Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Juliet lately...

Juliet really loves her play mat. She's so alert now!

Looking more like her Mommy everyday!
If this had sound, you could hear the hood vent. This calms her. Colic is the devil.
The swing is fun now, too....in ten minute increments!
Another funny face!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Down By The River...Feat. Emily

So, I decided that I would take big sister Emily on a weekend tour of 2 of my favorite rivers in the South East...The Nantahala and The Ocoee.

After work Friday we loaded up the car and headed out...while acutely aware that I need a bigger car! We hopped on 68 and headed toward 64 to drive into the gorge around twilight. We got the key to our hostel...it was Emily's first time in a hostel and she did quite well! Then we went to Relia's Garden and had dinner with Scotty. Well, kind of. We ate, while Scotty worked. Scott is my big step brother. We had delicious food, and the flowers on our table were beautiful!

After dinner we waited on Scott to finish up his shift and we just set up camp on an isolated picnic table right next to the river. With a cooler full of beer and the iPod speaker, we really tied one on. It was such a great night! I ended it by giving Scott by copy of the new Dave CD.

The next morning we met Scott for breakfast at the Rivers End restaurant. You've got to check these places out if you've never been there. At Rivers End, every table has a river view. It's awesome! After breakfast, we cruised through the outfitters store and then hit the road into Copperhill. We went to few picture spots, and when the rain rolled in we headed to the other end of the river with my friend, Jessica. I took Emily shopping at Miss B's Purple Bus and then we had lunch.

We took Emily to dinner at El Rio, and then just sat around a fire and had some beers. On Sunday, we spent the entire day on the Toccoa. I got a horrible sunburn! I had a waterproof camera, but still need to get it developed!

Here are some pictures from our adventure:

This is a retreat center on Highway 68. They have a few llamas out there. Emily wanted me to take her picture with them...

Me, Scotty, and Emily.
Scotty..excited to have a cell phone again.
Me and Emily.
I'm not really sure what I'm doing with my arm here. It's part cheerleader and part plus-size model. Nonetheless, this is us on the bridge over the Nanty. It is also a part of the AT.
If you've never been, you should check it out:

www.noc.com
www.rollingthunderriverco.com

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

This me and my Dad. He's top notch!

This is my Dad and his dog, Aeneas.

The best part about Father's day weekend is sitting on the back porch at my Dad's house, listening to music and drinking beers. We even kept him up until almost 3 this year!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Emily and I came home on Sunday to enjoy our annual happy hour with the girls. We always have a drink with our dear Carrie Leigh, who lost her father nine years ago. And this year, we had drinks with Tara, also! Carrie's mom was nice enough to watch Juliet so we could go out. Wow. We had a blast and took advantage of a jukebox!

Happy Pappy Day!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Blinded by the Light...kind of...

I'm talking about the synchronous fireflies in GSMNP. You can read all about them here: http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/insects/articles/fireflies-flash-unison.html

I've heard about this phenomenon for over a decade, but have never had the opportunity to go. Lucky for me, I had some vacation time to use, so Ted and I went up on a Wednesday afternoon since he didn't have trips on Wednesday or Thursday. We got a camp site at Elkmont.

The rain poured...and poured...and pored some more. We even had to pull over on our way there. But the rain stopped for a few minutes so we could set up camp, and then we cooked dinner, and then went on a short hike to find the fireflies. They were out in all of their majesty because of the rain, but there were still enough out that it was amazing!

A soaked self-portrait:
Ted putting up the tent:
A sleepy Ted:
The lantern Ted has had since he was very young...you can guess how many years that is:
In case you were wondering...
So, don't pollute and clean up after yourselves!

You can't take pictures of the fireflies. If you haven't seen it, you must go next year! You won't regret it!

If you want a campsite on the weekend, book early.

Here are some other links, courtesy of my fellow blog friend Mauri:

Monday, June 8, 2009

Introducing Juliet to one of our Traditions


I would say at least 2 times a month we venture to Mr. Gatti's for the pizza buffet. This picture is from Juliet's first time there!