Roadtrip to Asheville, NC

After being quarantined, it felt so good to travel and explore the great outdoors. Our trip was filled with lots of hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, swimming and sliding down waterfalls. It felt like a pretty good way to travel and still socially distance. 

Day 1: Drove to Asheville

The highlight of our drive was our pitstop in Greenville, SC to visit Brittany and Elliot and their kids. We hadn't seen them for awhile and it was great getting to meet their youngest two kids and get to know the older two better. Kaylee and I got our baby fix cuddling with Jude. It was such a sweet visit! 

Day 2: Hiked Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and Upper Falls

We were told these hikes were where part of the Hunger Games movies were filmed. We hiked 5.1 miles up and down steep trails that were both exhausting and exhilarating. Trace was my walking buddy and great company. At the top, we all enjoyed a snack underneath a beautiful covered bridge. The highlight of the day though, was sliding down Triple Falls. It was an unexpected thrill we all thoroughly enjoyed, although I did end up with a bruised tailbone...

Back at the house that evening, which I should mention is a beautiful home in the foothills of Asheville; we were in for an exciting sighting. Kianna while walking through our kitchen spotted a Momma black bear and two of her cubs. They were all eating berries at the end of our driveway. It was such an unexpected blessing to see the three of them!!!

Day 3: Zipline and White Water Rafting

What a day! The craziest thing that happened today, was that Kianna got thrown from our raft and I freaked out! We were instructed to stay calm if we lost anyone, but I failed. Instead I handed her the end of my paddle as instructed but then when she failed to reach it, I just laid there and watched her drift away from me panicking. Our guide got me back on track and we quickly retrieved her unharmed. It makes for a good story and some laughs now that she is safe and sound!

Day 4: Hiked Devil's Courtyard, Upper and Lower Falls, and Skinny Dip Falls

Today we hiked 4.6 miles. The highlights were the amazing view from the top of Devil's Courtyard. It gave us a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was spectacular. Another highlight was jumping off the cliff into ice cold water at Skinny Dip Falls. These waterfalls and hikes are amazing! So thankful God created a diverse world for us to enjoy!!!

Day 5: Toured the Biltmore Mansion

We enjoyed a day of rest from hiking, which was much needed, as our bodies aren't used to the elevation. Florida is flat! We enjoyed the audio tour of the Biltmore. The bowling alley and swimming pool and gardens were highlights. I love seeing our girls being friends. It makes my heart happy!

                                          

Day 6: Hiked Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls

Today we hiked 3.9 miles and then slid down Turtleback Falls, after watching multiple people go first of course. We enjoyed a picnic by the waterfall and rested on some logs. Another amazing day!!!

Day 7: Canyoneering

Today we introduced the kids to canyoneering, which essentially is rapelling down waterfalls. Trace's current ambition is be a YouTuber or professional gamer. He got some practice commentating with the GoPro today. I love my family!

Day 8: Hiked Catawba Falls with the Nelson's

Our good friends, Brian, Kelly and Camryn decided that they too needed a vacation, so they piggybacked off of ours. Despite some car trouble on their end we managed to get in one hike together. Today we hiked our shortest hike of 2.1 miles. Oh and I better not forget to mention the copperhead snake I almost stepped on. I screamed so LOUD!!!!

Day 9: Drove home with a surprise stop to see Broderick

Brittany let us know that Broderick would be at her house, so invited us to surprise him on our way home. We decided to surprise the kids too. It was a quick visit, but a blessing to us all! What a great end to our amazing road trip!!!

4th of July

We invited the Hayes and Nelsons over to celebrate the 4th of July with us. We had ribs, swam in the pool, played our new game Viking Chess, and ate Kaylee's amazing fruit pizza. It was a great day celebrating our country's independence with good friends. 

Father's Day

We had fun celebrating our special guy. He is such a hard worker, so we tried giving him a relaxing day by the pool. Followed by several movie nights with popcorn and lots of candy to choose from. It was a fun weekend! We love you Trevor Cook!!!

Escape Room

 

Our Christmas present from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne was a gift certificate for our family to do an Escape Room experience. They told us it was highly sanitized after each group, so we braved the pandemic and had ourselves some fun. We escaped with three minutes to spare and we didn't kill each other, so I'd say that's a success!

Summer Fun

 

We are thrilled to report that we have made some new friends recently, as a new family just moved into our neighborhood two houses down from ours. They are new to the United States as well, as they are originally from Nicaragua. The girls are Lauren and Marianna and they too are going into 10th and 8th grades respectively. Their mom's name is Fabi and I have enjoyed going on walks and getting to know her.

We have also taken Bella to the beach several times. The first time she loved it, not so much the water, but the other dogs. The second time, she was a handful, so she might not be back for awhile.

The girls went paddle boarding with me and we ended up getting towed back in due to the wind picking up suddenly. It was a bit embarrassing to admit our defeat, but makes for a good story...

Kevin and Libby Yoder's Wedding

We had fun getting dressed up and watching Libby and Kevin get married. It wasn't quite like we had hoped, as we were supposed to be there in person. Regardless, two wonderful people declared their love and are now husband and wife. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Yoder!!!

Saying Goodbye to Delaney

Kaylee's been blessed with a great group of friends. Unfortunately, there are some changes coming soon. Lilly Hass will be attending Suncoast High School in the fall and Delaney is moving to Knoxville, TN. Today's beach day was dedicated to saying goodbye to Delaney. Kaylee made her a tie blanket, which turned out great. The girls had a great time hanging out again, after being apart for so long.