Puppy Love

Jetty started first grade and she is loving being back at school. Ella and I miss her and for the first time Ella has been asking to go to school. The other day we visited a preschool down the road to sign Ella up for next years VPK program. Now when we are out walking Ella will insist we walk by her school. It is really cute and everyone who knows Ella knows what a big step this is and how much she has come out of her shell. She has also started reading! Out of he blue she will tell us what some words are and she is even trying to sound them out. Kids are so amazing!

As for the puppy...have I mentioned that she is a little extra work? She gained 21 pounds in a month(she is now 41 pounds and almost 5 months old)and is sweet as ever. She did just eat my prescription glasses which I am not real happy about at the moment. The first thing the girls said to me was "Mama, you should have put them away." Do you think they have heard that often from me lately?

Jetty's First Triathlon

Jetty had been looking forward to this tri for months. It is hard to find a Tri in this area for 5 and under. The poor little peanut had 102 fever at 3 in the morning the day of the race. She still insisted on racing and had a great time. It was a 25 yard swim, 1/4 mile bike and 1/8 mile run.

North Carolina -part 3

Gem mining in North Carolina was always one of my favorite things to do as a child. I had all my rocks in a wood box my brother made in boy scouts. How I wish I still had that box of rocks. Gem mining with the girls was so much fun and now they had a good collection growing.

After Gem mining we went into Cherokee. Cherokee is one of those tacky tourist destinations that remind you of the road side attractions of the 60's. I always have fond memories of Cherokee as a child and the truth is there are wonderful things in Cherokee if you can look past the tackiness and casinos. The Museum there is really wonderful and the Native American village was just a beautiful walk in the woods. There is also a great river that runs through town and makes a wonderful place for a picnic.

North Carolina- part two

While we were in North Carolina I wanted to hear some true mountain music. As I scanned the local papers I found a nearby city who was having music to raise money for their library. Groovin on the Grovemont was in cute little Swannanoa and was better then mountain music. The band was Barrel House Mamas and they were a wonderful folky/blues band. We had pizza on the grass that they were selling to raise money for the cutest little library and we all ate up the wonderfulness of the moment.

The one photo is of Jetty examining a knat. The girls became obsessed with watching them and who could collect the most "pets" on their bodies.

North Carolina

We have been back from the mountains for almost a week and I feel like I am finally getting back into the swing of things. The mountains were beautiful and we had a nice relaxing week. This week has been spent doing laundry, adjusting to the puppy, and watching the Tour. Truthfully, Doug has been watching the Tour and I am truly interested but I am too tired to watch it all at night.

One of the days on our trip, my very in shape husband, rode his bike from our cabin in Asheville to the summit of Mt.Mitchell(36 miles one way). I am so impressed by the cyclists that are able to do that ride. I am also impressed with my ability to follow him back on part of the Blue Ridge Parkway as he went down the mountain at 40 mph and not be concerned. The worry that would normally be welling up in my throat has dissipated with time and I know how careful he is on his bike. The girls and I had met him on top of the summit and we ate at this cute little restaurant right below the summit. At one point as we were following Daddy down the mountain Jetty said "Mommy, please pass Daddy". My immediate thought was that she was concerned he would crash but then she clarified "I don't want him to beat us to the cabin". Everything is a race with that girl.

Back from Vacation

We just git back from a lovely vacation in the mountains. Doug was able to ride his bike to the top of Mount Mitchell, we had lots of wonderful family time in a cute little cabin, and I was inspired by amazing artists. More to come ...as soon as I finish laundry, download photos and play with a puppy. Good thing Rose is so cute because she is a lot of work:)

A Day at the Springs

Lots of swimming, ice cream, watermelon, and fun visits with friends. That would sum up our last few weeks. Here are a few photos from one of our swimming adventures. I love the photo of Jetty on Doug's shoulders. It was a really sweet quiet moment for them. Ella has been swimming like a little fish and is a little more confident then her actual abilitles.