Thanks to some very generous friends from Florida who own a home in Western North Carolina we were able to head for the hills for the better part of a week and take a break from our summer routine and the oppressive heat. Our days there were well worth the agony of driving the few hours up with our kids, who have developed an aversion to their car seats.

The temperature was perfect with lows in the 40's and highs in the 70's. We slept with windows up each night and woke to the sound of what seemed like thousands of birds singing outside our window. The only problem with this? They started around 5.30am. So that is when everyone woke!

We decided we would not be eating out on this trip. One, to save money and two, well, it just never seems to go that well when we take the boys to a restaurant. We have put those outings on hold until Timothy is five. So every morning I cooked a pancake breakfast, much to the delight of my men who are pancake eating fools! We picnicked for lunch and cooked a meal at the house every evening. This was far more cooking than I typically do at home!

Wil, who is a great eater, was delighted with everything put before him. Warms a mother's heart I tell ya. And despite my best effort at teaching these boys some table manners there was always something like this going on.

Showoff!

Each morning we went exploring to places like Grandfather Mountain where it was cold and windy at the top. So windy this suspension bridge swayed over the very very deep crevasse below.

But the view was amazing and Luke couldn't stop talking about the fact that we were at the top of the giant mountain we could see from our cabin.

A fun aside - as we were walking back across the bridge we were stopped by a photographer for a local magazine who requested to take our picture for the cover of their next issue. We were flattered and said yes. Since they don't have a website we will probably never know if we made the cover but it was fun.

We also took a stroll through the habitat. The bears were the most entertaining. Although Wil and Timothy, who repeatedly made their best bear sounds, were pretty entertaining as well.

Timothy loves to be outside. He is very observant and pointed to nearly everything we passed with his "uh uh" sounds. We have learned that when he makes this sound, accompanied by pointing, he wants answers. What is it? What does it do? Why does it move that way? We spent a lot of time answering Timothy's "uh uh" questions. Which always made him happy.

We also visited Valle Crucis. A quaint little town that is famous for being home to the original Mast General Store, which is still standing. Behind the store is a corn field. Behind the cornfield is a great playground and park with a stream running beside it and fabulous views on every side.

A little Soy Milk break and they were back at it. Wide open spaces - it's just what these guys need!

On another day we took a short hike to Linville Falls. With every outing James had a pack on his back with either Wil or Timothy on board. And often the other in his arms because they just can't stand for daddy's attention to be off them at any time.

Luke climbed root exposed trees and I answered Timothy's "uh uh's" and tried to keep him from falling into every stream we passed. And then there were the falls, as beautiful as we remembered.
Our favorite time of the day was walking up the mountain on which our cabin was located. It is home to a Christmas Tree farm, or two or three, so the smell of frazier fur and hemlock was in the air. It was a tough walk, the views were great, and the company better. It was a great way to end our days.
The Christmas trees were at various stages of development all over the mountain.
From the top we could see into town, we could see Grandfather Mountain and the many ranges surrounding him. And we could sit and rest, take in the fresh air, the smell of the trees, the beauty of all the wild flowers. And I could let my muscles calm down from the walk up. I tell ya, if I had that to hike up every day I wouldn't need my gym membership. Not that I use it anyway. But that is another story.
It was a great trip and unlike some past vacations we really managed to slow down and take it all in.