Mountain Trip

We got back on Sunday afternoon from our little family getaway. It was SO nice to have some time away with just the three of us. Somewhere different. Somewhere with cooler temperatures. Somewhere with some really neat things to do. You could tell that Eli just loved his time away with us. We hadn't been back to stay at my mom & Tom's mountain house since Eli was 5 or 6 months old. Last time we were there, we tucked a few fun ideas away for the next time we came back. We definitely want to start going at least once a year, and this seems to be the perfect time of year to go. The biggers kids are back in school so places aren't at all crowded, and the weather is as close to perfect. It's also nice to go in the fall to see the colors change, but sometimes its already too cold for a lot of outside activities. Needless to say, we had a great time!

We got there on Wednesday afternoon just in time for Eli to take a short rest. He's never been one for sleeping in the car. We then went out for an early dinner and to stock up on groceries. After that we went for a long walk in the neighborhood. As fun and beautiful as it was...those hills are not made for pregnant women!
But these 3 could have walked for days!

Our Bailey girl LOVED being back in the mountains. She's such an easy dog to travel with, so we were happy to be able to bring her along on the trip.

We didn't really have any big plans for Thursday, which was kind of nice. We got up and ready, and then went into town for breakfast. Eli had breakfast #1 at the house, and then ate again with us. There's no denying that he's my child...we love our breakfast! :) I love going out to breakfast, so that was a great way to start the day. After breakfast we decided to hit the outlet malls and do a little shopping. We shopped until about lunchtime, and then went back to the house for family naptime!


We spent a lot of time out on the front porch again this time. It's the perfect place to rock, play, and eat cookies!



Eli was pretty fascinated with the cabin. He kept calling it the 'cool house.' He especially loved bathtime in the giant jacuzzi tub! Fun...but not such an easy way to scrub down a busy toddler!
We were all most looking forward to our trip to the Tweetsie Railroad on Friday. I need to dedicate an entire post to that though, because it is by far one of my favorite family memories thus far!

On Saturday morning we woke up and went out to breakfast again. The sky was pretty gray, and we were getting a little wind from hurricane Irene, but we still had a few things we wanted to do outside. We brought some of our leftover bread from the house, and went to a cute little duck pond near one of the local colleges. There were walking trails all over and gorgeous scenery in every direction, so we were hoping to snap a few pictures.
Eli had never seen that many ducks at once before. They were EVERYWHERE. At least 100 or more. And it's obvious that they get fed very often!

We fed them from the bridge, that way we didn't get attacked by the geese. I may or may not have been scarred by a goose as a child.
We even made out with a family picture from this trip! A nice elderly gentlemen stopped his car and offered to take our picture. People are so out of their way friendly around there.

We decided to go on a little walk, and boy are we glad that we did!
We were all mesmerized by this gorgeous waterfall, and didn't want to leave! Eli kept saying, 'that's amazing!' and 'that's so beautiful!'


This was another morning filled with such sweet memories for us.
And a very happy boy!

Later that afternoon we had planned to go golfing as a family. This is something that Danny has been wanting us to do for a long time. As soon as we booked this trip, he knew it would be the perfect opportunity. Golfing in the mountains with much cooler temperatures sounded much more appealing to me than in the sweltering heat of Hilton Head anyways. Eli loves to go golfing with his daddy, but I'm never there to get any pictures of it, so I was excited to tag along with my camera. It was a little breezy out that afternoon, but the guys didn't seem to notice.
Ready to go!
Eli's favorite part was always running up on the green to help hold the flag. He was such a cute little coach/caddy, and cheered his daddy on the entire 18 holesHe always picked his ball and daddy's out of the hole, and came running back to show me with such excitement.

Taking a short breather.
So proud!!
It was neat for me to be on the golf course with my hubby. Something that he's always been so passionate about, but that we've never really done together. I can tell that Eli and Danny will play many rounds of golf together. I'm glad that I went now, because taking your mom to the golf course won't be so cool in a few years :)

My body may have been aching by the end of our trip, but it was so worth it! We made the sweetest of memories, and are already looking forward to our next trip. Our next trip...as a family of 4!