Special Vacation and Visitors

I know I have said this before on this blog and this will not be the last time. Cousins are so great. We could not be happier to have such sweet girls to spend time with and are so glad they all get along so well. Ages 2, 3, 4 and 6 lined up and laughing at Grandad no doubt.

Man, we do not want to go back to work tomorrow. We just had a week of BIG fun with family that we do not get to see often enough. Thank you all so much for making the long trip and helping to create such wonderful memories. Thinking back and looking at the photos, it is hard to believe we packed so much into such a short time. It was just perfect and we can't wait to see you all again.

Here we are along the James River:

and MMP using her new binoculars to look at the large hornet nest at the mountain house. We went up to Nelson county and rented a house for two nights to enjoy the cooler temps and scenery.

...here we are revelling in the cooler air on our maiden voyage by the creek behind the house

This is the first time that we have hiked with Alder where he did not ask to be held at some point and where he was truly having a good time. He was proud to keep his balance hopping over rocks and across narrow trail bridges and even shouted to me while hiking: "mom, hey mom, four year olds are good at balancing."

Jason and I feel so at peace (and honestly at home) in the Appalachian mountains and it does our souls and minds good to be there, especially with so many people that we love and to have our children enjoying it and seemingly at peace as well. We honestly could not ask for more.

Our goal was to spend as much time as possible enjoying the creeks and waterfalls of the region, so we went on several short hikes near the house and also enjoyed a "private stream/swimming hole" on a friend's land up there. What a perfect day we had.

While MMP was still exploring the river, the younger ones decided to relax in the shade for awhile.

These few pics give only a glimpse of the little adventures we had. We cannot wait to make this happen again. Thanks so much to Granna and Grandad (or as Heath still says - "Gee-dad") for all they did to make this trip happen. We are so grateful for all that you do for us.