Savannah Trip - July 2011

On our way down to Savannah, we met Grandpa and Omi

at a park to play for a little while before dinner.
Josiah demonstrating his flying leap from the swing.

We met two cairns there. A brother and sister, Tavish and Fiona.

Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures from the family reunion on my mom's side.

On Sunday, we went out to Tybee.

While we were in Savannah, Chris' grandfather, Popie, passed away.

Here we all are dressed up for the funeral.

This is the most dressed up the boys have ever been.

Happy 4th Birthday, Carissa!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Carissa!! You are growing into such a big girl.

You love to watch your brothers playing various sports.

You love to eat. You are our least picky eater. (Not that the boys are that picky.)

You love to play dress-up.

You love hiking.

You love your brothers and think you can do anything they do.

You love girly things like painted nails, hairbows, jewelry, and shoes.

You love your Maisie dog and anything that has Maisie on it.

You love to read.

You love life.

In Memory: Woodrow Wilson Dyches

In Memory: Woodrow Wilson Dyches

November 11, 1918 - July 9, 2011

Popie and Nana

(Chris' grandfather and grandmother)

Popie and Nana with their sons and grandchildren

Popie and Jennifer with us on our wedding day

Popie seeing Josiah for the first time.

Popie with Josiah, Caleb, & Carissa.

4th of July

For the 4th, we were pretty low key. We grilled out ribs with some friends, Brittany and Evan. We had thought about trying to see fireworks but they weren't going to start until 9:45. So, our friends graciously shared their sparklers with us. We told the kiddos to go ahead and get into their pjs and then went out as it started to get dark.

Some neighbors down the street had some really cool fireworks. So, we had our own private show. Much better than battling the crowds with tired, cranky kiddos.

All pictures are thanks to Brittany!!

Anne of Green Gables

This summer we have been reading Anne of Green Gables in the evening before bed. The kiddos have really enjoyed getting to know Anne. I tell the boys I think she is a mixture of the two of them. They laugh. So, we finished the book last night. Tonight we will start watching the movie!! I don't know who's more excited: them or me!!
My guess is we will be starting Anne of Avonlea soon.

15 Years!!

For our anniversary, we were able to get away to the cool mountains for the weekend.

Wow!! 15 years ago today, I married my best friend.

We stayed at The Grand Bohemian. It was wonderful and very relaxing. They took very good care of us, sending us a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

On Saturday, we went up into the mountains and then down into Little Cataloochee.

Driving through the valley, we saw 2 elk + a baby, an owl, numerous butterflies, but no bears.

We stopped to see the little schoolhouse.

It was a great, relaxing weekend. And we definitely ate good up in Asheville: Tupelo Honey, Early Girl, Corner Kitchen.

I am so thankful to be married to such an awesome, hard-working, family man!!

Biltmore

I was able to get a discount ticket (because we homeschool) to go to Biltmore. I've been wanting to take the kiddos but it is so expensive and I was also waiting for them to get a little older. We went up there last Wednesday. We saw most of the estate. We went through the "castle" in probably a record 45 minutes. (The tour of the house is supposed to take 90 minutes.) I knew the kids weren't interested in every little antique. We just talked about the purpose of each room and went on to the next. The favorite was the library. They also like the pool in the basement.

After going through the house, we met Grammy and Bops for a picnic lunch. Then Bops showed us where to feed the geese.

After lunch we toured the winery. The kiddos got to taste grape juice, fresh-squeezed that morning, in the Tasting Room.

A nice older gentleman offered to take a picture of all of us. The kiddos are sitting on a statue of Cedric, the Vanderbilt's dog.