escape to the mountains!

A few weeks ago the kids and I packed up the car and headed north into the North Carolina mountains. We were going to drop Sage off at his 2 week camp in Highlands,NC (more about that in the next post). Basically he spent 2 weeks on this beautiful mountain doing service work and hiking the Appalachian trail



Here he is with his gear ready to go. He was a little nervous, but had an awesome time!
We said goodbye to Sage..
kissed a few trees for luck and
headed over to my Aunts cabin :
This is the amazing view from her front porch as the sun was rising

To get to this beautiful spot, we had to drive up a steep forest road then down a twisty dirt road for 30 min going 10 miles an hour!! But we made it !
First things first - playing on the little tractor. Adeline loved having her big bro drive her around. Scary to think one day in about 10 years there will be a similar pic in a real car !
Aunt Sherrie teaching Ryan how to paddle
This was my favorite spot - on the hammock down by the creek! So peaceful!



I though it was funny that my sweet girl standing in the water all wet was pointing out to me that her hand was dirty! : )
such sweet goofiness
ohhh- listen to the rock plop!
We mastered canoeing (even nursing while canoeing)
Ryan going solo!
fishing

hanging out with bro
sweet love
my little nature girl









One day we spent the afternoon making bark boats and sending them down the creek
Ryan built this fairy lodge that you see behind Adeline. He spent the whole week working on it - complete with swiming pool and creek side views!



We had an awesome week just hanging out with no agenda - no internet - no cell phone service. It was very liberating. !!

Awesome Weekend

My parents came up our way this weekend and brought their pontoon boat with them. My dad wanted to go camping with the boys and about 15 min from our house is a huge lake with many parks to pitch a tent. So I made some reservations and they met up with us.

We set up the tent. A BIG GIANT thank you to my dad who showed me the easy way to set up a tent! I had no idea the little pegs went INSIDE the tent poles! All this time I was trying to stick the poles into the ground - no wonder our tent never looked right!

Tony and Ryan ended up in the tent while my dad and Sage slept by the campfire and well, the girls went back to the house : ) My mom has had her share of camping in her younger days and much prefers a bed and a roof - so we made sure she had a comfy spot at the house. At least I hope it was comfy.

The site was perfect, we had a little ditch complete with log bridge, a path down to the beachy area of the lake where dad could park the boat. That made it easy for us to hop in and off.

We hung out and Adeline loved it! Hiking anyone??
We covered up Ryan's cast in plastic and he could enjoy the lake
Not to mention the little one who has to do what her big brothers do.

We really enjoyed the boat rides! Thank you Grandpa for bringing the boat all the way up to us!



The boys got in a little casting practice. Sage Loves to fish!! Ryan just likes casting. He is a friend to the fish and does not want to catch them or eat them.
Biggest big Brother
Big Brother
And of course little A wants a turn!
So grandpa showed her how - that's what Grandpa's are for!
This is what Sage caught - tee hee - we brought it home and cooked it IN the fire!
A little sibling love
And some water sport fun!
At the end of the day we had a blast and really enjoyed their visit! Thanks for taking us camping!!!
Till next time!