Baby Bennett is here!

My best friend in the world, Alli, had us a baby on Monday morning. I got a call from Ben early on Sunday, I was at the river. He said Alli had been in labor for a few hours, so I headed home and to the hospital. She woke up at 3:00am Sunday, July 12th, knowing she was in labor after walking a little bit and the contractions didn't stop. They went to the hospital where she walked laps, but she didn't progress any. So, they sent her home. They just went to her mom's house that is very close to the hospital. After she was in intolerable pain, they went back and the hospital gave her a room. The hours passed, and she just wasn't progressing. She had Ben come get me. I fixed her makeup, and then sat behind her on the hospital bed and brushed her hair. Those little moments, especially with my best friend, are the moments you live for.

They didn't wait for her to get all the way to 10cm, they had her start pushing at 8cm. After 24 hours and 24 minutes of labor, Bennett Tyler Barcroft was born...with a head full of hair!

Here are some pictures:

The new family!

Look at all of that hair!!
My sister with a new baby to play with!
I got to teach them how to swaddle a little one. I think he likes it.
And this might be one of my favorite pictures from all time:

Tonight Ted and I had dinner at Aubrey's and then took dinner back to the hospital for the new parents. I can't wait to get to know this little one!

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

Aunt Emmy...

If you know my big sister Emily, you know why she is getting her very own blog post. Emily Beth is 6 years my senior, and while a big sister she's just one of the girls when we all get together. She's known Tara as long as I have and remembers us playing with Barbies back in '89.

Emily was also Clint's, Tara's little brother, first baby sitter when he was born. They lived down the street from us.

Emily came over yesterday after they got home from the hospital. She brought a little care package for Tara with some essentials for the Mom just out of Labor and Delivery.

Here they are together...