Macbeth Family Vacation Part III

Since the last day of the trip was a Sunday, we wanted to make it as nature-centered as possible.  So we thought that a hike to see some waterfalls would be a perfect idea.  Our last trip to the mountains taught me one thing:  if you think you've done enough research, you haven't done enough research.  That time we ended up hiking a trail that was labeled "family friendly" online, but was actually quite strenuous.  But this time around I found a website that rates the trails on duration, topography, and overall difficulty.  Each hike was described really well with pictures included and so I was able to find this one which was minutes from Bryson City.  It was an hour hike round-trip at Ella's pace.  In that hour we hiked along the river the whole time and saw two waterfalls.  It was easy and perfect.

Seriously, do big sisters get any better than Lily?  I love that girl.

It was such a great Sunday morning walk because we virtually had the trail to ourselves.  Ben and I loved that because being in the mountains always feels like a spiritual experience to us.

In the beginning we were just throwing small rocks in the river.  But when Ben threw in the biggest, flattest rock he could find, the kids were hooked.

They found a boulder that looked like a piece of pie.

After they ate it they told me it was cherry flavored.

Thad was a happy rider just holding onto his leaf.... and then eating it in the car....

Asheville was on the drive home, so we stopped by their nature center since it's free with our zoo membership.  We met this gorgeous owl and learned how to make an owl box for our own home.

I was so excited to see the otters!  One of my favorite animals.

The bears were so cute.  I just wanted to squish them from afar.  So did Ella.

The nature center was a great way for the kids to stretch their legs for an hour on the drive home. 

Ella desperately wanted to be one with the raccoons.

The whole trip was fantastic.  It reminded me that although my kids aren't perfect, they're really great kids.  Over and over they thanked us for doing this.  But if we're going to be honest, on the drive home I was saying things like, "I'm so sleep.  I really need to get more tired."  Ben and I thankfully slept like rocks last night in our own bed and we're excited to catch up on General Conference.

Macbeth Family Vacation Part II

We had lots of great ideas of things to do in the mountains, but we had one thing set in stone:  the train ride to the Peanuts Pumpkin Patch.  We thought it was a great option since it wasn't a haunted train ride (like others are this time of year) and very family friendly.  The kids were so excited to do this.  It was totally worth the trip for it.

When we climbed on board Ella started screaming out of fear.  Of course you never want the people around you to be uncomfortable or upset, so I did everything I could to calm her.  Finally after a piece of gum and lots of reassurance, she figured out that the train wasn't scary and was actually quite awesome!  She loved watching the river below and pointing out all the big boulders on the side of the mountain.

When we arrived at the Peanuts Pumpkin Patch, Lily and Skyler immediately wanted to start playing.  Ella on the other hand was enthralled with Lucy, Charlie Brown, but mostly Snoopy.  She took every opportunity to photo-bomb other family's pictures with the three of them.  She couldn't leave them alone!

The kids each got to pick a pumpkin to take home.  We were thrilled when they all chose tiny pumpkins.  That way we didn't have to lug around a ton of weight on the train and back through Bryson City.

A very accurate picture of their relationship.  I think it's funny that they're such loving sisters in real life and they're dressed up as loving sisters too -- Anna and Elsa.

They had a small building that was pitch black on the inside but lit up with Halloween lights and decor.  There were several doors on the inside and the kids got to trick-or-treat (hence the costumes).  The kids were more excited over the fact that they'd get to go trick-or-treating twice this month than they were about the train ride itself.

I was so relieved that the "apple bobbing" turned into a non-saliva-sharing version of it.

For my mom -- the biggest Snoopy fan in the world.  Although I think she has competition with Ella now.  Ella loves "Soopy."

They roasted marshmallows...

Ella's adoration part one.

Ella's adoration part two.

