Highland Games July 16, 2011

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We gathered the Clan and headed up on the mountain for the 55th Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.  The girls were excited to wear their tye dye shirts they had made at the Children’s Playhouse.  I have found that it is easier to keep them in my radar when they are wearing similar colors.  We shuttled up to the mountain and the girls enjoyed riding in the Bus (I think mainly because they didn’t have to buckle up :).  After listening to some music and getting a slushie we listened to Orville Hicks tell a story.  Jody remembers his uncle telling him Jack Tales when he was in school.

We finally made it into the Meadow where the competitions and events were taking place.  Grandfather Mountain is a perfect place to host this Scottish Celebration as the clouds blew across the top of the mountain  It was neat to see the Sheaf Toss although the girls called it “throwing the sack” and the Caber Toss.  They also enjoyed the pole vaulting  and the bagpipe competition.  I think that Lydia was most excited about the sheep herding demonstration.

We decided to come off of the mountain and back to the house for dinner before the Celtic Rock Concert.  I packed our light up suckers and some glow sticks and were off to dance the night away to bagpipes, drums, guitars, fiddles,  and even a digeridoo….  It was a great ending to an adventurous day in the land of bagpipes and kilts!  We plan to go back next year and camp for all 4 days so we can party with the pipers!

Picnic Splashing June 2, 2011

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This was a day filled with splashing and laughing 🙂  We went with Jody as he helped to prepare for an Antique Engine Show just over the TN line.  To give him some time to tinker, us gals went to a nearby picnic area  to check it out.  It had a perfect stream flowing through for catching critters and splashing in the water.  The girls spent a lot of time at first catching minnows, salamanders, a looking at other people’s catches of crawdads.  Lydia is getting really good at catching salamanders but she will run from a crawdad as they are swimming backwards from her 🙂  She hasn’t got the nerve to risk a pinch from their claws to capture one for her prize yet.  Laini found a perfect rock into the creek to sit on to keep her dry but close to the action.  Lilah prides herself on being the keeper of the container of goods that Lydia finds and to be the one to display the find to others who might want to see.  It was important to the girls to get all of the river dwellers back into their home safely after checking them out.

When they had filled their sand buckets with todays miniature catches and then released them, they turned the area  into a splash park!  The girls took their sand/critter buckets and used them to scoop water to drench each other.   They splashed in the stream and poured water on each other from up on the little walking bridge.  My girlies laughed, and giggled, and squealed.  When moving from one water hole to the next, Lydia spotted a large Dragon Fly on tree but I did not see it until she pointed it out to me, it was very camouflaged.   When all were tuckered out, we got into a dry change of clothes and headed back to get Daddy and a snack!

Fishing June 1, 2011

My nature chicks have been asking to go fishing for a long time…..Soooo….we stopped at the store and Daddy bought 3 poles.  He still had his tackle box from way-back-when complete with antique lures and bait so we were ready now!  We drove our adventure Wagon up the the Parkway bound for Price Lake.  The first thing we found when looking for a fishing spot was 2 snakes sun bathing on a log.  We decided to share the spot with the snakes and put together our poles.  The fishergirls were so excited to cast!  Lydia was the first to catch a tiny fish and everyone was delighted.   Lydia bated, cast, and removed-released her own fish; her sisters needed a little help with their poles….After some fishing time Lilah and Laini had to run around a bit, but Lydia never left her site.

The days catch totals were:   Lydia* 3       Jody* 2     Lilah’s baby doll* 1-40 footer with her stick pole 🙂

As an added bonus, we even got to go to the Park Rangers program on Bats!

The girls have their poles and are ready to cast again…..

Waterfall Folly May 31, 2011

Continuing with the flow of playing in water…..we visited a local Waterfall looking for minnows and crawdads.  The Rhododendron’s are beginning to bloom and they are Beautiful!  We love getting outside and enjoying nature!

Ocean Wishes

It is no secret that Us girls LOVE being at the ocean.  Since we couldn’t be in a giant sand box and salt water at this time, we still had to play in some water.  First we went to the a Playground and much to our delight the previous rains had turned the large sandbox into an oceanish setting.  The girls dove into creating and enjoying the sand and water.

