Last Day...

The girls saying goodbye, Ayden getting caught playing in his Sissie's room (our little man!), McKayleigh and Kyla walking hand in hand to our pond, and Abby eating some bread that was supposed to be for the fish- but who can resist her?!?

The Kids are Back in Town!!!

Both of our wee ones are HOME! McKayleigh just got back last night from a trip with her Aunt Gramma, Pampaw, and Gramma Gramma in Maryland. We spent the better part of the morning outside in the hot weather we've been having lately. We set up a pool my mom had given us a while ago in the winter- and it was the PERFECT day to get in! We had a picnic outside to finish off the morning. The kids just got up from their nice long nap, and we are off to go outside again!

Pool Shots.

The little pool set up... on a small hill, of course... so it is only half-filled on one side! A few shots of Ayden making rain in the pool... and LOVING every minute of it! I love these shots of him!

Outdoor Family Play!

Some shots of Ayden watering our plants in the front. ...and one of him watering the rock- he is going to be a rocket scientist one day!!! ;) Then, a few of the popsicle party we had with our HOT weather here as the pool filled up.

Chimney Rock Date

Andrew and I had a little romantic venture in the mountains. We used our Annual Chimney Rock Passes and spent a good three hours hiking. I mean HIKING! I think we could have made a work out stair stepping video after our trip! We felt like the bottom of the Hickory Nut Falls was beautiful before, but once we reached the top on this trip- we were floored. These pictures are not as beautiful as the real thing... and we will take appointments via phone for all future guests and visits! ;)

Up Close and Personal

Beautiful views with my beautiful man.

The Top of the Nut

This is the journey up towards and at the top of Hickory Nut Falls. (Pictures from prior visits and from the bottom of the falls are on here, too- from older blogs.) IT WAS GORGEOUS! We couldn't believe that you could actually WALK on the rocks and far up onto the upper layers of rock where the natural spring begins. WARNING: These pictures don't do it justice!

On Top of the World!

More pics atop the mountains near Chimney Rock. More waterfalls, too!

Bye Bye Motorcycle!!!

We did a little eBay selling a few days ago and traded some motorcycle for some cash. We went in yesterday to go vehicle searching at a bunch of local dealerships and have been searching on eBay for a reliable trade for the Land Rover. We went back to a place today, haggled a bit, and walked out with ANOTHER Land Rover! This one is much more reliable, making our drive much more at ease and our family a bit safer. Here's a few shots of the new addition...

Exterior View

Outside shots of the new Rover. It's a 2002 Discovery 2- more room in the back, more upgrades, more sunroofs with shades, more LATCH system, bigger tires, smoother ride, NO DINGS, and no work to do before NC inspections!!! Actually, the place we bought it already did the oil change, inspections, and no dealer fees added on! THEN... they gave us passes to go to dinner on them! GRRREAT place to buy a car- local and have been there since 1940. Very happy with it and we feel a better trade for the motorcycle we sold on eBay. They picked it up at midnight last night and it gave us the downpayment and took care of half of the bill for us. Just a few small payments and we'll own the baby.

Fishin' Fun!!!

Ayden has been talking about fishing for almost a year now, so we finally decided to break down and get some rods for the kids. McKayleigh picked a Barbie one (of course!) and Ayden selected a Pirates of the Caribbean one (of course!). We had a BLAST out by our pond. Took the Land Rover down with us to test it's off-road abilities (passed!) and a few chairs. Caught about seven fish total! The first two were on our first casts out! Took a while to get the other guys... but we discovered their hiding spot and caught the rest! We plan on fishing again tomorrow, too!