Charlotte, NC and The Blue Ridge Parkway

Scott and I flew out Saturday morning to Charlotte, NC.  We had never been and wanted to check out the area.  I really liked it.  We had lunch at Big Daddy's Burger Bar and those burgers were delicious!!  We drove through Freedom Park and then around several different neighborhoods.  Queens Road was my favorite.  Here are a few pictures .

 

 

We drove around downtown and the cute neighborhoods down there too.  From there, we drove over to Hickory, NC where we stayed the night.  We were pretty exhausted from our 6:30 flight, so we went to bed early. 

Sunday, we had planned to sight see in Asheville, but decided to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway instead.  It was gorgeous!  Most of the time we were in the Pisgah National Forest.  Here are picture of the views.

Price Lake

 

 

 

We drove through that tunnel

We stopped in Linville Falls and did a short half mile hike to some falls.

 

 

The Blue Ridge Trail took quite awhile.  You couldn't really drive more than 40mph.  We made it to our cabin that evening around 6:00.  The kids stopped and said hi to us, but then went back to playing with their cousins.  I'll have posts coming up on our week in TN.

Garth Brooks

Last Saturday night, Scott and I went with another couple to see Garth Brooks.  The show was amazing!  Scott had seen him before when he was in high school, so he knew how great the show would be.  Garth had so much energy, it was crazy.  We had tickets to the 10:30 show.  That in itself was crazy since that is usually when we go to bed.  There was a 7:30 show first, so we didn't get let in till 10:45.  The show started with Garth Brooks at 11:45 and he went till 2:15am.  He only had a 20 min. break while Trisha Yearwood preformed.  I was exhausted Saturday and Sunday, but it was worth it. 

 

 

Off to Illinois

My mom flew down on Monday and she flew back today with Tyler and Molly.  This is Tyler's 4th summer going up there and Molly's first.  Tyler was bummed Molly was coming because that made it a short stay for them before seeing us.  Last summer, Tyler was there 12 days before we met up with them in CO.  Molly couldn't start with 12 days.  I can't be gone from her for 12 days either.  This will be about 4 days.  We'll meet up with them in TN Sunday evening.  They were both excited to go and see Grandpa and their cousins. 

 

After I dropped them off today, I had to run to the library, Walmart, get my car inspected, go to HEB, and make a return at Children's Place.  Once home, I worked out and did laundry.  Tomorrow I have a dentist appt. I do have lunch and pedicure plans with my friend on Friday.  The evenings are nice and quiet with just me and Scott.  We can catch up on some shows.  Scott and I fly out to Charlotte, NC Saturday morning.  We'll explore around there on Saturday and then do some sight seeing in Asheville, NC on Sunday before we head to meet the family.  Then we have our exciting vacation with all 21 of us.

Fairy Gardens

Last Saturday, Molly and I went to a Mommy and Me Fairy Garden class.  It was so much fun and our fairy gardens turned out so cute.

 

 

My sweet little butterlfy

After our class was over, she also got a hedgehog and a little kitten that is back there under the butterfly

This one was mine.  I didn't realize when we signed up for the class that we each got one. 

Molly is ready for a friend to have a birthday so she can make another one as a gift.

Happy Birthday Tyler

Today, Tyler is 9 years old.  As my friend told me, I'm halfway done raising him.  And only one more year till double digits.  Wow!  Just yesterday it seems like he was my little boy and now he's becoming so grown up. 

This is his new mountain bike. 

His new Tri Strike Nerf gun.  The one gun shoots out 3 different sized bullets.

Tyler had his birthday party last weekend.  He had bug camp last week and recruited four friends to go with him this year.  On Friday, we picked the 5 of them up and took them to Thin Air to jump for 2 hours.

 

 

Molly and I had fun jumping too

After that, we came home for pizza, Nerf gun wars, cookie cake and ice cream, football, and more bug catching.  Then they watched a movie, played some games and the last one finally fell asleep about 1:45. 

Saturday morning I had donuts waiting for them when they woke up.  We went to the park for more bug catching.  After that, they had fun at the pool for a couple hours.  We came home for left over pizza and then their parents pick them up.  That afternoon, I took a nap!

 

Horseback Riding

Molly had her first horseback riding lesson today.  She's been asking for months now and even though I think she's a little young, I had to get her a few lessons.  We went to the stable last week and met several of the horses. She's been counting down the days till today.  She's also been practicing saddling up her play horses everyday too. Her trainer is Torre and she was great with Molly.  I really liked her.  Molly had so much fun!
The pony she rode was Cappy.  They started off brushing him.

 Next Molly picked out his saddle pad, pink of course.  Over that they put the saddle. They got him reined up, Molly got her helmet, and they were good to go.

Getting up on Cappy

 They first went out on a little trail ride on the property.

 

 Then they came back into the covered arena and practiced guiding with the reins. 

Torre also had her practice leaning forward to where her butt would come off the seat.  Molly said it's call Two Step. Molly said that was hard on her legs to do.  She'll improve with practice.  She also had Cappy trot a little.

Finally, they took Cappy back to the stable, took everything off him, gave him a treat, and fed him.  Throughout the whole lesson, Torre was teaching her different horse etiquette.  Molly loved it.  She listened well and did great.  We thought she'd start with a few lessons as an introductions and then wait till she's older for weekly lessons.  Molly is not going to want to stop though. 

New York City-Day 4

Sunday started with bagels from the famous Ess-a-Bagels.  To me, they were just bagels, but the line was out the door by the time we left.  

Dana and Deanna had to leave after that.  I decided to explore West Village for the day.  I had to catch 3 subway trains to get there.  I made it and this is where you want to live in New York.  The tree lined streets and brownstones were beautiful. 

This was what I walked up to out of the subway

I thought this little bookstore was so cute and I love the name.

 

Pretty flowers for sale on the street

Scott and I have watched all the Friends TV show.  This is Monica's apartment they show when it's the outside view and the cafe would be Central Perk.  It's really called The Little Owl. Friends is taped in LA.  This is just the building they show.

I never watched Sex in the City, but Dana did, so I had to get a picture of Carrie Bradshaw's apartment in the show. 

After exploring the cute neighborhoods, I headed over to Washington Square Park.  It was beautiful and very busy.

 

After the park, I found Broadway and went to Max Brenner.  So many people said I just had to go there for chocolate.  They were right-the chocolate was delicious.  I brought a few things to bring home to the kids.  They loved it too.

After Max Brenner, I grabbed a taxi to Chelsea Market.  It's an indoor shopping center with some regular shops, lots of boutiques and a section of handmade items.  The shops were really cute.

This is inside Chelsea Market. 

 There were several places to eat.  I had read on a blog to try Los Tacos.  Oh my goodness-the tacos were amazing!!!  I want to go back for more.  I dream of them!

 After two amazing tacos, I got some gelato to eat while I finished walking through Chelsea Market.

That was my fun afternoon in West Village.  After that I had to catch the subway back to the hotel, get my luggage and catch a cab to Penn Station.  Here is a picture of Penn Station.  It was crazy busy, but I found the train I needed to the airport.

All in all, it was a fabulous girls trip to New York.  We were able to do and see so much!