After the train ride back to Bryson City, we walked to a restaurant that is the #1 restaurant in the city.  I was surprised by how few people were there considering how amazing and cheap the food was.  Skyler and I had a table to ourselves and so we pretended like we were on a date.  We ended up eating there twice because we loved it so much.  We also went across the street and bought some chocolates.  Seriously, Bryson City is the cutest little town that I just want to adopt, wrap up, and put in my pocket.

When we got back to the cabin, Ben made s'mores with Lily and Skyler while Ella and I watched Harry Potter cuddled on the couch and Thad was passed out in his pack'n'play.  I think all of us considered it a perfect day.

Macbeth Family Vacation Part I

Our family hasn't gone on a legitimate just-us vacation in years.  There are lots of reasons.  Mostly because the idea of going on vacation while pregnant or with a newborn sounds like more work than fun.  Also, in the summer -- because of my heart -- I can't be on my feet for too long outside without passing out.  Also because of Ben's job.  While we absolutely LOVE his job, he is paid by the hour (which is great because he never works over 40 hours but if he does he's paid overtime).  But he doesn't get very much vacation time.  And what vacation time he does get automatically gets devoted to his calling in scouts.  A good portion of the rest of it was devoted to his appendectomy.

So when Ben and I had been feeling like we needed to get out of town, it wasn't a question of how many vacation days he could take, it was a matter of vacation hours.  So we knew this would have to be a weekend trip.  I like to be very careful with our finances.  And with all of our medical costs, I was wondering if it was worth it to spend money on a trip.  When I prayed about it I got the clearest answer that I needed to give up the family portraits we were going to have done and go on the trip instead.  So that's what we did!  And then I learned once again how much the Lord loves to make us take the first step in faith before he blesses us.  Because the week before we left, Ben was given a pretty decent raise with back pay.

The kids had been desperately wanting to go to the mountains and we decided to surprise them with a trip to Bryson City.  We really just wanted to go somewhere new and throw the kids out in nature.  Since Ben couldn't take off a whole Friday, we picked up the kids from school around 1 and surprised them!

The kids were fantastic in the car even though it took 6 hours to get to our cabin.  Miraculously, we didn't play a single movie in the car during the entire trip!  Instead the kids were just as happy coloring, playing with pipe cleaners, and wearing stick-on mustaches.  And I don't know if the kids were better than usual in the car, or if Ben and I have just gained a lot more patience in the past few years (probably both), but this trip seemed a lot easier than other trips in the past.

I had looked into hotels, but there weren't any that I could find that would allow 6 people to stay in the same room.  So I looked into cabins and they ended up costing the same as the hotel rooms I was looking at!  So Ben and I chose one that overlooked Lake Fontana, had a fire pit for making s'mores, a jacuzzi, and a foosball table.  The kids loved the cabin.  They wanted to "live there forever."  

I, on the other hand, still love my house that has a dishwasher and the world's best bed.

Lake Fontana in Almond, NC

The first night we decided to have Lily and Skyler share a bed with Ella in a sleeping bag on the floor.  The next morning Ben found them all in the bed together.  So the next night I put them to bed like this just to save time.  :)  We could hear their giggles outside while Ben and I were next to the campfire.

The first activity was gem mining.  We ended up at a pretty remote place next to a lily pond.  (You better believe that had Lily's stamp of approval).  The kids and Ben chose their buckets and went to town getting them cleaned up in their sieves.

Still too dirty to tell what they are...

Skyler got a little overzealous and ended up splashing mud all over his face.

Documentation that Thad really was there... on my back.  Poor baby -- I somehow packed an extra set of sweatpants for him instead of his jacket.  So we had to double up his sleepers to keep him warm.

Ella enjoyed watching and stealing the dirt from some old man's bucket and sticking it in Skyler's.  He chuckled over it and was really nice.  But as we were leaving that man found a 4 carat ruby.  I guess Ella just didn't steal the right dirt!  ;)

After the kids were a little tired of cleaning up their rocks, I took over Skyler's dirt and I ended up with the best haul (not that I'm bragging -- except I am).  I was most excited by my arrowhead, fool's gold, small rubies, and the bluish gem stones.