We drove in Monday and just made a day of it. It took quite a bit longer than we thought, but we made it - the drive in was gorgeous. About 3hrs was spent on a mountain road, running parallel to the Nantahala River. It was so serene and peaceful. When we made it to the cabin, we unloaded the van and made our way to Ingles to purchase some groceries... and spend way too much money! We then went back to the cabin, ate dinner, and settled in for the night...
On Tuesday, we slept in! Once everyone was up, we ate breakfast and went on a search for snow! As luck would have it, we did not have to travel far - just down the road from our old cabin was plenty of pristine snow just calling our name! Unfortunately, we had no hats, coats, or gloves, so the time was limited. The kiddos absolutely loved it though and it was quite cathartic for all of us! The rest of the day was spent at the cabin - enjoying a warm fire, playing in the hot tub, and just enjoying the brek from reality...
Wednesday rolled around, and we were even more determined to find snow because rain was forcasted for Thursday, which would eliminate all of the snow. We gathered all of our jackets, gloves, and hats and made our way to the BlueRidge Parkway where there was plenty of snow - at least 18" deep in most areas! The Parkway itself was closed, so we had free reign to do whatever we wanted. Daddy parked the van and we all jumped out, ready to play. Unfortunately, most of the snow, had turned into an ice/snow combo and was pretty difficult to work with, but we made the most of it. We hiked on some trails. Had snowball fights. Made snow angels. Just had a great time. Then, we saw it - A giant, perfect for sledding, hill! Only one problem though, we had no sled... luckily, Daddy saw an area on the way up that sold sleds, so we all piled our soaking wet, freezing cold bodies into the van to go get a sled. We bought a bright red sled and returned back to the Parkway, ready to face the hill - it was FUN! We spent over an hour going up and down that hill until Wesley was sobbing because he was so very, very cold. We retuned to the van, removed out soaking wet shoes and socks and cranked the heat up. I am not sure why, but we proceeded to drive into Cherokee, only to turn around and head back to Waynesville to find some lunch! We ended up at a fabulous restaurant named Bogarts. When we were done, we headed to a playground to enjoy the remainder of this beautiful day!
When Thursday rolled around, so did Daddy's 37th birthday! I was planning on making him a big breakfast, but apparently, everyone had other plans... Daddy and the kiddos had decided to go tubing in Mars Hill - a place that we had visited last year and truly loved! We left the cabin early and made the 75ish minute trek north - it is a gorgeous drive, through farmland, mountains, valleys, etc. Us Floridians are quite unprepared for the frozen white stuff and were ever so grateful that the owner had some extra bibs for us to borrow - he even had a jacket Wesley could borrow since I failed to pack him one (it is somewhere at home!). We had such a great time tubing. We raced. We laughed. We had fun. We had it completely to ourselves for nearly the entire 2hrs we were there and it was great! At about 12:30, we left to make the trek back to the cabin to prepare for naps. I laid down with Wesley and Hannah, while Daddy and Lil Robert snuggled and spent time together. When all woke, we all decided to take Daddy to dinner for his 37th Birthday. After driving around Maggie Valley and Waynesville for a bit, we ended back at Bogart's! It was great and they even treated daddy to a huge Oreo ice cream sandwich! Once back at the cabin, we had a "surprise party" for daddy - it included mini pink cookies and cupcakes! The kiddos loved joking that pink was daddy's favorite color!
Today, Friday, started out in a hurry. We wanted to eat breakfast at Joey's Pancake House, but we were scheduled for family pictures at 10am with Clay Nation's Photography. When the kiddos entered our room at 8am, panic set in. We rushed to get ready, since skipping Joey's was not an option! In 45min, all 5 of us were dressed and ready to go eat breakfast. When we arrived at Joey's, it was still drizzling from the storm that came through Thursday and as soon as we sat down, daddy received a text from Clay asking if we could postpone pictures until the afternoon - we agreed without a second thought! This allowed us a nice, relaxed breakfast, and then some time walking the streets of downtown Waynesville, enjoying all of the shops and boutiques that lined the old streets. After this, we headed back to the cabin to rest before meeting Clay at 3p for pictures. Naps did not take place, but relaxation and resting did - and it was wonderful and needed! Our family pictures went great - daddy and I are so anxious to see how they turned out! After this, we headed back to the cabin where we enjoyed some time in the hot tub, followed by a good ol' house scrubbing/laundry folding session! Now, as I type, the kiddos are upstairs snuggling with daddy so I can have some quiet/alone time.
Saturday, the only things scheduled are breakfast at, you guessed it, Joey's. Mass at 4pm. Packing and cleaning. The kiddos was to go to a playground, so we will fit that in at somepoint, as well as some hot tub fun!
Sunday, we need to be out of the cabin by 10a so that the cleaning crew can get in and prepare it for the next family that is coming in Sunday evening. I have a hunch we will end up at Joey's again for breakfast and then hit the road. My head feels that it will be a hard day since we will be heading back into reality. I am not sure that I want to and I know I am not ready, but I think it is time to put on those big girl pants and just go for it... This has been a great in between for me, for us, as we learn to live life without Maura Anne physically here with us...
No comments:
Post a Comment