Mini Vacation Day 5

We spent Sunday sleeping late and relaxing! That night the kids went to VBS with "Aunt" Michelle & their cousins. They have so much fun with each other! We went to bed early so we could get up the next day & start the long trip home!

Cooper & Weiner

Cooper & Kitty

The food is one of the best parts of going home!

Saltville overlook, Saltville was the salt capital of the confederacy 

Dinner on the way home

M

Mini Vacation Day 4

Another relaxing day in the mountains. We slept late, then went to lunch at Shatley Springs. After that we did Adam's favorite thing...gem mining! Then we finished up our NC visit by going to the Ashe Co cheese factory & store.

Later that night we took the kids to see their first drive in movie!!! They were super excited & the Minions were super cute!

Mini vacation day 3

We got up early this morning so we could have breakfast with Poppy. Then we headed to the only place to go in town...Walmart. After that we took a drive around the mountain, we stopped in at a little river for the kids to play in.

The afternoon & evening was filled with visits from aunts, uncles & cousins.

Cooper's new friend, Kitty:

Later that night we drove into town for some ice cream. That was followed by another late night of rummy.

Mini vacation day 2

Got up early this morning. It was nice to wake up in the mountain air of Ashville! Since Cooper insisted we stay at a hotel that had free breakfast, we enjoyed a pretty good one. Especially Cooper who couldn't get enough waffles & scrambled eggs!

We stopped at a river in Ashville & the kids skipped rocks.

Then we stopped again at this overlook you walk up to. A very very steep overlook. Much much steeper than it looked from the road! After I barely made it up alive, I was rewarded with some pretty awesome views! 

Then we just enjoyed the drive into Tennessee. Since Adam & the kids had never seen caverns before we went to check out Bristol Caverns!

The original entrance into the cavern that the Cherokee Indians used

Let's just say that everyone liked it but was happy to be back out in the 

sunlight!

After that we headed off to lunch since everyone was starving. The kids always beg for Golden Corral, we always say no, but since we were on vacation we decided to take a chance on a buffet. I'm not sure if it was really good or we were just really hungry.

We finally made it to VA after lunch & spent the evening & night catching lightning bugs & playing rummy.

Mini Vacation Day 1

Of course we had to squeeze in a quick trip to VA! Adam suggested we take an alternate route this time. So far it's been pretty enjoyable despite my fears that it would turn into a National Lampoons Vacation sequel!

We came up through the middle of FL & through Atlanta. The kids really enjoyed the skyscrapers in downtown. We ate at The Varsity...the food was just ok but the experience was great!

It's so nice to be out of the Florida heat. We stopped at a rest area in SC that had a huge steep hill, Cooper begged & begged to run up & roll down it, so we let him...totally made his day! It's funny how you forget about being able to things like that once you're out of Florida! Another thing we enjoyed was tonight being able to roll down the windows & stick our hands out.

We stopped for the night at a hotel right next to the Biltmore in Ashville. I can't wait for the kids to see that tomorrow. Not sure if we're doing the tour or not.

My sweet boy last night, I hate boarding him while we're gone

4th of July

So I like everything the 4th stands for and all but let me be honest: 4th of July celebrations in Florida suck!

First it is so so so hot! It's Florida. In July. It's not just the heat, it's the humidity too. Makes for a miserable day!

Just when you think the heat can't get any worse the storms roll in....Not just any storms either...it's like God is literally aiming for people with the lightning strikes. Oh and before the storms start you spend a few hours wondering when they're gonna start & when to hurry and put the food away.

Speaking of food, I'm lucky enough to be married into a family of great cooks. The only problem being it's almost too hot to enjoy anything. I said almost....I did enjoy several ears of grilled corn! The cheesy potatoes, baked beans, Mac & cheese &t grilled meats while equally as tasty where just to hot & heavy to eat too much of.

That brings us to fireworks! What should be the best ending to the night! What you may ask is wrong with fireworks in Florida? Nothing, except that no matter who does the fireworks for the 4th they cannot even begin to compare with the fireworks Magic Kingdom does 365 days a year!!! Once you've seen those several dozen (ok more) times the fireworks bar gets set pretty high!

The final thing that makes me not enjoy the 4th of July is that it seams like after the 4th summer is on a downward 

spiral. But of course I know it's not, I do after all live in central FL where summer last from March til November.