On another day we trekked out to Valle Crucis and played in the Watauga River.  This is one of our favorite places to go in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We even took Zen and Emmie along for play time.  The river calls you to stack rocks along its banks and find critters in its water.  Laini found some worms and Lydia hooped on the bank.  Valle Crucis is a great place to go and meet some new friends and cool off in the water.

Cowgirl Camp May 30, 2011

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With very little planning, we met Grammy half way and camped at Panther Creek State Park in TN.  Laini named our site the “Cowgirl Camp” due to all of the feminine energy that met up there.  The weather was perfect–cool sleeping nights and warm, but not melting days for our 3 day stay.  We enjoyed our fire and food fixins both nights.  Even Lilah’s baby dolls had their own “bonfire” rings and fun times at camp.  Laini found her first ever salamander and she was so proud of herself.  I practiced on tying some knots  and hung a rope in a tree for the gals to be acrobats.  We even got to see my baby brother Hawk on our way out of town and the girls were supper excited to visit with Uncle “Hotdog” (Laini’s nickname for him).  We have our bags  (and tent) packed and ready to put in our car Blondie the Adventure Wagon for the next occasion that comes 🙂

Laini’s Extended Celebration May 6, 2011

We continued the birthday trip up to KY where we played in the water some more, skated at the park with friends, rode Lydia’s new bike, gots lots of play time the the Bullies, went to the comic book store with Uncle Cole, ate birthday cupcakes with Nana and Papaw, put on Tatoo’s with Papaw, got some new books, planted flowers with Grammy and much more.

Dandelion May 5, 2011

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When we returned home from Laini’s birthday trip, we were greeted by a yard of yellow.   Our lawn mower is awaiting some parts for its spring tune up so the yard had not been mown and the Dandelions are thriving!  A lot of people put great time and money to remove these bits of yellow from their yard, but I have to say (despite the approval of the neighbors) I will be a little sad to see the grass cut and the sea of yellow gone.  After all a weed is just a plant out-of-place and I welcome and enjoy the bouquets of Dandelions the girls pick for me.  Dandelions can be used as a food source, a coffee replacement, and used to make vegetable dyes as well as a flower arrangement.  Enjoy the small and unexpected pleasures in LIFE.

Celebrating Laini April 28, 2011

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We started off Laini’s Birthday celebrations with two days at Grandfather mountain.  Next we were off to TN to Wilderness at the Smokies-an indoor water park because Laini had declared “I am going to an indoor water park and it is going to rain!”  Indeed she was correct and the gals had a fantastic time!  We played in the splash area, Lydia and Lilah rode a belly board, we jumped waves, soaked in the huge hot tub,  rode the tubes and got throughly water-logged!  Two days of this much fun was exhausting come the end of the day.  On our way on up to KY to finish out the B-Day trip we ate at the Apple Barn(Yes we thought of you Becky Ann) and stopped at the Bass Pro Shop so Laini could “drive the boats” and see the big fish tank.  It was a splendid time of celebrating our Precious Laini Jade!  Thanks for the adventure 🙂

Warm Weather Fun March 28, 2011

Picnic under the Oak tree

Look I caught a slamander!

We have been enjoying the warm weather.  Up dating our painting supplies was a hight priority so we went to Michaels and we all picked out large containers of paint.  I was glad to coral the paint out to the porch and the girls were excited to create.  They all have thier own styles and it was my job to get their supplies.  We used and egg carton for Lilah and Laini’s painting so they could mix… alot…..Lydia got her own fruit cup paint containers because she gets stressed at her sisters colorful mixing.  Previously I had cut out 6 cups sections of the egg carton to hold paint for each of them.  However this time I left the hole thing in tact and it has proved to be a good storage thing because the paint does not dry out when the lid is shut. 

We have also enjoyed playing at the park.  The girls finally got the chance to try out the skateboard they got for Christmas.  I had took video’s of Lydia practicing, but they seem to have got lost on the trasfer from the camera to the computer.  Which reminds me, my cell phone has lost some of its memory and it doen’t “see” my pictures.  So until I can get another one, I have to remeber to take my camera and my phone with me…..

The girls love climbing trees, you can see Lilah *monkey* way at the top. 

We have also been playing dress up and dancing/performing, having picnics, hooping and hiking—just to name a few more adventures…