Kanuga

We returned to Kanuga for the third summer in a row. It is always such a wonderfully relaxing week. Q has a little day camp that she attends where they make arts and crafts, have scavenger hunts, swim in the lake, hike, tie dye t-shirts, etc. She loves it and made so many friends this week! There are classes for adults during the day like watercolor and basket weaving, but there are also so many other things to do...rock in a rocking chair on the porch and read a book, swim in the lake, take a hike, go to Hendersonville to shop...etc. It is very pampering..they prepare and serve all meals for the whole week. There is a nursery for the littles in the morning and T did a great job handling that. One of the days he went they let him play on the playground at the Baker building with the bigger classes and Q watched over him and played with him. The only time he was upset was when her class had to go inside for a craft! Such sweet siblings!

We were thrilled when we got the news that we could stay in Cottage 19, with four bedrooms and two baths! We invited Big Daddy and Gimmie to come up and enjoy it with us. Our cottage was even right next door to the LeBlancs! This is a terrible picture of  it...it is really darling, with a screened in porch and swing...this doesn't really do it justice.

T playing on the porch...looks like we just had spaghetti...haha!

Pack and Play fun

Q loves to see Madeline each year. She is the cousin of the LeBlancs, and she and Q and Kate are all the same age.

Q made a new friend this year...Annie. She and Q had a great time together right away and spent the whole week running around together. Here they are rolling down a huge hill next to the Inn.

Q and T on the giant double seesaw on the playground.

The guys watching as the square dance gets started. I know, I know....but it is really fun, I swear! They have a bluegrass band that has been doing it for years and everyone loves it!

...swing your partner round and round...

Check out this outfit that T came up with! He has been talking like crazy lately. His two phrases that he says all the time are "Sat?"....meaning "what's that?"... and " I get" meaning "give me that." He loves singing and listening to music. He LOVES the Cedarmont Kids movies...just like Q did at this age...it is just almost complete torture for B and I (and Q too at this point)! He says "moo..moo...moo" when he wants you to put his movie on. When he wants you to sing his favorite song, he sings in a sweet little voice: "be-ho...be-ho" for the "Behold, I stand at the door and knock,knock,knock" song. It is really too precious when he does that. His favorite toy lately has been a new phone -yes, it is like an AT&T store around here..sooo many phones - he always says..."he-do? he-do?" when he holds the phone up and then proceeds to have a full conversation of sounds strung together and very entertaining intonation.

Big Daddy and Mark hard at work in their woodcarving class.

Gimmie taking a break to visit with Q in her watercolor class. I actually made a basket this year. I was not going to do it, but then Liz and Mindy talked me into it..and I am so glad they did! It was really fun and the teacher was so patient and helpful. I don't have photographic evidence of my basket yet, but I will soon.

..rub-a-dub dub in the claw foot tub!

We met some friendly bears when we went to Hendersonville. We love to spend time shopping downtown and then eating at our favorite Italian restaurant there, Mezzaluna.

...this is what Q and T looked like after dinner...long day!

Q and Kate skipped camp one morning to "play BARL" at our cottage.

snake charmer

B and T coming down the steps into the courtyard for the Carnival. This year they had a dunking booth! They had the old favorites too: a fishing place, mini golf, musical chairs, a kissing booth,bowling, and a cookie walk. Q liked the fishing booth best. We even won a Kanuga water bottle at the raffle this year...and our friend Chris guessed the M&Ms in the jar!

T's first lollipop! I don't even want to think about how much sugar they had at the Carnival. Of course...most of that lollipop ended up on his mouth, face, outfit, and hands...so maybe it's not as bad as I thought.

Q chose to get a butterfly painted on her eye. Here she is with our raffle winnings.

Chris with his winning M&Ms.

I think this picture sums up Kanuga best!

Dorothy and I getting a chance at the game the guys played all week.

The Dancing Bear in Hendersonville is the BEST toy shop! The kids had a ball playing with everything and then picking some toys. T loved this train table and the robots in the picture below. I thought there was going to be a major scene separating him from the shopping cart in there too! Q found her dream stuffed animal...a dog with three magnetic puppies that attach to her.

Another must-go place downtown is Mast General Store. They have products, kitchen gadgets, cute clothes, toys, books, and SO much more. Here is Q with some of the bins of candy. They specialize in candy that you remember as a kid but can never find...candy lipstick anyone? Or how about these below?!

After our shopping excursion we finally decided to give the German restaurant a try...we have talked about going here for years! It was the coolest place! The food was ridiculously good and they had a market area where they had a bunch of German foods, chocolates, mustards, etc. We told Q that even though she might not know what the food was she would probably enjoy it because she has mostly German blood. She ordered the Weiner Shchnitzel and ate every bite...and then told us "my blood feels gooood!"

...she even loved the saurkraut!

Here is the deli area with tons of meats I have never even heard of! (But I am sure they are healthy right?)

Q and Annie in their tye die shirts at the Follies closing ceremony. Q told me the next day they decided they would be "BFFs...that means best friends forever..did you know that?"

All the girls in front of Cottage 8...the Charbonnet cottage. Front row: Madeline, Q, Georgia; second row: Annie, Hailey, Juliet; third row: Kate, Lucie, and Ellie. What a wonderful week of family bonding, relaxing, making new friends, and fun!