Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina might be my favorite city. I love it! It's not too big, not too small. It's a bit of a hippy community, which is just my style...plenty of vintage clothing stores, antique stores, vegan/vegetarian restaurants, and cute little boutiques. The downtown is so fun and cute. The Biltmore Estate is beautiful. The scenery is amazing. My parents graciously shared their vacation, and the kids and I, and my little sister Tracy spent a few days there. We took Andy's Explorer, so we all were able to ride together. My parents refuse to eat at fast food restaurants (and I'm not complaining), so we stopped at sit-down restaurants in Memphis and Knoxville, so it took us a while to get there. It was a good ride, though, because of the company! We had a great time, despite the kids being in HORRIBLE moods because they were overly-tired from not sleeping well in the hotel.

Winnie and Googie (my momma) on the shuttle to the Biltmore

Winnie loves a man in uniform! She took a liking to this Winnie-sized soldier at a Christmas store

Winnie was the most attentive student learning to make butter. She got a chance to churn, but I missed the moment because I didn't have the camera yet. I think this was the highlight of the trip for her.

Papaw (my dad) teaching the kids to play some old school yard games

Not following the rules of the game and deciding to turn them into musical instruments

Rush took a liking to a dog statue

On the ride home, Tracy and Winnie and my suitcase rode in the back seat (it was a little cramped on the way home because of some Asheville purchases) and became best buddies. Winnie keeps saying that Tracy is her "Best Girl Buddy." Poor Tracy had to endure Winnie's constant demands of books being read to her and listening to "Pokerface" over and over and over again on my phone. By the end of the trip, Winnie's Best Girl Buddy knew all the words and was singing along! It's been a long time sinced I've vacationed with Tracy...I was so thankful for the time. We had a great trip...thanks Googie and Papaw! Thank you Aunt Tracy for coming, too.

We stayed in Conway for a couple of days after the trip because Andy was in Kansas City watching Duke basketball games. I was not looking forward to that drive home, so the days in Conway were just lazy days...watching TV, eating out, and hanging out with Tracy.

My dad made the kids pancakes in the shape of their first initial, like he used to do for us when we were little. They were buckwheat and I think the best pancake I've ever had. And check out that hair! Bed head in full-force.

Our waitress at U.S. Pizza let Winnie make her own cheese pizza. Another trip highlight for her.

Willow Springs

I love going to my Aunt Patsy and Uncle Chuck's house to visit. I might be their biggest fans...they are so fun and thoughtful and I feel like I might be a less-talented version of my Aunt Patsy some day (I hope). Their house and property are so beautiful, and there is so much for the kids to explore. My parents no longer live where I grew up, so I can't really go home to where I spent my childhood. Where Chuck and Patsy live and how they live reminds me a lot of my growing up, so it's nice that my kids have somewhere like Willow Springs to visit. It is really nostalgic for me and fun to share that with my family. They live about 3 hours from us, so the drive is perfect for a weekend in the country.

When we got there, Rush and Winnie spent about one hour staring at their chickens. Rush could've stood outside the coop (or inside, because he kept trying to get in) all day.

Rush's trip highlight was riding on Chuck's tractor. He was grinning ear to ear.

Winnie is still chatting on and on about collecting eggs from the "girl chickens." Chuck and Patsy just put an addition on to their home so there was plenty for the kids inside, too. Winnie's favorite thing was chasing their cat Squirt around, who was trying desperately to stay away from Winnie. We had dinner Saturday night at Rockbridge Trout Ranch, which was fun. The leaves are so beautiful down there, so the drive to the restaurant was so picturesque. Chuck and Patsy surprised me when I woke up Sunday morning with this article on the front page of the Springfield paper. My grandpa, my hero. Andy and Chuck spent the morning shooting guns. Andy was really excited about that. We gals and Rush drove into Willow Springs to play at their park. We gathered a bag of little pinecones for our house. I love those. When we got back, we packed up for a picnic.

We went to a tree farm owned by one of Chuck's friends and drove through the groves and through some national forests and picnicked near a creek back on the tree farm.

We took Chuck's Wagoneer, and he let Winnie "drive."

Sidebar: Today, we were going to Wal-Mart, and Winnie wanted to drive. Of course, I said "no." She cried for about 10 minutes, saying, "My buddy Uncle Chuck let me drive!" Ha!

Sunday was a PERFECT day for a picnic...warm and not a cloud in the blue sky. And Patsy is one of my favorite cooks, so the food was delicious. The kids thought throwing rocks into the creek was magic, so we did that for awhile and let Andy and Chuck dazzle us with their skipping rocks abilities. We had a great visit...thanks Aunt Patsy and Uncle Chuck!

Winnie's Class Halloween Party

Winnie's school had a huge Halloween family celebration the Friday before Halloween. It was so much fun for the kids. It was at 3:30, so she got to go school twice that day. All of us parents were there...they started the afternoon in the classroom. They had spent all week making clown costumes. The teachers cut out the patterns, and the kids glued dots on. Then, the teachers laminated and finishing touches on the hats and collars. It was such a cute idea! The two year old classroom were all bananas made out of crumpled up butcher paper and little paper berets! The kids got in their costumes, and had a huge parade that all the classes marched in.

Miss Chrissy decorating Winnie's clown face

Winnie in costume

After the parade, we went back up to the purple room for the party--cupcakes, fruit, cookies, cheese and crackers, and juice boxes. It was really nice to meet a lot of the parents that I haven't yet met. Winnie has three teachers (one lead and two assistants), and they did a beautiful job hosting.

Her class and lots of camera-bearing moms and dads

After the class party, we headed downstairs for a concert by some local band who did fun kids songs. I don't remember the name of the band, but they were so good. Kinda like the Barenaked Ladies doing kids songs. Rush and Winnie were DANCING like wild animals.

Winnie showing Rush around her school. I love that school is her place that is all her own. She is really proud to take us around and talk about everything. We had a great time!