To Utah with love

And here is what we did....

We paid our respects to our ancestors in the cemetery

 

Davyn got his first haircut from Connie: now cutting the 4th generation of our family's hair. Daddy was sorry to see the strawberry blonde curls go, but -SPOILER ALERT-they grow back!

We fed the horses with Uncle Mike

We tended Grandpa's garden

Swinging on the corral gate was one of mommy's favorite activities at this age too.

Cousin Elizabeth was most attentive to Eole who still asks when she will see her again.

Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...

Davyn is taught the art of the toast dipped in chocolate milk by the master himself.





This is why we keep coming back...and the family.

The highly anticipated pony ride

 And there was a train ride too! Davyn loves his Auntie Jen.

A serenade by Uncle Steve

The Dark Knights (Oh, Jackson--only yesterday you were Davyn's age!)

We were able to visit BOTH grandma-greats who so happen to live at the same rest home.

And we rounded out the whole trip with a cousins outing to the zoo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past Spring we….

Drove with the top down in Granddad’s Jaguar

Fixed the car in the “Auto Shop”

Matched with the flowers at Duke Gardens

Joined our biker friends at our friend’s birthday party

Caught red handed (or is that blue-mouthed?) eating crayons

Spoiled by my husband on Mother’s day

Over all goonieness prevailed this Spring

Davyn Turns 1!

Our little guy turned one this past May!  Here is how we celebrated our favorite ringlet boy’s day.

Big sister made sure Davyn would not burn his little fingers on the flame

And she helped him blow out his birthday candle.

Davyn didn’t need any help with the next part.

Birthday boy’s big tricycle,;because when you have been walking since you were 10 months old, riding a bike is a natural next step.

What a handsome fella! You may not say any words, but you are already a little lady killer!

This Easter past...

This past Easter brought a special visit from our favorite Wisconsin cousins. Eole love having an older sister and brother in the house, and she fell in love with her Auntie Susie. She would sneak into her Auntie’s room early in the morning to request snuggles…she even preferred these over Mommy snugs.

The cousins also brought their violin!

Eole asked to play every chance she could get.

The Easter Bunny came on Saturday morning and hid Easter eggs throughout the yard

Bunny slippers for an Easter Bunny egg hunt

“Hey! That’s my shiny egg!"

“I found my own shiny egg!”

The Haul (notice the cute hand-made basket by Cousin M).

 

                                                 Apparell'd in Celestial Light....


                           The glory and the freshness of a dream...



                                                     Ye Blessed Creatures...


                  I see the Heavens laugh with you in your jubilee

Camping Spring 2013: A Night to Remember

We decided to stay local for our maiden voyage camp trip this past spring. We’ve owned all the supplies for years, but finally decided it was time to put the ol’ tent to use. Falls Lake is a gorgeous state park with lots of short hike-in camp sites. We fell in love with a little peninsula  doted with dozens of well groomed camp spots. We hiked in the week before to find the perfect  spot with a view of the lake, a little shade, a little sun, and some privacy. We reserved on line, and Friday after work, we took off.

                                                           Eole helped Dad make the fire.

 

She and Mom especially enjoyed the s’mores.

 

 

 

We watched the sun set over the water. We got out some last minute wiggles, and set up the tent.

Then it was time to settle in the for the night. Eole fell right to sleep snuggled between Mom and Dad…Davyn less so….much less so. He was unnerved by so much space, and much like a wild dog, howled for most of the night and crawled in circles around the inside of the tent. Being that our lovely campsite is really only a few miles from the seedy part of Durham, the parking lot was gated and lock and we were as trapped as any hapless soul in the ninth circle of Dante’s Inferno! To top it all off, we went camping off season to avoid bothering other campers, but as fate would have it, a young couple reserved the site right next to ours. I’m sure the experience will delay their desire for children in the immediate future.  

Asheville Trip...last March

Last March a bout of Cabin Fever swept through our family, so we packed our bags and headed west...to Asheville! Some highlights of this mini-family vacation included:

Visiting an adorable animal preserve where we found this adorable hawk girl...

...and this cute baby boy fox 

We saw the bears come out of hibernation, and our own little bear so wanted to join them. 

We kept the cleaning lady busily employed at the Hampton Inn

 

We made new "friends" walking the funky streets of Asheville

 

 

We took a nature walk at Chimney Rock Park

 

And climbed many, many stairs to get to the top of Chimney Rock

                                              Dad ended up getting a triple-duty work out

              The view at the top made it all worth-while though; and then we took the elevator down