Midwest

Took a mini-vacation to Nebraska to visit with family this weekend. You can't even mess with the corn mazes out there - I was so impressed! We went to Skinny Bones Corn Maze if you ever are in the Omaha area, I highly recommend this place in the Fall - HUGE corn maze, beautiful scenery, lots of extra things to do including a nerf gun war zone :)

Corn!!

Even haunted outhouses - the kids had a blast!!

We stayed with my mom and one of my brothers. Their dog is the funniest I've ever met, he can do this trick, as well as play fetch with himself by lying on his back with the ball in his front paws above him, roll the ball down his legs, catch it in his mouth, and do it over and over again... so cute! (and Reed's new best buddy :)

We went to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, which is a must-see if you are anywhere near Omaha. It's one of the top rated in the country, and does use the reciprocal zoo pass, if you are a member of another zoo. It has a rainforest area, which included these funny tapirs:

A butterfly and insect house, with great benches for photos with Grandma!
And a really neat aquarium (the boys were SO excited to have sharks swim over them!)

Will post more soon! Lots going on around here ~ Love to all!

Laying New Roots

We moved again! (just can't get enough of it apparently!) The boys and I are still in Asheville, just moved in with a most wonderful man :) I apologize to all my friends I've been ignoring this last month (yep, that's all of you - I'm lame). Big changes happening!! After 5-1/2 years of providing childcare out of my home, I've called it quits. I was ready to head a new direction, and have been feeling that the boys were getting their homeschool activities put aside in leiu of toddler nap schedules and such. So, the new house is bigger, even with bigger yard destined for fruit trees and backyard ducks and chickens and lots of new goodness! The boys love it! I'm still getting settled in, a little bit living out of boxes, but glad to be in a comfy spot and feeling the love...

I hardly have been taking photos lately, but remembered to grab my camera when Bobby and the boys made a new skate ramp in the back yard this week.
Boys lending some body weight:

Love you all! I'll try to update sooner than later.

Carolina Hemlock

A beautiful day to go on our first tubing trip of the season. We went down to the South Toe River and tubed at the Carolina Hemlock campground. I went here several times as a kid, and was so glad to re-explore the land and share it with the youngins.



Taking a watermelon break with a friend:
Reed tries to catch minnows:
A good swimming hole was found:

And then back to do a little more tubing before heading home:
Always plenty of fun happening in these parts - come out for a visit!
Much love, Julie & the boys ~~~

Weekend Shenanigans

I love where we live so much! The parks have swimming holes and forests, the downtown is beyond hip, good friends are found everywhere ... does it get much better?

On Friday, the kids and I went to Montreat Park in Black Mountain. Plenty of spots right next to the playground to make dams and take a dip in cold mountain water.
At night we went downtown to go the the monthly "Downtown After 5". I actually didn't get any photos from the music, but on the way back to the car, there were tons of street performers out, and I snapped a picture :) These are some pretty cool hillbilly musicians. In case you haven't seen these guys rockin on the streets of Asheville, the fella on the left is indeed playing a saw.
Even though I love our town dearly, it is nice to escape to the big city every once in a while. With cities being so close to us, it's not that hard. On Saturday afternoon we went to Carowinds in Charlotte. They have a great discount if you arrive after 4pm. The park stayed open until 10pm, so the kids had plenty of play time.
The kids did the water park side for a couple hours - wave pools, big slides, lazy rivers... the works! The we went over to the amusement park side, and the boys did their first roller coasters. I can't figure out how to take a decent photo at night, but here's my attempt at getting a shot of Clay's first coaster - called "The Hurler" haha!
It was a big one, and I was not up for joining the kids on it, but they had a blast!

New Toy

Thanks to our friends for giving the boys scrap wood... completely kid-made new toy:

Gratitude for Rain

Getting the children outside to play is no task at all when it's warm and raining ... all. day.

A little more water can't hurt at this point, right? And to think just this morning I bought balloons so we could have a rainy day party, and they ended up being used as gigantic water balloons... oy!
We haven't had rain in a bit too long for this neck of the woods, and the plants sure opened right up to it

Except of course for the shy cosmos who duck their heads down to avoid their fragile pedals falling off
Rain to also help loosen up the ground so we could dig up some carrots for today's meals. These were grown in soil that was not worked further down than about 4". You can see they grew around rocks and tough bits of clay down there... my favorite are the two lovers on the right, separate, but completely intertwined
Reed and his buddy did get some out-of-the-house time at their first day of Kung Fu camp ... nice stance boys!
Love,
Julie

Summer!

Summer is official now that the kids have had a lemonade stand! It was their idea, Clay helped make the lemonade and pour it. Reed painted the sign and added ice to the cups. Their friend delivered the drinks to car windows and took the money. I think they made about $12, not bad considering the lemonade was only 25 cents a cup... and I'm thankful to all our great neighbors who came by and bought a drink, and gave the boys generous tips :)

Am super excited to go to my old friend's wedding this weekend, meet his wife and their new baby!!
Much to my children's dismay, i made eggplant gallette for dinner, from the recipe here. I am *loving* that Smitten Kitchen blog, though don't have nearly that much desire to be in my kitchen, the recipe are so freakin good! The kids actually ended up liking it, but don't be fooled, they put up a good fight to try to get out of eating (fresh from the garden) eggplant for dinner :)

It's sliced eggplant and minced garlic spread on a ricotta-based cheesy filling, all wrapped around with the most delicious buttery pastry crust ... mmm...
Have a happy weekend everyone!! Love, Julie