told him to expect a new one within 10-15 years tops. Ahem, he is 36 years old! He has had that same pulmonary valve for 24 years and still going strong! Yay, Randy! And thanks, Duke!!

We also have so much to be thankful for in terms of Heart Disease in this family. Back in 2009, my dad gave us a really big scare & ended up being rushed to the hospital & having 5 bypasses within 48 hours of his admittance! Then 6 months later, Randy's dad was in the hospital for the same thing- only his was a triple bypass. It was a scary year! BUT they are survivors. The story could have gone either way & I am blessed that the Lord didn't take them from us.

It's reasons like this that I decided I wanted to walk in the event. As my friend Joye put it, "It's all about raising awareness" and if I can do even a little to raise awareness of CHDs then I will do that. Seriously, did you know that nearly 1 in every 100 babies born has a Congenital Heart Defect? I was floored when I learned this. 1 in 100! That number is astonishing. I think it makes me realize that I take these sweet boys health for granted...

Our whole family of 4 walked, as well as Rebecca & her girls, and my father-in-law joined in as well! We all walked as part of Team Ethan who is quite the special boy with quite the special story! He is the true meaning of the word survivor & his story reminds me so much of our cousin, Whittni who passed away the very same day Jackson entered into this world. I guess Heaven was making room that day.

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Whittni, who passed away age 8 after a long complicated battle with her own CHD. This was her at my high school graduation party...

You need to read Ethan's story to get a true sense of how special life is & see just how the Lord can work in mysterious ways. He may have a lot of scars under his shirt, & a very special broken heart, but he is so incredibly full of life & may I mention, smart!!! ?? Oh, my! Go here to read all about Ethan!

It may have only been a 3 mile walk (or a 1 mile walk if you were Randy & the kids!) but it was moving to see so many people in one place for a common cause. And it was humbling to see all the red "survivor" hats in the ocean of people! Survivor.... I am blessed to know so many on that side of Heart Disease! I love you ALL!

The sweetest little walker (or rider!)

Go here to see the video news clip covering Team Ethan!