Fire burning...

on the dance floor! The kids' school has a fundraiser that used to be a fun run. However after years of having to postpone due to weather, the PTA changed it to a dance party! Caden had a great time dancing & Alli enjoyed all of the games.

Mr. Fixit!

For those of you that have been to our home you may remember the bench that is in our family room. It was built by my great- uncle long before I was born. Well on Wednesday night I saw that said bench had been moved & was upside down on the floor. The kids love to play tent and often use this bench so I thought nothing of it. In fact I also overlooked a few other things on the floor before heading up to tuck them into bed. When I made my way back down stairs and tried to turn over the bench...the leg fell off! Right into my hand. So I headed to confront the two children that might know what happened & to be honest I wasn't too happy that they had kept it from me! Then Caden said "Don't be mad mom, I knew you would be upset so I already fixed it!" How? I thanked him & reassured him he was not in trouble for keeping this from me & headed down stairs to investigate! In the midst of hurrying up stairs I stepped over the purple glue stick & fan! So sweet he was trying to glue the leg back on the bench with a glue stick! At least he tried! Maybe some wood glue will be in order!

You tube...really???

I didn't have my camera...I know shock! But on Monday Alli had her first ballet class! She had been in a creative movement class 3 years ago but decided to try gymnastics, tae kwon do and now we have this conversation last Thursday...

Alli : MaMa can you help me with something?
Me : Sure, whatcha need?
Alli : To go on You tube!
Me : Why?
Alli : I want to learn how to do ballet & you said they have instructions for everything on there!
Me : (holding back laughter) Would you like to take actual classes?
Alli : I guess that would be fine! No that would be FANTASTIC!

So, she is now signed up for intro to ballet! Promise photos to come soon!

Rest, Relax, Rain & Railroads!

Let me be honest...we are beach people. Since Andy & I have been married we have vacationed 5 times to the beach for every 1 mountian trip! After Michael & Sarah's wedding we got the itch for a mountian getaway! So during our September track out we loaded up the car and were mountian bound for a whole week.


Friday afternoon we were going to go to Tweetsie but it was closed because of the rain. So our friends and travel buddies for the week the Orthner's met us at Traveler's Rest our home for the week and we cooked stirfry.

Saturday morning we headed to Tweetsie for a day of rain & railroads! Our little country girl was happy as could be once she got her pick cowgirl hat! There were no crowds so it was a perfect time to ride the rides. It was a fun full day! We had dinner at Six Pence in downtown Blowing Rock.


Sunday : Karen & Jason's Anniversary. After a big brunch we watched all the kids so they could have a few hours to themselves. Andy took all the kids for a hike in the rain while I stayed at home with their 13 month old.


Monday: time to get out of the house! We were told we had to visit the Mast General Store... there are several so we tried to hit them all! In May we visited the Asheville store and Friday we went to the downtown Candy Barrel in Blowing Rock. The Moore family hit the road to shop at the outlets first then stopped for lunch at Sledgehammer BBQ. It was delicious! Now time to head to ValeCruis to the original Mast General. Still raining outside! The store was neat and even has a working post office inside! We finally bought some raincoats at the General Store in Boone for me & the kids. After finding a coat for Andy we met up with the Orthners for dinner.


Tuesday: Blue skies ahead! Andy got on the phone and booked a trail ride for our family at VC Farms. This was one of the best parts of our trip! Alli was in her element & Caden was so brave he rode all by himself. Our guide said he didn't think an 8 year old could make it up alone but he did!

Wednesday: Linville here we come! We packed a lunch and hit the trail. We opted for the difficult trail to the bottom of the falls. The trail was certainly difficult but the views made it well worth it! We splashed in the water, had lunch, & climbed the rocks before our hike back up the hill. We finished just in time to make it to the Caverns and take the tour before closing time.


Thursday: Grandfather Mountain here we come! The skies remained clear and we took in the views from the swinging bridge, fed the bears and even saw some otters! After lunch the Orthner's we for another hike and we made our way to the Gem Mines! It was hard to believe it was time to pack our bags.

Friday : Homeward Bound... as much as we loved our trip it was time to get home!

Mountian Views

She's a little bit country & he's a little bit rock & roll! Our last week of track out was spent in the beautiful mountians of North Carolina. We stayed in a fabulous home in Blowing Rock! This is the view from the porch! We had an amazing trip despite the rain the first few days. We packed in a lot once we saw the sun!

Family Road Trip

Each time the kids track out I like to take advantage of our time off and take a little family road trip while Andy is holding down the fort at home. Madeline was visiting her grandparents and we decided to provide a shuttle service...taking Maddie from Fayetteville to Charlotte. Caden & Alli entertained her the entire drive! Then we met the Lynchs for dinner at Outback...Brayden is getting so big! The next day we went to Discovery Place... Caden loved the pirate exhibit! On Monday night we also got to visit with our friends the Reynolds! It was a great time to catch up fun seeing the kids playing together. We took them some Panthers plates that Tyler says he will proudly display! That night I let the kids stay up late so we could finish up Alli's latest puzzle. Thanks for all the help from Aunt Brenda we got it done before Midnight! Tuesday Susan & I loaded up the cars and headed to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. It wasn't until we stopped for gas in Mooresville that I realized I left my purse in Matthews! Yikes! Thanks to Susan for filling up our tank, loaning us money & to Uncle Dan for overnighting my purse home! We were ranch bound! Such a cool place! The animals were so close! Caden had a close encounter with an ostrich but we all enjoyed feeding the giraffes, water buffalo & the llamas! On our way home we dropped Alli off at Gran's for a special granddaughter sleep over! They went to the library, had a picnic and played school. What a blessing for Alli to have this special time with Gran & PaPa!

Trackin Out in Gaston!

We celebrated a great Labor Day with our friends the Centeno's! They invited us up for the weekend to the lake! The kids loved riding on the Crazy 8 & the jetski's. We even put up the outdoor screen and watch Hannah Montana from the dock!Alli is really into puzzles these days so we took over the table on the screened in porch and puzzled day & night! Of course Bailey was a pure joy to watch as she jumped in over and over again into the water! George was still a bit scared.