We made our annual trip to Asheville for our family vacation this year and on the way I told the boys to say "hi" to the mountains. Throughout the week, Owen kept waving and saying, "hi mountains" and whenever we came back to the cabin he would say,
"hi vacation!"
The cabin had 6 huge steps from the driveway to the front door and
Owen LOVED walking up and down the steps as much as possible
The first day of vacation happened to fall on the weekend of the annual Black Mountain
Sourwood Festival, so we spent the morning walking around Black Mountain
and playing at the festival. Their favorite part was the bounce house, of course.
But Ethan also liked getting his face painted like Spiderman.
This was Owen's first carnival ride. I took this picture before it started moving.
He made it halfway around before he started screaming,
so they stopped the ride and let him off.
Ethan pushing Owen in the stroller around Asheville
Owen "shopping" at the Mast General Store
listening to the street performers
One of our many visits to Ultimate Ice Cream
It rained on and off the first half of the trip,
so we made the best of it and ran around splashing in puddles.
making silly faces while we're waiting for our breakfast
Ethan loved his chocolate chip pancakes
Owen, on the other hand, would only eat them after they were dipped in ketchup
The cabin we rented had a little river that ran through the property.
And the best part was that it had a nice flat path
from the cabin all the way to the river,
so it was wonderfully accessible for Ethan.
throwing rocks in the river
cuddling, which turns into wrestling in the yard
Favorite indoor activity...
throwing diapers at each other while jumping on the beds
we turned the heat way down in the hot tub a few days
so the boys could "swim in the pool"
We spent a morning at the Western NC Nature Preserve
Here, Ethan is watching the otters
gray wolf
their favorite part was the petting farm
Ethan brushing the goat
the goat got confused and thought Ethan's walker basket was his dinner
More time in downtown Asheville
Our boys both love the city like we do,
they were so happy walking around and greeting people on the street
Owen and I sat and listened to these performers for a good 15 minutes.
I was surprised he sat still for that long, but he really enjoyed the music.
And we had to return to Ethan's favorite spot in Asheville - the wig shop.
We found a few fun parks in the area
Daddy-Ethan time in the hammock
Mommy-Owen time on the swing
bug watching
definitely not my favorite activity of the week, but the boys love it
more cuddle-turned-into-wrestling
We went on a little bike ride on the French Broad River Greenway
playing peek-a-boo in the bike trailer
Reading one of my favorite childhood books,
The Teddy Bears Picnic
puppet time by the river
We all ate more desserts than necessary this week
Ethan's enjoying his chocolate covered rice krispie treat
A mom I met at one of the other parks told me about this park in Montreat.
It was, by far, the best park I've ever been to.
there was a little river running through the middle of the park
Ethan did amazingly well pushing himself in this swing.
He even stood up all the way and then let his feet go all by himself!
As you will see in these pictures (which I could not take enough of, by the way),
he was extremely proud of himself.
walking on the bridge over the river by our cabin
More bug watching.
Ethan named him Henry. Can you find him?
On our way home from vacation,
we stopped by to see our friends in Boiling Springs.
Owen LOVED Suzanna
tickle time
