Flower Children

Sienna LOVES taking pictures, so this is one of hers...I call this "A tribute to our little flower child."



The princess crown was the hot item of the day, so who could pass up this photo op?

Our happy flower children:

Even though not many of the flowers actually showed up in the pictures, you get the idea. The yellow snap dragons are bursting all over, with many other varieties popping out and adding color to our rainbow of flowers. Nice view from the house. The garden is doing well and should be producing tons of beans and squash and tomatoes and cukes just about the time we leave for Israel. Anyone want to come pick and enjoy the fruits of my labor?!

Anniversary Trip

No, Sienna did not go on our anniversary trip with us, but this was a pretty darn cute picture that had to be included...she's steppin' high in her momma's boots!
Larry and I decided to head to the hills for three days for our anniversary last week, since he would be out of town on our actual date, April 22. Our intention was to stay at Pisgah Inn right on the parkway and spend our time traveling up and parkway, stopping to hike to the 6-8 waterfalls along the way. Well, so much for plans...the parkway was largely closed due to repairs still being made after a very bad winter storm. So much for that idea. The closest falls were about an hour away and we had already hiked those falls before, but, they were lovely and it was a good long hike, so we went for it.

This is Looking Glass Falls:


Hooker Falls:

Then the real hike began to Triple Falls and High Falls:

Larry was good enough to follow me down 100+ steps to the base of the falls. Although it wasn't the going down that was the problem. He was not this happy going back up!!

Our view at the bottom of the stairs:

High Falls was an interesting mix of cascading falls and sliding water down the large flat rock:

The next day we were off a couple of hours to Caesars' Head. It's been redone and is different from our last visit. Growth of trees and errosion has changed his profile a bit, but it was a nice stop. After climbing around Casesar, we found a nice quiet spot with a lovely view and had a snack while reading our book about Personal revelation. It was interesting, we were at the chapter that talked about eliminating the outside noise so we can hear the still voice of inspiration. Nice spot to ponder and read about that!!

It was a nice three days. We had a good time together, read a lot, relaxed, hiked and ate way more than we should...I gained 3 pounds! But oh baby is that French Silk Pie good!!!!

Maybe next time we plan to go up, we'll make sure the parkway is open, and then we can find our new waterfalls!

Spring Break?!

Our Happy Easter...Spring Break week was wonderful as you are about to see. I thought I did a great job of planning some fun activities with the girls during Spring Break, but I did not do a great job with taking pictures at some of the activities. Oh well, at certain points, a narration will have to suffice!
But first of all... Siennas' art work keeps us up to date on special events. Do you like the Easter egg explanation point?

The girls helped me make Bunny Cakes for Easter dinner, they were pretty darn cute and very yummy!

The weather was lovely and we got to enjoy some jump rope and fun on the playground out back.

Pop Pop gets a love from Lila who can't figure out what all the hub-bub is about

Spring pictures wouldn't be complete without some of Kinsey. We miss them so much!!! But here are a few precious ones they sent. To see more check out their blog.

Too cute....

I love this one with her Bunny Foo-Foo.... how funny is that!?

Our week of spring break activities began on MONDAY with a trip to the State Museum... forgot the camera...there the girls learned about SC history while following a treasure map. Good fun.

On TUESDAY the girls came here for science experiments and crafts day. I got so involved in the volcano and sponge paints that again I forgot the camera. But it was a great day.

On WEDNESDAY we drove to Charlotte, NC to the Discovery Place and had a great day there. Here are a few highlights:

Sienna lays on a bed of very sharp nails and doesn't feel a thing!! Miya tried but frieked out.

Sienna is able to keep a ball in the air and direct it's movement through a hose

The girls had a blast making pricess castles with light-glow, magnetic shapes on a light table. So fun!!

Sienna pulls her weight up to the top of the post by pulling herself up with a rope and pulley system. What a muscle-girl!!

The girls get set to view a 3-D movie about turtles. What movie stars!!

The girls wanted pink cupcakes at the snack bar sooooooo bad..... guess who had a pink face the rest of the day?

We had a spashing good time at the water station. I think Lila liked the water....

Sienna works on a hexagonal shaped tower...

While Alisha and Miya build another structure:

Back to the water, it was one of their favorit stations:

So fun to discover and play... we'll go back. Kinsey, come join us next time!!!

On THURSDAY, I had a funeral luncheon to prepare so the girls had a fun day at home and then we enjoyed Chuck E Cheese for dinner.

On FRIDAY we joined the millions at the zoo who made up the biggest crowd on record. We enjoyed and got home w/out incident.

Saturday ended a great week w/a very very busy day at the temple and a good LONG nights sleep.

What a great couple weeks. We love our family!! Thanks girls for sharing it with grandma.